Tahiti Bora Bora Moorea (French Polynesian Country)

Tahiti and Bora Bora is suppose to be exotic places. I wanted to share few information about these places which would help people to plan their trip and my experience of Tahiti and Bora Bora.

When we had a chance to travel to US for a month, decided to extend our vacation for another 10 days and visit to Tahiti and Bora Bora. This pic will explain how remote the place is. I would say it is in the middle of no where. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Australia. These islands are formed from volcanic activity and it is surrounded with coral reefs.

Tahiti is the highest and largest island in French Polynesia lying close to Moʻorea island. It is located 4,400 kilometres (2,376 nautical miles) south of Hawaiʻi, 7,900 km (4,266 nmi) from Chile, 5,700 km (3,078 nmi) from Australia.

There are a few things you need to know when planning a trip to Tahiti. One, people often don’t realize that Tahiti is just one of over 100 islands in a region of the South Pacific that make up the country of French Polynesia. Technically, French Polynesia  is a collectivity of France, although it does have its own branches of government.

Secondly, the national currency of French Polynesia is the Pacific Franc, also known as CFP Franc or XPF. Although US dollars are accepted in some of the more western establishments, it is important to carry local currency for smaller vendors and tour operators where US currency may not be accepted.

Visa

VFS does the visa part for French Polynesia visa. It is not the Schengen visa which is used for most of the Schengen European countries. It is quicker to get the Fresnch Polysian visa unlike Schengen vis which takes 3 weeks times

How to reach Tahiti

The best way to get to Tahiti from the mainland of the United States is taking a non-stop flight from Los Angeles or San Francisco. From Los Angeles it will take you less than 8 hours to fly there with Air Tahiti Nui or French Bee.

One thing to note is that many people think you can just fly to Bora Bora and the other French Polynesian islands directly from mainland USA. This is incorrect, as all flights from the United States must first pass through Faa’a International Airport on the island of Tahiti before continuing on to other islands.

Where to Stay

Resorts are the most common way for international travelers to experience French Polynesia. French Polynesian resorts usually have everything a visitor would need including restaurants, tour options, a pool, shuttles to/from the airport, etc. In fact, a great place to look for a resort is TripAdvisor as you will be able to see reviews, prices, availability, etc.

Best Time to Travel

French Polynesia has a tropical climate, with warm temperatures year-round and a short “wet season”. The hottest months are December-March, with an average high of 28° Celcius. These warmer months also get more rain on average than other months, especially December and January.

The “coldest” months on the Islands of Tahiti are June-August, which average a high of 26° Celcius. These months are usually the safest bet for optimal weather, as they have the lowest amount of rainy days per month. This also happens to be the high season for tourism, so expect more crowds and higher prices during this time.

The shoulder seasons of April-May and September-November will be  in-between the warm and cool months. In my opinion, these months are a great time to visit because there will be fewer crowds, a high chance of beautiful weather, and booking accommodation/tours will be cheaper as compared to high months.

Things to carry

• Passport
• Swimsuits + rashguard
• Towel/sarong
• Sandals + water shoes
• Reef-safe sunscreen*
• Sun hat + sunglasses
• Lightweight clothing
• Water bottle
• Waterproof bag
• Walking shoes
• Camera equipment
• Travel first aid kit
• Snorkel gear (if your accommodation doesn’t supply)

Currency in Tahiti

As mentioned earlier, the national currency of French Polynesia is the Pacific Franc, also known as CFP Franc or XPF. Although US dollars are accepted in some establishments, it is important to carry local currency for smaller vendors and tour operators where US currency may not be accepted. Most places accept credit cards, but again, having cash is important for small vendors like market stalls.

How to Travel to other islands

It’s easy to fly to Bora Bora and other islands from Tahiti each day. More remote islands such as the Marquesas Islands only have one flight per day. Another popular island, Mo’orea, is right next to Tahiti and is usually accessed via a ferry which runs many times each day not far from Faa’a airport.

Air Tahiti offers domestic flights within French Polynesia to 47 of the islands. Keep in mind that they offer Air Tahiti Passes that allow you to travel to multiple islands in one trip for a packaged price.

Also other option to travel within islands are Ferries. To Bora Bora it is a 8 hrs Ferry, which operates twice a week. And this is the cheaper mode of transport.

What to do in Tahiti

• Snorkeling
• Scuba diving
• Swimming with sharks
• Jet-skiing
• Local food tours
• Sunset boat cruise
• ATV tours
• Hiking
• Freediving

If you are headed to French Polynesia from any international destination, you will be first be flying into Papeete airport that is located on the main island of Tahiti.

Most people just stay here for a few hours or a quick overnight before flying out or taking a ferry to the to the other islands such as Bora Bora, Moorea and so on.

If you are going to Moorea, you can take an easy 30 min ferry ride via Aremiti or Terevau ferry from Tahiti. But if you are going to any other islands in French Polynesia you will have to take a domestic flight via the main domestic carrier Air Tahiti.

Air Tahiti is the main carrier in French Polynesia.

Air Tahiti flies to 48 of the 118 islands, since not all of the islands have airports. If you are headed to islands without airports you might have to also do an additional boat transfer after the domestic flight. Depending on what islands you choose in your itinerary, you could either choose to fly between them directly or via the main airport at Papeete in Tahiti. This all depends on the Air tahiti schedule that releases every few months at a time. They also have multi island passes that they sell which work out to be very economical if you are island hopping a lot.

What to shop

You can buy Tahitian black pearls on necklaces, rings, bracelets, pendants and even unmounted. Tahitian black pearls are different from other pearls as they are produced by an oyster with black lips and a dark body. The Tahitian pearl is the only naturally ‘black’ pearl, although the color isn’t really black. In fact, Tahitian black pearls come in a whole range of colors, the most popular of which is a very dark green with a pearly sheen.

My Experience

I always share my experience, may be it might help someone somewhere sometime for planning their vacation. We had booked in French Bee airlines and flew to Tahiti from SFO, USA. Tahiti and Bora Bora was one of the expensive places that we have been so far. May be that is due to the remoteness of the place, why its so expensive. So one should plan accordingly.

Tip:

In Faa’a International Airport, Restaurant Bar L’Aviation, which  is placed after the immigration counter accepts Priority Pass. While returning also before getting into immigration, with your flight ticket print out this Lounge can be accessed.

After landing had a nice breakfast in Bar L’Aviation, and decided to hire a self drive car in the airport.

After landing we hired a self drive car and the whole island can be covered in 6 to 7 hrs of drive. You can see the mountains wherever you are in Tahiti, with lush green valleys between them and magnificent waterfalls cascading down. The northern coast of the island is very developed, but when you visit the peninsula, Tahiti Iti, it’s like stepping into another world.

The Tahiti market was an interesting place to shop for chains earrings and bands made of sea shells.

We just stayed for one night and next day took a ferry to Bora Bora. Flights are expensive within the islands commute, so thought of taking a Ferry, the cost was almost one sixth of the price. This was a 8 hr ferry, and the ferry stops in 3 different islands for the people to board and deboard the ferry. We get almost 30 mins break in east stop.

Once reaching Bora Bora, we had booked in a resort Maitai. The resort was too good, we walked around the resort that day. If you don’t have a vehicle can’t do much there. Bikes are common mode of transportation. We also hired a bike for a day, and went for a trek to see the American Cannon.

The Americans left behind 8 cannons after WWII – Navy 7-inch built in 1907, each individually numbered and with a range of around 9,500m. It is little difficult to the find the way.  Before starting the trek better to get clear route information from the locals.

We drove all around Bora Bora island in a Bike. It takes hardly 5 hrs go around the island. The pristine waters are mesmerising. In the evening to watch the sunset in the pristine beach is one thing not to be missed.

Hikers seeking the well preserved Point Fitiuu Cannons in Anau on the eastern side of the main island will be treated to stunning views of both Mt Otemanu and Bora Bora’s magnificent lagoon.

View under the sea while snorkeling.

All the resorts provide free snorkeling kits, which we used every single day. Snorkeling experience was amazing there, we dint have to go too far into the sea to find unique sea creatures.

Being in Bora Bora and not snorkleling is a crime. The Corals, fishes, and the colourful sea animals were such a beautiful sight. We were able to spot tropical fish (angelfish, clownfish, butterflyfish…), sea anemone, purple claw animal.

Next day we had booked a cruise with resort people for a swimming with sharks, Coral Forest. So they take you 2 hrs into the sea and drop you in a place where you can swim with sharks. There were hundreds of sharks and you could snorkel with them. This was one of a kind of experience we had. Coral Forest was covered with Corals all around.

Last day kept for shopping. Black pearls are the best buy there. Everywhere you could see the black pearl jewellery shops. To note that they are tax deducted and make sure to fill the tax form and submit in the airport to get tax benefit.

The food in Tahiti had to be mentioned, which was delicioius. There was one called “Lucky House” which was buzzing and anyone coming to Bora Bora will be there at least once. The food was delicious and the hospitality of the people are really good.

Next we took a ferry and came back to Tahiti. From Tahiti Moorea island is hardly 30 mins by ferry. Every 30 mins there is ferry to this island. Here again hired a bike and went around the island. This island also was 5 hrs to go around the island.

Trek xxx