Tahiti - any advice?

[tinky]

Hello all,

Could you please advise what tips you have for Tahiti if any. We were thinking of going to either Moorea or Bora Bora as a part of our honeymoon. Bora Bora is the more well known island but this comes along with being more expensive from what I understand - is it worth the extra cost?

Also, any suggestions for which hotels to stay on any of the islands above (aswell as Papeete where we will have to stay for one night at either end of our trip due to the airport)?
I have been looking online but not sure if I should book with the hotels directly or if a travel agent would be more cost effective.

Any tips/suggestions/experiences would be appreciated.

Thanks

Silvia

 

[NM]

Hello all,

Could you please advise what tips you have for Tahiti if any.

...

Any tips/suggestions/experiences would be appreciated.

Ensure you have large credit limits on your credit cards. Its going to be expensive :!: .

 

[tinky]

Ensure you have large credit limits on your credit cards. Its going to be expensive :!: .

hahah - unfortunately you are absolutely right.

you never know, we might get lucky in Las Vegas before we get to Tahiti and win some $$$ (wishful thinking I know).

I thought you were going to sleep NM?

 

[BlacKnox]

Hello all,
Also, any suggestions for which hotels to stay on any of the islands above (aswell as Papeete where we will have to stay for one night at either end of our trip due to the airport)?

Excellent trip report here View From the Wing
from Gleff, a legendary contributor over at Flyertalk. Search on his blog "tahiti bora bora" for other reports on the region.

Congratulations on your engagement .

 

[BlacKnox]

Better still, start here View From the Wing and scroll forward "on to Bora Bora" etc.

 

[StevePER]

And another trip report for Bora Bora from a Flyertalk contributor, with one night in Tahiti on the way home.

I was making the same decision between Moorea and Bora Bora roughly 10 months ago - then I made the mistake of looking at pictures of Bora Bora and couldn't settle for Moorea after that. Not sure how long you're planning to be there, but you could go to both - there are direct flights between Moorea and Bora Bora. Accommodation is cheaper on Moorea so this could save you some money if that's important. Conventional wisdom is that you have to go to Bora Bora last because Moorea isn't as spectacular in comparison (but still great in its own right).

The flights to Bora Bora are frickin expensive no matter who you book with. I booked direct with Air Tahiti. Accommodation on Bora Bora is probably the same - start saving hotel points if you can!

I'll be on Bora Bora next week!

Steve

 

[tinky]

thanks for the very informative trip reports. Keep them coming if you know of any others

StevePer - would love to hear how your trip to Bora Bora went. Where are you staying?

thanks again

Silvia

 

[StevePER]

I'm staying at Intercontinental Thalasso Spa (over water bungalow), paid for with Priority Club points back when it was 30k per night. I believe it's now 40k per night, and they don't offer the over water bungalows anymore.

I'll probably do a trip report when I get back from South America in early December.

Steve

 

[StevePER]

We had a wonderful three days in Bora Bora, which was the perfect start to our South American holiday. We flew NZ to PPT and then Air Tahiti to BOB - there are great views of Moorea, Raitaia and Bora Bora if you sit on the left side of the aircraft. Intercontinental have a boat to take you to their resorts, stopping first at Thalasso and then Le Moana. On arrival at Thalasso we were driven in a golf cart to reception, where we were given a free drink while we completed the check-in procedures. They implied we were lucky to be able to check-in early (it was 12:30pm, so it's not like they were doing us a huge favour). Later they gave us a late check-out at 4pm which was extremely useful! We were given a quick tour of the resort by golf cart before being dropped off at our room where we waited at least 45 minutes for our bags to arrive.

The overwater bungalows are fantastic - they looked bigger at Thalasso than any of the other places we saw. Check out the photos (link below). Very spacious, and very comfortable.

We didn't have a problem being located off the main island, but you do need to work around the boat timetable a bit. Going out for dinner on the main island is easy because all the restaurants have free transfers. We had a great meal at Bambou, which was suggested by the concierge when we asked for a "casual" (meaning inexpensive) restaurant. We only ate once at the resort. The prices weren't too bad but the food wasn't anything amazing. They also had a happy hour on coughtails every night (2 for 1) which brings the prices down to what we would normally pay.

We didn't do a lot during the day - we were content just to relax and go swimming etc. The water was quite shallow around our bungalow (we were about half way out). I really liked seeing fish swimming under our bungalow at night by looking through the coffee table! We went into Vaitape (the main town on Bora Bora) one day and did a jeep tour another day, which was excellent. We had a great driver - very funny. Really, the best thing about Bora Bora is just being there with the beautiful views and friendly people.

Whether it's worth the extra money over Moorea I still don't know. We're really glad we went to Bora Bora (especially being able to stay at such a great place with Priority Club points) but we wouldn't go back.

Lots of photos!

Any questions?

 

[needaholiday]

We spent 10 nights at the Intercontinental Thalasso Spa in 2006 for our honeymoon, we stayed in an overwater bungalow, and I fully agree with StevePER's remarks about the Thalasso and Bora Bora.

It is pricey, however there are few things to do to mitigate the cost;

• This one is important - book a package that includes food. Most will cover B'fast and Dinner excluding lunch and alcoholic drinks. The tip is to eat breakfast late and take a snack of bread, cheese and cold meats etc. back to your bungalow. The give you a spend allowance which is quite generous and doesn't limit your menu choices.
• Take some good wine/champagne. Alcohol is ferocioulsy expensive there. Villa Maria Sav Blanc is about A$60+ a bottle at the resort. We took enough for a bottle a night as advised by some friends. Papeete airport arrivals is a fairly relaxed grass roof affair, and we didn't see much sign of customs officials there, mainly French policemen on immigration desks. The restaurants charge corkage, however you still end up way in front, and can enjoy you favourite wines.
• Once you have the ferry timetable, you can get a free shuttle to the mainland and stock up on bottled water/snacks and beer - that will really save you some money as the mini-bar pricing is up there with the best.
• I would recommend one splurge, and that is the jet-ski tour around the whole island, it was a stand-out highlight, your concierge can book it and charge back to your room.
• Bloody Mary's restaurant was good fun, many celebs have thier name on the board out front - there arrange free transfers, and get booked out early so get the concierge to sort it for you.

I've friends who went to Moorea and loved it, however if you only plan on having one honeymoon it is worth spending the extra and make it a trip of a lifetime.

Best of luck with the honeymoon.