Tahiti

Is Tahiti worth it or not?

I really want to go and I feel like when else will you have a chance to go on a trip for a longer period of time, etc.

Anybody been? Would you do it again?

It seems like my wedding time (end of September) is iffy weather-wise in a lot of places....Australia and Greece, which were other places we were considering, are too cold for me then...I want warm, sunny beaches!!!!

Advice please!!!!

We haven't been yet, but we just booked our honeymoon for May. We're going to both Tahiti and Bora Bora staying at Le Meriden's on both islands.

We're both so excited, its a once in a lifetime chance to travel there. From what we've been told its a very relaxing honeymoon, perfect for beach bums!!!!

We're going all out and staying in an over the water bungalow too.

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Posted by Jamie&MarkSept.'05

Is Tahiti worth it or not?

I really want to go and I feel like when else will you have a chance to go on a trip for a longer period of time, etc.

Anybody been? Would you do it again?

It seems like my wedding time (end of September) is iffy weather-wise in a lot of places....Australia and Greece, which were other places we were considering, are too cold for me then...I want warm, sunny beaches!!!!

Advice please!!!!

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Don;t know much about tahiti, but I know Aruba is out of the hurricane belt, and it is a BEAUITUFL place!

We went in September - -specifically to Moorea, Bora Bora, and Ta'haa -- and it was the best vacation I have ever been too. The place is absoultely spectacular! HIGHLY reccomend it

We're going to Moorea, Bora Bora and Tahaa in early May. We're really excited about it and definitely feel it will be a trip of a lifetime. Our travel agent has said, this is the one place where the pics you see don't lie -- it's exactly as it's portrayed

Also, our friends went this past October (after struggling with the same issues you seem to be struggling with-- they were thinking Greece or somewhere in the Mediterrean originally). Unfortunately for them, the weather wasn't too cooperative while they were there and 80-90% of their trip was rainy. However, they did say that even despite the weather, they had a great time and would go back if they ever had the opportunity.

Hopefully the weather will be better for us, but either way I'm looking forward to relaxing and having all the wedding stress eliminated

We were considering Tahiti, and have decided against it. We could only afford to stay for 7 days, 5 nights (which would be about 7500.00). Two of those days would be for traveling, and the flight is LONG. Since it is on the other side of the world, the time difference will leave us majorly jet lagged. So with the time left, we don't think we would have enough time to enjoy it before it was time to head back. If we were able to stay longer, Tahiti would definitely by my first choice.

We were also seriously considering Greece (Athens, Mykonos and Santorini). I collected a bunch of tour brochures (dated in 2004), and it seemed reasonable (2k each for early June, 10 days, flights and transfers included). I checked back for 2005 prices, and the package we wanted went up 1k per person. That put it nearly up to Tahiti prices, if we were to account for spending money. I called and asked why the sudden hike in price, and the agencies are telling me it is b/c of the increase of the Euro against the dollar. So that pretty much prices us out of Europe altogether.

So after all that insanity, that leaves:

-Africa (FH is too afraid to go)

-Philippines (Would love for FH to see my family, but he is concerned about terrorism)

-Central/South America: this seems to be worth looking into. the dollar goes pretty far down there (depending on the country). we need to find a place that has beach suff AND city stuff. Belize may be a possibility.

-Australia/New Zealand: currently researching, dont know enough about either place yet

-Bahamas/Caribbean/US Virgin Islands: again, don't know enough about any of them to say for sure.

Can you tell I am TOTALLY obsessed with honeymoon planning?!?!

I can't believe it costs so much to go there. Does anybody have any other prices? $7,500 seems like a lot for such a short time!

If people don't want to post prices, could you please FM prices to me and tell me what travel agent you used!

This is depressing!

We went and took a cruise for 10 days and got an AMAZING price, becuase we booked early. It was one of the best trip we ever went on. Back in August I posted a review. The best part of the cruise is we got to island hop, and there was nighlife if we wanted it and all food was included. PS The water was 7 shades of blue!

We considered it for about a second, because of the great reviews and the overwater bungalows, but after the tsunami, we nixed it. Too much $$$$ to spend and not be sure if it would be ok......JMHO

P.S.

We have the same weather issues, so this is what we are considering:
I REALLY want to go to Greece, so my aunt gave me a week at her timeshare in Aruba and my uncle works for Delta, (cheap flights)so we are spending the week after the wedding there, and going on a Mediterranean cruise (hopefully) the following summer.
FI wants to make that our 'babymoon'.

It's something to consider if you can, and we are using it as time to really research and save $$$$$$

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Posted by brooklynbridezilla


-Central/South America: this seems to be worth looking into. the dollar goes pretty far down there (depending on the country). we need to find a place that has beach suff AND city stuff. Belize may be a possibility.

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I went to Margarita Island (Venezuela) four years ago and can say that I had the best trip of my life there. It is still relatively unknown and not a lot of americans...mainly europeans.


That aside....I would have loved to go to Tahiti (first choice) but FH and I can't justify the price at least not at this point in our lives...we're trying to set up an apartment, save money for a house, save money for and we don't think going to Tahiti for seven days is worth the trip...I would want more time to enjoy the beautiful place. FH and I are 90% we're going to Aruba all-inclusive. It seems to be the best deal for us.

We went for our Honeymoon, I am sooooo Bad because I still haven't finished my HM REVIEW. But I guess I'll post what I have so far.

We purchased a package at Liberty Travel for 10 days (includes travel time) 4 Nights in Moorea and 4 Nights in Bora Bora. In Moorea we stayed at the Intercontinental Beachcomber Resort and Bora Bora we stayed at the Bora Bora Lagoon Resort. Flights/connections/ and two excursions included in our package. No Meal or Drink Plans included. To Sum up the Honeymoon in One word – Paradise. It’s a place so far removed from the world with not much to do except eat out, relax by the beach, and water activities, but it’s ideal to escape and de-stress….

The Beginning
We took a late afternoon flight-American Airlines from NY to LA – 5hrs. Stopover for one hour LAX airport (arrived around 11:45pm ish), you have to check in to Air Tahiti airlines first then we suggest you buy a few bottles 2-3 bottles of liquor at the duty free shop and a quick bite to eat. An hour is just enough time to do both before catching the Air Tahiti flight. We then land in Tahiti around 5:00am (8 hours from LA) and caught our connection flight out to Moorea at 5:30am. They have these little shuttle planes that run often, I think every hour or half hour. From Tahiti to Moorea I think the flight was only 20 minutes.

Moorea
The Beachcomber Resort was amazing, we stayed in the Beachside Bungalow which I felt was just perfect. The interior of the bungalows are just amazing, picture wood floors, sliding doors that separate your bathroom-bedroom, bedroom to living room and then overlooking the beach, flowers placed everywhere, ceiling fans spinning silently, huge bathrooms with double sinks, extra long tubs, huge wall mirror over the tub, open shower stalls, kingsize bed, it’s something right out of the Travel channel or lifestyles of the rich and famous. The people of Tahiti/French Polynesian are so friendly and pleasant. It is really special. When we arrived, of course the check in time isn’t until 3:00, but they offered to upgrade us to the Overwater Bungalow for an additional $150 and we would get the bungalow quicker. We decided not to since we were staying in the overwater bungalow in Bora Bora and I’m glad we didn’t because the overwater view in Moorea was not as amazing as Bora Bora, at this particular resort. So we had several hours to kill and at this point you are a little bit tired from traveling, but I highly suggest you catch a van to take you to town while you wait, the van picks you up and takes you back to your hotel for $4.00 per person. The hotels usually offer a very good exchange rate for US to Francs, do not go to the bank in Town because they also charge a commission on top of the exchange rate. At town you can go to the grocery store and purchase food for breakfast and Lunch which is more affordable than eating those meals at your hotel. Food is very expansive on these islands. We bought some milk, cereal, French bread, ham, cheese, fruits, Bottle of Soda to mix with our liquor and juice. It’s the best thing you can do, unless money is not an issue and you don’t mind spending $20 for breakfast at the hotel every morning and $40 dollars for Lunch at the hotels-those are the minimum prices.

We went on a half day jeep tour of Moorea which was fun, they take you up two mountains to a look out point where you great an amazing view of the water and mountains, then afterwards they take you to this tourist shop with a bar and you get to sample several shots of various liquor such as grapefruit, coconut, pineapple liquor and the proof increases with each shot – that was awesome because you get a quick buzz!! Ha ha…We also went out to the Tiki village tour which is the village where locals live and make traditional crafts, they serve you a buffet dinner, which I really enjoyed and they perform a tiki show which I liked. We also went Shark feeding and snorkeling which you MUST MUST DO!! It’s amazing! I have some awesome underwater pictures of sharks and they came out so clear!! The sea life is just breathtaking!!

Okay for some local restaurants, The Great thing about eating out on all the islands is that the restaurants have free pick up and drop off to and from your hotel, some charge a small fee, but other than that-there is no need for taxi expenses. Soooo you can also get a nice buzz going before dinner because you don’t have to drive!! Definitely check out Chez Capo-make reservations asap. It’s a great local restaurant with very affordable tasty food!! We also went to a French restaurant which the name I can’t remember-by the water and you overlook stingrays swimming. Very cool, you can even feed them! Bloody Mary’s is a must, everyone goes there. The restaurant has a sand floor and is a lot of fun. The food was good. We went also to another seafood restaurant, which is a docked boat, I can’t remember the name, but it was okay. The atmosphere was great, but the entrée’s were so so – I would recommend just doing appetizers (which were delicious and maybe dessert there). On our last day in Moorea, which was Sunday we had lunch at a roadside local restaurant walking distance from the Beachcomber resort and it was very good, you can get a steak with French fries for a very reasonable price and on Sunday’s many restaurants make the local specialties in their underground coal oven that cooks for hours, I had a stewed chicken with local spinach, very good and it comes with sweet potatoes, bread fruit (common in the Caribbean), and other local vegetables.

Bora Bora
My assumptions about the second part of our trip was that it would be not as luxurious, but more secluded and relaxed than Moorea. We stayed at the Bora Bora Lagoon Resort, which I though sounded smaller and might be a three star level resort, BOY WAS I WAY OFF!! I thought the Beachcomber in Moorea was tops, but when we arrived at the Bora Bora Lagoon resort I was blown away at how gorgous the place was, it’s 5 stars and just very lush and exotic. We had the overwater Bungalow in Bora Bora and it was absolutely amazing! I think the view and the water in Bora Bora was much more breathtaking than the overwater bungalows at the Beachcomber. Of course this is based on the particular bungalow that we saw in Moorea and the one we stayed in Bora Bora, because there are so many that are spread over the property a specific view maybe different with each Bungalow. The water is very shallow around the bungalows so you can go snorkeling right off your back balcony-they all have steps that go into the water. There are so many amazing fish that swim all around and the resort has bread baskets to feed them. The fish will literally swarm around the bread you toss in the water. I saw amazing yellow and black stripped fish, turquoise blue fish, large green fish, it’s really spectacular. We had the glass coffee table that slides off so you can feed the fish from above. The hotel property was amazing they had a room with pool table, internet connection (YES, I logged onto LIW on the Honeymoon!) they had a gym, tennis courts, gorgous infinity pool, it was amazing! This resort is on a Motu which is a small island off of mainland Bora Bora, you need a boat to take you into town and to go out at night, but the boats run every half hour and they take about 3 minutes. The town is very small consisting of souvenir shops, bank, some café’s, grocery store etc. The island is very small too, and of course you have a handful of restaurants for dining out.

Sharkfeeding
We took a half day excursion to go swimming with sharks, stingrays and snorkeling. It was very cool and fun, you go on a boat with a group of people and your tour guide, the half day, they do the feeding and we just watch them while underwater. It was very cool to get in the water and see these yellow sharks, that are about 4-5 ft swimming right in front of your face. It was crazy, I had an underwater camera, which you should buy in the states, and those pictures came out amazing, the stingrays are also very cool, there were tons of them. When we went snorkeling it was incredible, there are so many fish it’s really awesome. We also saw a very long eel swimming among the coral and that was kinda scary, everyone started swimming back to the boat for that one. They are quite ugly and scary, but I got a few pictures of that before I also swam like an Olympic swimmer back to the boat. With

I went to Bora Bora for my HM in October and it was by far the most amazing place I've ever been to. SO WORTH IT! (But watch out, there might be something in the water that gets you pregnant easily! )

Here's my Bora Bora HM Review w/Pics


BTW, French Polynesia did not get hit by the Tsunami.

We are going to Tahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora. I work for a hotel company, so I got great rates, but most trips out there hover around $8k and up. It's a lot of money, but I think it will be worth it.

Travlezoo is running some great specials right now - www.travelzoo.com

Of course now I am dying to go! Thank you so much for the wonderful descriptions and all the info...

I need to start pricing it out!

I am so excited!

Thanks for the detailed review Jessica, We will be going on our HM in June for 11 nights.
You gave a lot of good info..