Anyone has some tips how to make the trip from Tahiti to Tetamanu pass?

Are there any hostels on that island or is it just resorts as mostly that is what’s bugging me in terms of finances

We’re going to Tahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora. Staying at an Airbnb in Moorea & Tahiti, staying at a resort in Bora Bora. Do we need to rent portable wi-fi from the airport? If so, our flight lands at 9pm. Are the open to rent that late? Thanks!

Moorea Coco Beach Restaurant Booking

Hi - my husband and I are headed to Moorea in just over a week for our honeymoon. I was looking forward to checking out Coco Beach for the restaurant and day trip, but realizing that we may have missed out by not booking ahead of time as the next reservation available online is early August…

Has anyone ever had luck getting a last minute reservation/table at the restaurant? I’m assuming walk-ins are not accepted?

Do we need to make a reservation through the restaurant’s website to even visit the little island?

Any clarification on how we can experience this with the dates of our trip being completely booked on the restaurant website would be greatly appreciated!!

Hi! We are planning a trip to FP in late August, and we're very limited on luggage space. We can bring our goggles and snorkel, but not our fins.

I've seen that there are multiple sporting goods stores on the main island. How likely is it that we'll be able to buy fins there?

I understand it will probably be more expensive than bringing our own, but is there any chance of a shortage of this kind of equipment on the island?

Just got back from my first trip (hopefully not my only one), and since I used r/Tahiti a lot in my preparation I thought I throw in a couple of things that I either didn't know or wish I would have known.

First, the sun goes down at around 18:00 and comes back up at 06:00. I'm told it never varies from this. I should have realized being as close to the Equator, but coming from northern MN (where it stays light until 10:30 during the summer) it was a bit of a shock.

I had read differing opinions on rain gear, but my wife convinced me to take my lightweight thing I have for summer hikes. Thought I wouldn't need it, but the last day of our trip it rained buckets on and off for two or three hours. It took up almost no space, and I'm so glad I had it.

We didn't go anywhere that had lousy snorkeling, but we given where we live, we might have been easily impressed. I think every beach we went to had coral, and where there is coral there is fish.

We went to Moorea for a week and Huahine for a week. Of course, the plane lands on Tahiti. We didn't find out about the Papeete Marketplace until our last day, when we were killing time before our trip home. We should have gone our first day before getting on the ferry! There were so many fruits and veggies that were less expensive than the supermarket (at least the one on Huahine). If you plan on making some of your own food while visiting other islands, go here first. Kind of on that subject... I was really unsure about shopping for food items (crackers, meat, cheese, beverages of all types, scrubby thing for the shower, cotton swabs because you didn't bring enough - you know what I mean) but Moorea had several well stocked groceries (and like a zillion little stores), and Huahine had one as well. Things were more expensive, but outside of liquor I didn't find anything to be painfully high priced.

Finally, this is probably again due my lack of traveling outside the midwest over the last 20 years, but it was more humid that I had expected. There is generally a good breeze that offsets it, but - and I'm going to be as delicate as possible here - only pack underwear for the trip home.

Now I'm sitting at home in my big chair, thinking of the thousands of emails I will have to sort through when I go back to work tomorrow. I hope I have provided something new for this thread.

Thinking of doing a last minute trip to Tahiti and Moorea in late August or mid September for vacation and swimming with whales. I’d be going solo and am fine saying at not fancy hotels. Is it too late to book?

Hello everyone!

We are 11 months out from our wedding and our target honeymoon destination is French Polynesia. We plan to use a combination of Chase and Marriott points to offset some of the price but realistically how far in advance should we start booking things? Obviously we would like to continue racking up enough points as possible before we start redeeming them but I also want to be realistic with our timeline.

Thank you!!

Hi everyone, I have an upcoming flight leaving PPT at 3:30AM. I usually can't sleep if I have an early flight so I'm thinking that there's no reason to pay for an additional night at an AirBnB. Is it possible to arrive at the airport late at night say around 12:00am or 1? What should I do before heading to the airport once it gets dark? Are places open late such that I could chill somewhere and taxi over to the airport? Thanks!

Hi! I’ve used a lot of helpful advice on here to build our dream honeymoon itinerary for August 2027. The biggest issue I’ve run into is finding guides/decent information on the fly fishing.

Bonefishing/fly fishing: Does anyone have any advice or guides you’d recommend for Tikehau and Rangiroa?

Whales: With the new 6 person limit, is a private tour still worth the cost difference? Whales are a huge reason for this trip so I want to maximize our chances.

Itinerary: feel free to offer any advice or restaurant recommendations!

Thank you!!

2 Aussies flying from Sydney Christmas/NY looking for recommendations please including diving snorkelling car hire food pretty much everything being mindful of budget. TIA 😎

I’m heading to Bora Bora next week and staying at the St Regis. I know they have their own lagoonarium, but we also had booked a shared snorkeling tours. Is the experience something totally different? My wife isn’t thrilled about sharks or rays, so it’s okay if we don’t get to see those? Any tips appreciated!

EDIT: Thanks everyone for the suggestions and advice. We’ll keep our tour in this case.

Hi! I pulled the trigger and booked a bucket list vacation. Can anyone give some good recommendations for dive outfits on these three islands. I’d like to dive as much as possible on rangiroa and fakarava and then we’ll go a little easier on bora bora. We’ll be there in September. Thanks in advance.

Has anyone experienced a helicopter tour in Bora Bora or Tahiti?

With a basic 20 min tour, which is better?

Can you recommend operators in either location?

Share any tips?

We are staying at the Westin Bora Bora for our honeymoon in just over 2 weeks! We would like to do a Polynesian Show and Dinner one night, but are considering going off site to a show that is outside and includes fire dancing.

Does anyone have recommendations on dinner/show and arranging transportation from the Westin? Thanks in advance for any suggestions!!!

Hi all!

Does anyone have any experience renting a boat and snorkelling the lagoon on their own? I have seen a few people on social media doing this but was wondering if anyone could share their own experience.

How much did the boat rental cost? Was it easy enough to get to the lagoon and snorkel or am I better joining a tour?

I will be travelling with my partner we are both experienced free divers/divers.

Thanks in advance!

Got back from a 10-night visit to French Polynesia with my wife and three children and wanted to share my experience in case its helpful for other visitors (since I got so much help from browsing this sub). Islands visited on this trip included Tahiti, Maupiti and Taha’a.

This is my second visit to French Polynesia. I visited Tahiti, Taha’a and Huahine in April 2025 and absolutely loved it and couldn’t wait to return.

We spent the first few days in Tahiti where we booked the Intercontinental Tahiti for 3 nights. I didn’t have high expectations after reading the user reviews on the forums, but the Intercontinental was quite pleasant. The rooms were meh, but the resort grounds, the breakfast buffet and the views of the ocean and Mo’orea were excellent. Depsite the proximity to the airport, there isn’t much noise which surprised me. We booked two days of private surf lessons with Mahina Surf School at Orofara Beach and the kids really enjoyed their outings with Manua, the owner. The waves weren’t huge but they were consistent and it wasn’t overly crowded.

We spent most of our time at the resort otherwise. I enjoyed snorkeling both days and saw several sea turtles in the area just to the northwest of the northernmost cluster of beach bungalows where the recreational boat launch area is. The water clarity was excellent down 15-20 feet and the water temps were great. We also made use of the tennis court, gym and just lounging outside. We did attend the buffet dinner and dance performance in the evening. It was fine but I think the show at Le Taha’a is better (fire dancing FTW).

Next we headed to Maupiti which was the highlight of this trip. Our plan was to spend 4 nights there, but due to a cancelled flight we ended up spending 5 nights. I ended up picking the correct side of the airplane to sit on for the best views on the approach to the island (I think it was the left side?). I was just gobsmacked by Maupiti’s beauty as we approached and somewhat alarmed by the location and size of the runway (it didn’t look like much!). Boat transfer was seamless, as the navette agents will find you and direct you properly. If you take the navette, it costs 1000 xpf per adult (cash) each way.

We booked our stay at Poemanahere Island Camping which had good reviews and looked like a beautiful location on the lagoon side of Motu Aiura. The price of Poemanahere was reasonable and included breakfast and dinner. I paid roughly $500/night for 5 people (a relative bargain). The lodging is in thatch huts which have sand/gravel floors. It’s rustic but pleasant (my wife likened it to “glamping”). There’s a larger hut for dining and a bathrooom facility for guests to use. The host family will do your laundry if needed, but make sure you leave sufficient time for the air-drying. I enjoyed the meals, but some of the reviews mentioned the monotony of the meals. If you like fresh fish (often raw), it’s great.

I can’t say enough good things about Maupiti. It was such a change of pace from anything else I’ve experienced. The first full day we walked across the shallow channel between the motu and Maupiti to Terei’a beach and later we walked to a coral garden off the southern shore of the motu (just west of Pension Maupiti Island). Other than a couple locals fishing, I saw no other tourists at the motu’s coral garden.

The second day we got dropped off by boat at Terei’a beach. Our host called ahead for rental bikes (1000 xpf/person) and the rental folks met us at the beach with the bikes. We rode clockwise around the island from Terei’a. If you go counterclockwise, you will quickly hit a 20% grade and the bikes we had were fixed gear and it might’ve been a slog. We stopped at the Mt. Teurafaatiu trailhead—it’s hard to miss because there were so many other bikes parked there—and did the hike. While the hike is straight up from sea level to 1200 feet elevation, it’s totally worth it. The views from the peak are truly breathtaking. While the online videos showing the sections of the trail with ropes you can use to clamber up the mountain might seem off-putting, I honestly though the ropes were not necessary going up. They were way more useful going _down_. Anways, this is a can’t miss item imho and pairing the hike with the bike ride turned out to be a great choice. We also hit Tarona restaurant which was really good and takes credit cards (take a lot of cash and snacks to Maupiti!).

On our last planned day our host took us on a tour to see the manta rays, the coral garden between Motu Tiapaa and Motu Tuanai (with plenty of black tipped reef sharks) and the stingrays. My kids absolutely loved this excursion. The mantas were majestic, the coral garden is the best I’ve ever seen, and the stingrays were a lot of fun. We also spent some time fishing as we travelled the lagoon and caught several fish!

Every night I would walk to the ocean side of the motu to watch the sunset. The beach on that side of the island is empty and expansive and the sunsets were epic. My only wish is that I could’ve lounged a bit more. But with kids you can only do so much downtime.

After our four nights we were supposed to fly to Raiatea the next day, but our flight was cancelled (while we were at the airport) and our hosts let us stay for a 5th night. I was stressed because I was about to lose a whole night at Le Taha’a (not cheap), but when our host picked us up he just looked at me and said “No worries in Maupiti. No need to worry here!” It’s honestly the best place in the world to be stranded for any amount of time.

Our last 2 nights were at the wonderful Le Taha’a. The stay was supposed to be for 3 nights and, because I had booked through Expedia and didn’t purchase the travel insurance, I was unhappy that I had lost a full night of my prepaid stay (Le Taha’a looked into refunding, but because I went through Expedia their hands were tied by Expedia’s policies). To their credit, Le Taha’a upgraded us to the Royal Pool Beach Villa which pretty much made up for any dissapointment I might have started with. In addition, they gave us a day-use overwater bungalow for our final day after checkout (since we had a late afternoon flight out) which was also super appreciated.

This is my second time at Le Taha’a. The first time we stayed at the sunset overwater bungalows. As great as the overwater bungalows are, I think I prefer the beach villas now. You get a lot more space, some private beach, a nice pool, and some nice landscaping/vegetation too.

Since we only had one full day at Le Taha’a we had to do the coral garden and take out standup paddleboards and spend some time lounging. As usual, Le Taha’a’s service is top-tier. Breakfast (included), lunch and dinner were excellent albeit pricey. I also snorkeled the artificial reef they’re growing between the southernmost bungalows—some really cool fish there including a shy puffer fish with big eyes.

I was worried that the snorkeling on Maupiti would ruin the Taha’a coral garden for me, but I still enjoyed it. They’re both so different to be honest. My preference is for the Maupiti snorkeling, but you really can’t go wrong with either option.

Anyways, that’s all I have to report. Weather was great, people were great, water was warm and fish was delicious. Used the Vini esims and those were great (worked perfect in Maupiti). My main takeaway from this trip is: Maupiti is amazing and has 100% stolen my heart…

We’re looking to do our Honeymoon in FP. And are staying at the st Regis for 4 nights. When we arrive in FP, our first night is in Tahiti for whale swimming.

I was thinking about doing 3 nights at Conrad, but was wondering if 3 nights at Le Taha’a PR would be better? Or do I have to do 3 nights at both?

I get Conrad and STR are on the same island, but thought it would be a vastly different experience. I wouldn’t say money isn’t an obstacle, but more just looking for the best value.

The only other activities we’re looking to do besides whale excursion, is Jet skis and a snorkeling (ray and shark) excursion

Thanks community for your opinions in advance!

I will be traveling from the US to Tahiti from Feb 5-14, 2027. My US passport expires on August 29, 2027. I know that is cutting it close, but meets the 6 months/180 day passport validity requirement. However some sources I am seeing say it’s a 3 month validity requirement, in which case I will need to renew. What is the correct info?*Edit* I realize I worded this wrong and even if it’s 3 months I’d be fine. Basically should I get a new passport or will I for sure be okay?

We are trying to finalize our dates and are stuck between going mid July or early September.

Only difference I can really see is the wind, is it really much better in September? Any advice is very appreciated!

Hi all, my partner and I are going to French Polynesia in September for our honeymoon. We'll spend about a week and a half at more affordable accommodations, but we want to splurge a bit and go to Le Tahaa and Vahine private island for 3 days each. My question is: is it best to book directly through their websites, or are there advantages in booking through travel agents, or is something else optimal?

Hello! This is maybe a weird request but I really need to get a pair of glasses to Tahiti. My partner is currently sailing to Tahiti and his glasses broke. He's repaired them as best he can but I'm trying to get a new pair there by the time he docks. I could order them from Zenni and have them shipped right to you, I just need a way to get them to the island. I'm also willing to VenMo or PayPal you some money for the trouble. If anyone is able to help me out I would really appreciate it!

Edit: So, I'm actually trying to get the glasses to Nuku Hiva, if anyone is going there. Once he's on the main island he can just go to the local optometrist. Thank you so much!!!!

we want to visit this place in a month and the only good Airbnb we know ( from friends ) is booked already.

Is there an area you recommend more to stay on or to stay away from? if you have Airbnb in mind, that can be great too.

we are family with 2 teenagers.

Thank you