The Society Islands

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Tahiti and her Islands

Almost everyone I meet has Tahiti and her islands on their bucket list and it is no wonder once you take in the incredible scenary unmatched virtually anywhere in the World.

Our visit - July 1999 - Honeymoon Trip

First Stop: Moorea
Accomodation: Overwater bungalow
First Impression: arrived at night very tired and pretty much out of it
Second Impression: Woke up and was transformed straight into the set of South Pacific only more beautiful than one thinks they deserve to be experiencing.

Our first stop was this terrific island right across from and visible from Tahiti. Be forewarned, Tahiti received the same number of visitors in a year Hawaii welcomes in a day at the time of our visit. Needless to say I had conjured up in my mind this trip would be like being in a mini Hawaii. I was very wrong as it is much more rustic, removed and unspoiled, not that we don't love Hawaii. Up until this point I thought I was a savvy traveler who did their research, now I am better.

The towns on each out island we visited (Moorea and Bora Bora) were extremely small with only a resturant or two and a few shops and of course a church. On Rangiroa the town had a convience store, that's it and as you walked there you could practically put one foot in the ocean and one foot in the lagoon. Rangiroa is one of the largest atolls in the world. Great for two nights or so or more if you are a scuba diver as this is tiger shark country.


Back to Moorea - Cooks Bay will take your breath away as it stuns you with sheer beauty. Since this trip in 1999 we have traveled extensively and Cooks Bay is still one of the most beautiful sites I have visited.

Everyone is sort of friendly, if you find someone who speaks English as most are fluent in French. I think we went for two days without finding anyone who spoke English at one point during the trip. This also means French phone operators so inquiring on how to make a call is a challenge. A few days in when I was in the village i learned there are Tahiti calling cards (the only ones that work) you may purchase and then talk freely with the rest of the world. They were resonable enough to make me feel comfortable giving little updates to family and friends back on the East Coast of the US. In town we had a gorgeous meal on Moorea, however, I don't really remember much else about the food other than it was very expensive. Makes Hawaii and the Caymans look cheap as. everything is imported not just most things

I do remeber the diving on Moorea, which I will catorgorize as shark infested. Sounds scary, but it was not too bad. I did not stay in too long, however, my husband did many dives every day and these islands are still his favorite dive spots. All I remember is jumping in and seeing about 12 or so shark - black tip, white tip and lemon shark staring at me. This was 10 feet off the beach and you walk out 5 to get on the boat!! Yikes!

We moved onto Bora Bora next and wow is all I am able to say. So very pretty it is indescribable. Once again we were in overwater bungalow accomodations at the Bora Bora Lagoon Resort. This resort is in the lagoon literally. When you land in Bora Bora a launch picks you up at the airport to take you to this resort. This resort is very exclusive, remote and movie stars would have no problems hiding out here. When you want to go to town to shop in the one or two stores you take the boat to the village. I did this every day and sat and had coffee and pastry while my husband was diving. We also went to Bloody Mary's one of the few resturants on the island and picked out our own fish. The resort has very good food for a very good price, however, you would have to see this palce to believe it. Once again hubby loved the shark infested diving.

After a few days we moved onto Rangiroa - surely only divers and the explorer types are heading to this island. It is incredible, again with overwater bungalows and spotted eagle rays and octopus swimming under your see thru table.
Food here is only what the resort is serving and it turned out to be a decent menu. We swear we saw a model or a movie star but could not palce the women. The diving here is spectacular due to a pass that brings fish in and out depending on the tides. Here there were double balconies for the ultimate overwater experience.

All in all we can't wait to go back now that we know what to expect. People who did the cruise of the islands seemed more oriented than we were and that is understandable.

Tahiti, is interesting and not really where you want to stay more than two nights. While there is much to do the outer islands will be calling you and you will want to go. The downtown area is busy, we rode the bus to town with chickens and people. They have a great farmers market and at night great outdoor local food stands. Lots to do but can be done in a night or two.

This trip was about 10,000.00 for two weeks with diving for both of us. While the food was good there was nothing worth mentioning beyond saying it was decent.

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