Blogs from Tahiti, French Polynesia, Oceania

For those of you that know us, you are familiar with how we travel and why I select certain places over others at particular times. It's all about the points, miles and free travel because we surely can't afford travel like we do on our public safety salaries alone. Of course Tahiti has always been on our travel bucket list, but it quickly rose to #1 when I scored a 48 hr flash sale on United for about half the miles it would ordinarily cost (approximately 1 credit card sign-up bonus for two round-trip tickets). Tahiti, or more aptly called French Polynesia for it's collection of 118 islands and not just the one largest island of Tahiti, has enticed me not for the $2k a night over the water bungalows but rather one of the few ... read more

Today we head back across to Tahiti, the main reason for this being a tour into the island’s interior which we’ve got planned for tomorrow. We’re very sad to be leaving our relaxing bungalow on the shores of the Moorea lagoon. But first the hazards of check out. The delightful young French girl who’s job it is to shepherd us out of our lodgings knows how to say “check out”, but that seems to be about where her English stops … and our French … well “bonjour”’s about it. We got the accommodation to book us a taxi to the ferry terminal, but we still don’t know when or if it’s coming or how we’re supposed to pay for it, and no amount of talking slowly and hand gesturing seem to be getting the questions across. ... read more

‘As you move through this life you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life – and travel – leaves marks on you’ –Anthony Bourdain Tahiti - Discovered by Samuel Wallis in 1767 and sung about by David Essex in Mutiny on the Bounty, this is the largest and highest of the French Polynesian archipelago and lies approximately half way between Los Angeles in the USA and Sydney in Australia. A harbour at Pape’ete was built in 1962. Welcome to Tahiti’s principle town and capital of the entire 1,600 islands of French Polynesia. We docked at 8am and stayed until 6am the following morning. Not sure why as it’s not as if many of the passengers are going to go out clubbing during our stay! Pape’ete (pronounced Pahp-ay-et-ay) or as the New Zealander ... read more

I spent 2-3 nights in Tahiti, mostly in transit between other places. The first day I was there was a Sunday, when everything is closed. There was also a huge cruise ship in the port, so the handful of open places were swarming with people. The second day I was there it rained the whole day...so overall I'm not sure I can say I experienced much of what the island has to offer. Papeete did have some absolutely fantastic street art, which made it pretty interesting to walk around.... read more

Im Le Méridien auf Tahiti waren wir 3 Tage gut aufgehoben in einem grosszügigen Zimmer mit Meersicht, reichhaltigem Frühstücksbuffet und sehr guten Nachtessen. Das Wetter war sonnig/bewölkt und warm ( 28•). Am 2.Tag machten wir einen Ausflug ins Papenoo-Tal ins Innere der Insel. Es braucht dafür ein 4x4-Fahrzeug da die Strasse so schlecht ist und man auch durch einen Bach fahren muss. Die Vegetation ist wirklich sehr üppig tropisch und es hat viele Wasserfälle. Zuvor hatten wir den Markt in Papeete besucht und eines der vielen Perlengeschäfte besucht - das gehört hier fast dazu! Am nächsten Tag fuhren wir mit der Fähre auf die Nachbarinsel Moorea - da hat es schon zu regnen begonnen. Am Abend des 24.12. hat es zeitweise quer geschüttet. Das Restaurant war voll besetzt für das „Xmas Eve Buffet“: sehr gut und ... read more