As you might expect, Tahiti and
the islands of French
Polynesia are tropical gems. This map shows the Society Islands, the part of
French Polynesia we visited. We only got to visit 4 of the 130 total
islands. Life is
just too short!Tahiti & French Polynesia Nov. 24 - Dec. 8, 1999
As you might expect, Tahiti and
the islands of French
Polynesia are tropical gems. This map shows the Society Islands, the part of
French Polynesia we visited. We only got to visit 4 of the 130 total
islands. Life is
just too short!
Our 2-week visit
was divided among first class
and intermediate price hotels, between the well known and the out of the way.
We
started off at the Beachcomber Park Royal in Tahiti, based on a travel agent
recommendaion. It’s a 4-star hotel and
has everything one could want, except a sandy beach to walk on. It has ambience
without extravagance, open air dining and an enormous swimming pool, the
shallow and deep areas glimmering in light and dark
blues. Behind the pool is an inlet, bungalows and then the lagoon. This sunset photo
of the inlet was
taken from the pool area. We stayed here two nights at the beginning of our trip and one at the end.
The island of Tahiti has the only real "city" in the islands, Papeete. The cars hustle by and just crossing
the street is an adventure, even at the crosswalks. Compact cars and Le Truck, the
local bus, form an endless parade on the narrow streets and park haphazardly in
every available nook or cranny. The morning after our 2 a. m. arrival, we breakfasted
in town French style -- buttery chocolate croissants, mini-quiche and croque
monsieur accompanied by rich, chocolaty cappuccino. This not-so-petite dejeuner
fortified us for a couple of hours of exploration. Then we wandered through the local marketplace, a bustling two-level structure jammed with
vendors of baskets, trinkets, tropical fruit, pastries, and stunning
flowers, leis and garlands.
Then it was time to figure out where to spend the next two weeks. Advice from a guidebook plus discussions in the helpful tourist bureau led us to the Air Tahiti office. We arranged a customized package with air, hotel and ground transfers that would allow us to sample the islands. Follow the hyperlinks below to join us on our tour.
For our first stop, we spent four days in Huahine (WHO ah HEE nay), an extermely low key, quiet island where the natives live a simple lifestyle. This relaxing start was the perfect way to wind down from our whirlwind circumnavigation of the U.S.
Next we flew to Bora Bora. There we luxuriated for four days at the Hotel Bora Bora, known as one of the world's most romantic hotels. A marvelous treat.
Our final destination was Moorea
and the Hotel Bali Hai, where we got an up close look at underwater life in the
lagoon. Over-water bungalows like these are ubiquitous in the
islands. You can swim off your private deck, if you're willing to ante up
for the privilege.
Should you plan to visit French Polynesia, don't forget to check out our money saving tips. Paradise is not cheap.
If you're looking for more info on French Polynesia, you might want to check out http://deboard.webjump.com/tahiti/ There's some good info and links there.