Tahiti & Moorea
French Polynesia has to be one of the most beautiful places on earth, which should be on everyone’s bucket list. The flight from Los Angeles to Tahiti (Papeete) is around 8 hours. I flew Air Tahiti Nui, which is a partner of American Airlines. If you have the means to splurge for premium economy or business class, I say go for it. Whether you’re using points or cash, flying in economy for 8 hours can be taxing if you don’t have a row to yourself.
You may land at 5 am, as we did, and want to head straight to the hotel to check in early. We chose to spend 3 days at the Hilton Tahiti and use one of the days to take a ferry to Moorea for a few hours.
Hilton Tahiti is a wonderful hotel that sits on the shoreline with beautiful views of the South Pacific Ocean. We had a great-sized ocean view room with a balcony. A buffet breakfast was included, which helped save on the costs of food. French Polynesia, by any means, is not the most affordable place to vacation if you’re looking to budget.
The restaurants at the hotel are rather pricey, but the food is very delicious. My favorite was San, a Japanese restaurant serving fresh and very delicious Asian cuisine. There’s also an Italian restaurant, which was very good as well, but the portion size for the price of your main was a bit underwhelming.
If you’re looking for snacks and drinks, there is a shopping plaza with a walkway attached to the Hotel to visit, Carrefour. They have shops, places to eat, and a grocery store inside as well if you’re looking to buy snacks/drinks or anything you may have forgotten to pack.
Papeete is walkable, but make sure you have plenty of sunscreen applied and take water with you to stay hydrated. If you’re looking to eat away from the hotel, you can visit the concierge (if you didn’t rent a car) and have them call a taxi for you. The taxis we used accepted only cash(XPF), sometimes USD, or even CC payment.
Things to do in Tahiti
You can either rent a car, tour with a group of others(or private), or hire a taxi driver like we did, impromptu. Our first stop was Pointe Venus. You can’t miss the large lighthouse and the black sand beach there. (By the way, this trip was taken in February, which is the rainy season. The weather can be very hot and humid.) The sand, although very beautiful, was HOT! The Hilton Hotel doesn’t have direct beach access, but I believe walking on the volcanic sand is worth it.
Vaimahuta waterfall was our second stop in the Faarumai valley. We took a 5-minute hike from the parking lot to a beautiful 262-foot (80 m) tall waterfall, one of the three. We would not plan nor have the time to visit the other two. The other two are Haamaremare Rahi, with a 100-metre waterfall, and Haamaremare Iti, with a 40-metre waterfall, located 20-30 minutes’ walk from the first waterfall.
Lastly, Belvédère du Tahara’a. You get an amazing view overlooking Papeete while seeing Moorea off in the distance. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t clear as there were rain clouds hovering, but the view nonetheless is worth it.
You must visit the Papeeta Market! What better way to support the locals than to buy directly from vendors? The market sells fruit, vegetables, fish, oils, handicrafts, and various souvenir items. Make sure to have plenty of cash on hand.
Ferry to Moorea
Ferry tickets aren’t required prior to your time of travel unless you have a car. Otherwise, you can purchase ferry tickets online or at the dock. There are 3 ferry companies: Aremiti, Terevau, and Vaeara’i. We took the Vaeara‘i ferry to Moorea and an Aremiti ferry back. The best out of the two, in my opinion, was Aremiti (Tauati Ferry). The Tauati Ferry is bigger and carries cars or other modes of transportation as well. Vaeara‘i is louder and gave me a bit of a headache. The ride using either ferry takes about 50 minutes each way, but the time seemed to pass by fairly quickly. Of course, if you’re hungry, they have food and drink options on board as well.
Moorea is a small island that can be driven around in less than 2 hours without stopping, as the island stretches around 37 miles. I would suggest renting a car to explore the island on your own. There are popular places like Hertz and Avis, or you can easily Google other local rental car places. We used Coco Green Car – Car Rental for our 4-hour stay in Moorea.
As you drive around the island, you’ll come across different hotels, small shops, eats, and beautiful places to stop, whether it’s to check out the beaches or take in views of the stunning landscape Moorea offers.
Things to do in Moorea
If you want to buy groceries and take them back to Tahiti, there’s a supermarket, Champion, with a restroom located outside the market on the left side of the building that’s not too far from the ferry port. But of course, there are other smaller stores to shop at as well.
One place you absolutely can’t miss is Belvedere Lookout. Belvedere lookout offers views of Cook’s Bay, Opunohu Bay, and the central Mount Rotui. The road to access the lookout point can be very narrow and windy at some points, so be careful and drive slowly when necessary, as Moorea has zero traffic lights.
There are plenty of water activities to get into if you plan your day accordingly and get to the island first thing in the morning. Whether you plan to spend your time in Tahiti or Moorea, taking the ferry is definitely a viable option to navigate between the two islands.
Final Take and Tips
If I had to redo this trip, I would spend 1-2 days in Tahiti and 2-3 days in Moorea, but both islands are very beautiful and worth a visit.
Be prepared to spend money on food, especially at a resort. But you can never go wrong when buying or shopping local for the experience. Remember to bring lots of sunscreen, stay hydrated, and wear a hat if you’d like.
I also have a YouTube Channel with the full travel experience! Be sure to subscribe, like, comment, and lastly, enjoy!