Tahiti.

[Bill Douglas]

Has anyone been to Tahiti?

I can't be bothered learning any French. so would that be a problem in Tahiti. GF wants to go there for a warm water snorkeling and beach type holiday.

[tevake]

I've been fortunate to visit French Polynesia a few times, Bill.
It's beautiful and friendly. In general more modern and prosperous than most S Pacific Island nations. It's more expensive to visit than other South Pacific Island destinations

A friendly " Iorana" greeting and a smile will take you a long way with most who do speak some English. Most there do speak French as well as a local polyneisian dialect, so English is not as widely used you might think. some variation from area to area.
Lots of French sailor have settled there from round the world trips, so a fun French expiate community thrives.

My favorite area is Riatea / Tahaa. Two islands within one barrier reef, Low key, less developed than most other main islands. Not a lot of beaches, but good diving, great surfing, best experienced by boat. Surf spots are half mile or more from the main island.
Great dancing and music. Cool local crafts, wood and Pearl shell carving. Canoe racing is fun to check out.
Good local grown produce and seafood from local markets. Fresh baguettes available every morning.

Moorea and Huahine are also great to visit.

Where are you thinking of going there ?

Cheers Richard

[Jolly Amaranto]

You can get by with only English. I had the most problems with restaurant menus. Fortunately my wife still remembered enough high school French to decipher them. The snorkeling is not as nice on Tahiti as the other islands. Over fishing has taken out so many species that keep the algae under control so it has taken over on the reefs and is killing all the coral. Tahaa had some awesome drift snorkeling in the reef on the north side.

[Baz]

Yo Bill.....

I spent a week on Moorea over Christmas 2003.

I don't speak any language other than English and I did OK. I stayed at the Club Bali Hai where most of the staff speaks English so that helped.

I did notice elsewhere there are many who do not speak English but it wasn't a problem if you know how to make hand gestures and such.

I'm glad I went just for the experience but thought the place had been compromised a bit by the tourist industry. That said there was still a lot of natural beauty for me to enjoy and that was my takeaway.

There are a lot of places on the various islands I did not experience so my perspective is based only on Moorea.

I had my surfboard stolen off the top of my rental car the night I was leaving too. This was in Papeete where the main airport is - so be very careful to keep your stuff nearby and within' sight at all times.

Most of the places there are set up to give excursions for tourists. We did a Motu picnic which also included snorkeling with black tipped reef sharks and rays, which was very cool.

Happy to provide more info if you'd like. Otherwise those are a few thoughts/perspectives off the top of my head.

[legion]

It's a magical place.

[Eric Coffey]

The Tahiti/Billabong Pro would be fun to check out @ Teahupoo (Southern tip of Little Tahiti). I think it is usually in late August.

[HarryD]

My wife and I did a cruise of French Polynesia in 2005. I would go back in a second. Beautiful islands, great snorkeling. English only did not seem to be an issue in the ports.

The Tahitian pineapples were the bomb.

If we go back, we would stay at one of these places:

[biosurfer1]

I went for my honeymoon in 2012 to Moorea.

Stayed in an over water bungalow which was very cool, but if you go that route, get the cheapest one. We paid extra for a "sunset" one and it was no different than the others really, just further out on the pier which meant longer walks to land.

My only complaint, that pretty much only applies to me, is you better like fish, a lot. I don't and while I was able to get by, it was expensive and not very much selection. I know that is to be expected on an island, but something to be aware of.

We rented a car for one day to drive around the island and get provisions. Certainly don't need one the whole time and also very expensive. Most restaurants send shuttles to the resorts for pick up/drop off so it isnt a problem.

[HarryD]

Originally Posted by biosurfer1

I went for my honeymoon in 2012 to Moorea.

Stayed in an over water bungalow which was very cool, but if you go that route, get the cheapest one. We paid extra for a "sunset" one and it was no different than the others really, just further out on the pier which meant longer walks to land.

My only complaint, that pretty much only applies to me, is you better like fish, a lot. I don't and while I was able to get by, it was expensive and not very much selection. I know that is to be expected on an island, but something to be aware of.

We rented a car for one day to drive around the island and get provisions. Certainly don't need one the whole time and also very expensive. Most restaurants send shuttles to the resorts for pick up/drop off so it isnt a problem.

It seemed to only inexpensive things in French Polynesia were the “3 F’s”, flowers, fish and French bread.

[Bill Douglas]

Thanks guys - very much. GF is beaming with joy after having read the replies to her.

Loving those pic's of the bungalows over the water, it looks a bit like Lyall Bay where I'm from (NOT!!!)

[Baz]

I brought with me a couple disposable underwater cameras for the shark and ray feeding events.......

[Baz]

Also, I rented a moped for a day and went sightseeing around the island and also to surf. The rest of the time, except the night I flew out, I just walked.

Lots of scenic views......

[tevake]

Another thought occurred to me Bill.
If you have a couple of other couples that you would like to vacation with. Rent a catamaran sailboat with captain, to stay aboard and cruise around. Many are based in Riatea, and in a week you could check out Riatea, Tahaa, and either Bora Bora, or Huahine. That way you could see most of the best of each island, do lots of snorkeling, fishing etc and never have to pack and change rooms.

Just a thought, as most of my stays there have been aboard boats, and that seems a great way to experence the islands there.

Good pics Baz!

Cheers Richard

[Bill Douglas]

Thanks so much guys!!!

my friends are too hard to organise, so will be just GF and me going. But great idea going by water sounds a fabulous idea.

Loving those pic's Baz!

[Jolly Amaranto]

Just a few images to show the difference between snorkeling on Tahiti vs. the other islands.

Lagoon off Le Méridien hotel, Tahiti.



Motu Murimaora, Huahine.

[DanielDudley]

Maybe in the Fall.