acaigirl

So... we are heading to Tahiti - Bora Bora, Moorea and Huahine next May. Flights are not booked yet, but I've been reading about strict baggage regulations on interisland flights. Does this vary by airline, or is there only one airline that provides the interisland service? If so, what exactly are these limits?

I read it's 42 lbs per person for Air Tahiti. Does that include your carry on?

I am from the east coast and will be spending 2 months in Hawaii prior to this 2 week stay in FP. Looks like I will possibly need to Fedex some of my stuff home before I leave for Tahiti!

Any good packing light tips? I will already have my laptop unfortunately (about 6 lbs) and my Nikon D70 - 2 lenses and a tripod - so that leaves me with very little poundage left for everything else.

Maybe I should invest in a new piece of lightweight luggage to help out here... any recs?

Thank you all so much!

ALF

One thing that we did was check some of our excess baggage at Fa'aa Airport before going interisland. They are indeed very strict about baggage allowances, and it doesn't matter what airline is flying. The cost of checking baggage at the 'left baggage' counter is not too bad. When you leave the main door of the airport, take an immediate right, and you will see the left baggage storage counter.

acaigirl

That is awesome! So basically, they will hold your excess baggage at Fa'aa aiport while you island hop, is that correct? Are there any limitations/time limits etc that you know of?

Also, can one "check" a bag and have a carry on on these interisland flights or is it just all "carry on"?

Thanks ALF!

kamahinaohoku

On Air Tahiti, you're restricted to 44 lbs per person TOTAL for your checked luggage, and technically 6 lbs pp for your carry-on, but no one ever weighs that one. (Mine weighed 20 lbs) If you are a certified SCUBA Diver and have your C Card with you, you can add 7 lbs more (so 51 lbs) on your checked luggage (and they don't look inside to see if you're carrying your gear).

acaigirl

thank you so much for the info! do you know if there are any size limits I should be considering or is it the weight they are mostly concerned with? I'm thinking I'll use a 30 inch duffle bag and then probably my medium size camera case for my carry-on.

acaigirl

hmm... how does anyone bring back any souvenirs from the islands give then strict baggage regulations? I guess we'll just try to purchase some things on tahiti and store at the airport.

Neil_Oz

Wouldn't that be 6kg rather than 6lb? 20kg is pretty much standard around the world, other than for flights to/from the US. Actually it might be better to think in kilograms, as you need to get used to metric measurements just about everywhere outside the USA (although somebody told me Myanmar hasn't gone metric )

We've never had any problem staying within 20kg, and we're not super-light packers by any means. Anything more we wouldn't want to lug around, and you're going to places where heavy clothing isn't needed.

kamahinaohoku

I was in error about the Diver's extra poundage, it's 11 lbs, not 7.

And the carry on weight is 3kg = 6.6 lbs.

Actually, look at the website re the poundage for everything, as well as the dimensions of the baggage:
http://www.airtahiti.aero/faq.php?ca...e&etabid=2

wlzmatilida

Acaigirl,

they ARE strict about baggage. When I was in Tahiti (and onto Cooks) in April, travelling with other travel agents (and you'd think they would know how to pack and be mindful of the restrictions); I became the "new best friend" of one agent, after hearing that the person in front of her had to pay $50 for excess, she asked if I could take one of her bags since I had the least amount of luggage!

Regards,

Melodie