Hi all,
This is my first time on this site...and it's been so helpful already. My fiance and I are planning our Tahiti honeymoon for October of this year (we just decided to make the switch from Hawaii and it sounds like we made a good decision). I've been looking at different online travel sites such as TahitiMoons.com, TahitiLegends.com, Thehoneymoon.com and happyvacations.com. Is anyone familiar with any of these or are there any recommendations people have had good luck with?
It seems like the typcial honeymoon package includes Moorea and Bora Bora. I've checked out both but Moorea seems to have so much to offer (I am particularly excited about swimming with the dolphins) that we are considering just staying there the whole time (about 8 days)and trying two different hotels (Intercontintental morrea resort and spa and Sofitel) to get a feel for the whole island. Anyone have any thoughts or ideas around this?
I'm trying to gather as much information as I can at this point and would be grateful for any feedback!
Take care and safe traveling!

www.tahiti-explorer.com I posted to you in another thread about this site. you'll find it extremely helpful and the people are great! : )

Although I was not able to spend much time on either island (we were on a cruise schedule) I think that both islands are beautiful. Some of my favorite photos were taken from a motu near Bora Bora.

Besides the dolphin swim, what types of activities are you looking for?

Hi Team!

Congratulations!

As to your question about the companies you listed; Happy Vacations is a wholesaler that has been in business for about 25 years and are very reputable to work with. I've used them for about 13 years myself as they also do Mexico and Hawaii.

Although I was in Tahiti in April, I wouldn't consider myself a specialist, but you can find one through the Tourism board website:

http://www.tahiti-tourisme.com/plann...pecialists.asp

Regards,

Melodie

If your going to stay the whole time in Moorea. I wouldnt suggest moving from the Intercontinental to the Sofitel. In my opinion the Shereton is on the best part of the lagoon. If your tossing up between Intercontinental and Sofitel I would say sofitel rooms are nice although Intercontintal is on a nicer part of the island and the rooms are still quiet nice!!!

Saying this I wouldnt go all the way to Tahiti and not go to Bora Bora you will never see water as clear as the waters in Bora Bora! Definently a place that is worth the money!! Good luck

By all means, continue to include both Morea and BoraBora. You won't be disappointed. Must do!!!
Spend as little time as necessary on the island of Tahiti, get thee to the other two asap.

been to Polynesia three times. Probably the prettiest of all South Pacific Islands, bar none, but stay out of Papeete.

After this trip, you will want to re-visit, perhaps some of the other islands. Like for 5th, or 10th or like us, didn't make it back until 25th. It is truely magical. Shooting for return on our 45th.
Congratulations, you will have a glorious honeymoon, I am sure.

Teamcooper - i'm booking the same trip as you, end of August. Staying at the sofitel in moorea and intercontinental thalasso in BB. I got pretty good rates if you want-email me [email protected] =)

After pricing it out both ways and taking in all the advice we decided Bora Bora was definitely worth it. We The Sofitel resorts on both islands were recommended to us by a tahiti travel agent. We decided Bora Bora warrented a OWB given all the wonderful things we've heard about the water. We haven't settled everything yet but looking at quotes.
How do people handle transportation on the islands...should we plan on renting a car or do the hotels provide transportation or is public transportation safe/acessible. We would like to do some sight-seeing and dont the best way to go about it.
Also has anyone visited the "turtle santuaries" on either Moorea or Bora Bora? Are they worth it? What about the dolphin experience?
October can't come fast enough!!

I'm glad you will be including BB, perhaps the most romantic island. You will not regret the splurge for the OWB. Good for you.
You will not need to pre-arrange a car. If you do want to get out one day, you can always arrange for a car at that time thru your hotel. A drive around the island or a few high spots is good for a day.
After you have decided on your hotel and days, you might want to check with the Costco travel agency. Their prices are pretty good, but no advice is given, so you have to have your hotels and dates, etc already selected. Might be worth a call. Check the costco web site for the 800 phone number for the travel agency. They have "packages" on line, but you can just call. I always call them direct. They will take your info and then call you back. I have used them for Cooks and Polynesia. Excellent.
Good luck, and I know you will be thrilled with the two islands and your OWB. Congratulations again.

Check seeanz.com. Many of the packages like you said include Moorea and Bora Bora. Great times.

I would love to spend my honeymoon in bora bora too but does anyboby know how the weather is in september or october?We wouldn't want to have rainy days...Thanks

September and October are often considered to be the ideal time of year for a trip to French Polynesia. Though nothing is ever certain of course weather-wise, September is, on average, the driest month of the year - with highs in the mid-80's. October is a bit wetter, but still one of the drier months. Go to a site such a weather.com and look up the averages for Papeete (on Tahiti) to get an idea of what I mean. Note that I do NOT recommend weather.com for forecast info in the region as it's often wrong, but for general climate info, it's good.

Ken

Definitely go to Bora Bora! It was an amazing place and if you are going that far, it is worth it to see Bora bora.
We did Moorea and Bora Bora- 4 days on each.

We used Tahiti Legends and had a good experience overall.

I have been to Moorea twice and Bora Bora three times.

Yes Moorea is pretty, but Bora Bora is prettier (but more expensive.) Don't skip Bora Bora.

There is not much to do by car in each island. I rented a car without any prior arrangement without any problem in Moorea. I had the car for 4 hours and that was enough to go to all the places I cared to visit. You are really going there for water.

Each hotel has predefined activity schedule so if you are organized type, you can stay at hotels to take advantage of in hotel activities -- mainly cultural shows, feast, etc.

Keep in mind that many activities have minimum capacity limit -- if not enough people sign up, activities don't take place.

Sounds like Bora Bora is definitely worth it. Does anyone have any recommendation on whether to go with a pre-arranged package or book everything separately? Also, is it worth getting a package that includes meals, etc.?

I booked all air, hotel, and ground transportation as a package. Booking inter-island air is a hassle to do it your self. I skipped meals - it was no brainer - the meal plan was exactly the sum of meal prices - but paid ahead.

I've just returned from my third trip to FP, and the best deal this time around was with Tahiti Vacations (http://www.tahitivacation.com). They are the US-based arm of Air Tahiti Nui and Air Tahiti (their domestic carrier). They are based in California, are very helpful, and had the best pricing by far for my trip.

Each time, I've used a different agency in order to get the options and pricing I wanted - it pays to shop around. A good starting place is on the Air Tahiti Nui website - they post specials from various agencies and you can easily compare apples to apples.