Hi! I'm very excited because I was able to use miles to stop off in Tahiti on my way to Sydney this summer. I have some questions:

1. I will be traveling alone for about 5 days. My initial thought is to just go from the airport in Tahiti and spend time on Moorea. It's closer and less expensive than Bora Bora, although I'd like to do both? Is that possible in that amount of time?

2. I will arrive at 6:20 PM in Papeete on July 14. Will I have time to transfer to Moorea or Bora Bora or should I stay in a hotel in Papeete for the night?

3. If I stay in Papeete that night any suggestions for a decent, not too expensive near the airport or ferry?

4. Where do I go to get the ferry to go to Moorea? Or if I went to Bora Bora how would I get there-fly? I read a post where you can walk out of the airport in Papeete and catch Le Truck but does it run that late at night? Then when I get to Moorea are there taxis or something to take me to the hotel-or do the hotels arrange transfers?

5. What would you recommend for a hotel in Moorea? I want something decent but not too, too expensive. I saw a good price for the Hotel Sofitel Ia Ora. Is that nice-seems the location is excellent but is it too near the airport? What about Club Bai Hali, Moorea Village, Moorea Beachcomber Intercontinental, Moorea Pearl Resort (is this the same as Moorea Pearl Beach?)

6. Can I take a ferry from Moorea to Bora Bora? Or do I have to fly? Is 2 days Moorea and 2 days Bora Bora pushing it? Is one so much nicer than the other?

I figure at some later point I"ll revisit Tahiti and this is just a starter type of trip. What is there to do all day besides sit on the beach or at the pool? I saw something about 4x4 tours. Is this arranged at the hotels?

Sorry, so clueless and y'all are the experts who can help me get organized. Thanks for your input!

Okay,

1) you could do both, but I think you'd be selling each island short.

2) You will arrive at 6:20pm and go through customs along with 300 other people. You most likely will not get out of the airport until at least 8pm. The flights and ferries do not run that late, you'll have to stay over in Papeete.

3) The Sofitel Maeva Beach is 3km from the airport and is reasonable. You don't say when you're traveling, but they're closing the hotel down for renovations on April 1st until July 31st.

4) The ferry port is between Papeete and Pirae, very easy to get to. To Moorea, the ferry is the way to go. To Bora Bora, flying is the way to go. Le Truck also runs on Moorea. There are taxis, and depending on how you set up your trip, transfers could be included.

5)Sofitel Ia Ora is very reasonable. They're starting renovations in the next few months, but they will remain open during that time. The prices reflect the renovation. The hotel is 7 minutes from the ferry port. The cheap rooms at the Intercontinental are disappointing, the Moorea Pearl is beautiful, but I really wouldn't recommend staying in anything less than a deluxe garden since some of the garden bungalows at the rear are subject the noise caused by wild chickens, dogs and traffic. I haven't seen the other hotels in many years.

6) I would limit it to one island. Also, keep in mind that the flights to Bora Bora are an added expense of at least $200, whereas the ferry is about $25 roundtrip. Rather than spending the time and money involved to get to Bora Bora, I would stay on Moorea.

For the last question: There are 4x4 tours, snorkeling, scuba, surfing, great shopping for black pearls, batik and vanilla, lots of religious ruins, dance lessons, lei making, and spa sessions.

Have a blast on your trip,

Bobbi

Thank you Bobbi! I am worried now about the Sofitel b/c it looks great to me-nicer hotel, not too expensive, and I don't want to stay in somewhere too budgety, but if it's under construction it could be really messy. Any other suggestions? Club Bali Hai looks like fun but very little beach. Is this true? I'd LOVE to go to Bora Bora but if it's that much more money I can wait for another time. Thanks again.

Hi Abby,

The Sofitel will only be renovating one bungalow at a time, 1 per week, to minimize the noise and mess. This runs February to September. Then in October they'll build 19 additional overwater bungalows. They won't be doing any of the public buildings until 2006.

I haven't seen the Bali Hai in at least 10 years, so I can't give an opinion on that.

Do you know anything about heaps of bugs at the Sofitel Ia Ora and about it being really isolated?

Is the Moorea Pearl really close to a road or something? I was thinking about upgrading a bit to stay there but I would really only want to pay for the least expensive accommodation.

The Ia Ora is on the main road between the port and the airport. You'd have to drive past it to get to the Bali Hai or the Pearl. The Pearl does back up against the road, and I've had complaints about the wild dogs and roosters so I don't recommend the garden bungalows to my clients.

It's a tropical island and bugs are part of the ecoystem, so you are going to find them no matter where you go. For the record, I've never had any in my rooms at the Pearl or the Ia Ora. The nice things is that the Ia Ora has cut the prices so much due to renovation, that it makes it easy to go up to a higher category bungalow.

So you don't recommend the garden bungalows? But what about the garden rooms at the Moorea Pearl Beach?? I found a website where the price is actually really good. It's the cheapest accommodation at that resort, next up is the garden bungalow. I don't mind staying in a "hotel" part of the resort as long as I'm not awake b/c of the dogs/roosters.