South Pacific Hide-Away
 

Bill

Have just the place for you. A beautiful, fairly unknown ersort in Samoa called Stevensons. Its on the lesser populated island of Savai'i and is real find. Inexspensive, very laid back and ver beautiful. If you want more info.you're welcoem to e-mail me.
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The most beautiful island in the South Pacific is Rarotonga, Cook Islands. I have been to most of the others, living here in NZealand, but do not tire of Rarotonga.
There is a secluded resort on Muri Beach in Rarotonga called Sokala Villas. I like to stay there. They are absolutely beautiful, all wood, right on a white beach with islands offshore. Each one has its own swimming pool. The island is CLEAN as well as friendly people.
Enjoy yourself

I went to Moorea in French Polynesia with my sister last May and just loved it. The people are incredibly friendly and laid back. It was so relaxing that it was hard to get up the energy to do the "touristy" things that there are to do there. (Actually, there aren't that many things to do other than swim, snorkel, sunbathe, hike, eat, drink, snooze, talk, day dream, and similar low-impact activities. Don't go there if you need flashy night life.)

We stayed at the Cooks Bay Hotel. Nice and basic, clean, no frills, not too expensive ($699 for 8 days/7 nts including roundtrip from California and all transfers). Natural ventilation (open the front and back doors and turn on the overhead fan) provided the air conditioning. There was a mini-refrigerator we used for milk and fruit for breakfast and for snacks and beverages. Great views. Quiet. Kinda homey, actually: the children of the staff played in the pool and off the boat dock.

If you want fancy, I'd recommend the Beachcomber Parkroyal. We didn't stay there, but I checked it out for future reference. (I've recently started as an independent travel agent.) It is very, very nice but about 2 times more expensive than the Cooks Bay Hotel package (i.e., including air fare).

If you want more info, send me an email. I loved Moorea and would love to "talk" about it with anyone who's interested.

I'm interested in becoming an independant travel agent. Could you provide me some information? Did you have previous travel agent experience? I have significant computer, web experience and usually research and book my family & friends travel.

Hi Carole,

Saw your comments on Moorea in Fodor's & wondered if you could provide some info. We're going on our honeymoon there the first week of June.

Do you know anything about the Sofitel Ia Ora? That's where we're staying.

Any good restaurant recommendations? The hotels look pretty pricy...

Did you happen to take the 4x4 jungle tour?

I read there's a public bus that runs the length of the island (about every 2 hrs except on Sundays?). Did you use the public transportation? Is is reliable?

Also, do you know of any good places to stop when exploring?

Many thanks for your time and comments! I look forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,
Cyndi