Ann

Hi All--
We're in the process of planning our honeymoon and I'm not sure if we should go to Tahiti or Hawaii. Any opinions? We're going next Oct., for 2 weeks, and will be flying from New York City. Our budget is around 10k.

Thanks.

May

Depends on what you need to make your honeymoon great.
Hawaii's advantage of French Polynesia is the civilization...restaurants, entertainment, wide choice of resorts, easy to get around, US currency, etc.

Bora Boar and Moorea (avoid Tahiti except as a stopover) are much prettier, much more exotic, and more romantic than anything in Hawaii. Downsides are much greater cost, lack of food options, very quiet. For a honeymoon, it can be the best if your personalities are right for the environment. But you must be able to be happy without a lot of manmade entertainment options. If that's you, FP wins hands down.
If you get bored easily, you'll be happier in Hawaii.

Nancy

I agree with May, if you get bored easily, go to Hawaii.

We went to Bora Bora and Moorea for our honeymoon. We did consider Hawaii, but an exotic environment appealed to us more. We stayed in an overwater bungalow and had a glass top table that opened up and you could feed the fish. It's addicting....they leave bread in baskets around the property and if any were empty you start jonsing for some! You could hear the gentle lapping of the lagoon that lulls you to sleep every night. Every morning we woke up, we went out to our deck and jumped into the lagoon for a swim. We never even made it to the beach and we're beach people! It is truly paradise. We did find things to do and were never bored. It's just a whole different environment. It's an experience I will never forget. We plan to go back on our 10th wedding anniversary. I'm sure you will have a great time no matter which island you choice. Good luck and congrats!

beachbum

I agree w/ the previous posters; depends on what you're looking for. It's enough for me to know that the State of Hawaii has as many visitors in a week as the islands of FP do in a year.

You won't find the luxury and pampering service in FP that are available in Hawaii, but that's not why people go there. FP is all about relaxing in the beauty of the islands and their people, and the indescribable lagoons.

You can do FP for two weeks for 10K. But you may have to adjust your expectations. www.tahiti-explorer is a good resource.

Ann

Thanks, everyone. How much further is Tahiti than Hawaii? We're coming from NYC.

x

oh it's way far! About 10 hours from teh west coast.

beachbum

Flight time from LAX to Papeete is about 8 hours, probably 3-4 hours further than Honolulu.