Qantas to Tahiti

[offshore171]

Just want to thank everyone for their tips in this thread.


Here's a summary of what I got out of it:


Transit in Auckland is straighforward
Plenty of cabs waiting at PPT
Intercontinental is pretty good
Tahiti is great
Tahiti is expensive.
Outer islands even moreso.
Foodtrucks are great
Stock up at the Supermarket
Get a car and get out of PPT
Take the Ferry to Moorea
Check out Lagoonarium

 

[Mr_Orange]

Just want to thank everyone for their tips in this thread.


Here's a summary of what I got out of it:


Transit in Auckland is straighforward
Plenty of cabs waiting at PPT
Intercontinental is pretty good
Tahiti is great
Tahiti is expensive.
Outer islands even moreso.
Foodtrucks are great
Stock up at the Supermarket
Get a car and get out of PPT
Take the Ferry to Moorea
Check out Lagoonarium

Nice summary .

 

[kamchatsky]

Just want to thank everyone for their tips in this thread.


Here's a summary of what I got out of it:


Transit in Auckland is straighforward
Plenty of cabs waiting at PPT
Intercontinental is pretty good
Tahiti is great
Tahiti is expensive.
Outer islands even moreso.
Foodtrucks are great
Stock up at the Supermarket
Get a car and get out of PPT
Take the Ferry to Moorea
Check out Lagoonarium

To catch the ferry to Moorea have a look at the schedule below:

Aremiti | Fast shuttle - Tahiti Moorea - Shipping

You DON'T need to book ticket unless you are thinking of bringing your car across to Moorea (even that I am not sure if you have to pre-book ticket).

Personally I would stay more at Moorea than at Tahiti.

If you want, have a look at my old trip report below to Tahiti and Moorea (about 6 years ago). It would answer most if not all your questions/summary points.

Accidental French Polynesia + First Time Ever Business Class - FlyerTalk Forums

 

[badrastafari]

Had our honeymoon in Bora Bora back in 2012 and flew QF to AKL and QF codeshare to Tahiti. If i remember correctly I booked the AKL-PPT rtn legs at the qantas NZ website and save a little bit. Booked SYD-AKL rtn through AUS website. At check in they tagged the bags through and linked the two itineraries.

Don't know if this is still lucrative with today's exchange rates.

-Andrew

 

[Timtammi]

Personally I would stay more at Moorea than at Tahiti.

THIS. I think that Tahiti itself is under-rated and that most people just see PPT briefly and then head off to the other islands and miss some of the beauty and interesting things on the main island. BUT, Moorea leaves it in the dust. I think it would be a shame to go all the way there and not spend at least a night or 2 on Moorea. You just cant do it all in day trip and there are some lovely and unique/quirky restaurants there too which you can only really visit at night if you are staying there, not all of which are horrendously expensive.

 

[Flying mermaid]

When we were on Taha'a we went to Louise's on the Main Island. Picked up by a truck and taken to Louise's house where she ran a restaurant in the back garden overlooking some water. No menu, just whatever had been caught that day. Absolutely fabulous and a fraction of what we were paying at fancy restaurants and resorts. Going back, there were 6 of us, so Mr FM and another guy had to ride in the Ute's tray. Apart from the glorious fish/seafood meal it was also an opportunity to mix with the locals. I haven't been to Moorea, but I assume it is similar to Bora Bora and Taha'a and I would agree it would be a shame to go to Tahiti and not get out to the Islands. I am more a furry person, than a fishy one (in spite of my name), but I did fall in love with the fish and spent hours staring at them in the water.

 

[Altair]

We spent over 10 days on Tahiti, mostly due to a public service strike preventing international flights for a week, plus 4 on Moorea.
My insights:
IC is a decent facility, they offer a shuttle bus to the city around $2 per person.
IC Faa'a Tahiti do not bother with an overwater bungalow, the starfish essentially prevent you from swimming out, the lagoonarium they have is not as good as the Moorea one but still interesting.
The Le Lotus restaurant at the IC was fabulous, especially when travel insurance was paying for the meals, you can even go just for dessert but there is a dress code I saw them enforce.
IC show night, you can eat a la carte if you want not the overpriced buffet, also just sit on the lounges and watch the show.
Public buses travel around the island and IIRC there are stops at each hotel.
For self catering getting milk in FP is not easy we mostly saw milk powder and occassionally UHT milk, I suggest you get cartons of UHT milk from home, customs will let it through, if you plan on having cereal for breakfast, bread is typically wonderful french style even from the supermarkets, but bring your spreads as they are expensive.
I recommend hiring a car for at least 1 day if not 2 for Tahiti, there is plenty to see around the two Tahitian isles (joined together).
Roulottes especially on the waterfront are clean and safe to eat from offering a variety of cuisines as well.
I recommend some days in Moorea, especially if you cannot afford to go out to BB or Ta'haa, as you can ferry in 30 minutes and still lots of good resorts and restaurants happy to do free pick ups.
Transiting in AKL is dead easy as othes have said.
In my mind Tahiti is similar to Fiji, it can be cheap if you are prepared and also able to leave the resort confines, or expensive if you limit yourself to the resorts.

 

[drross]

agree with the comments so far. IC especially Le Lotus very good but found Moorea fantastic..hire a car and tour the island( won't take long). Supermarkets on Moorea very good and plenty of good cheap french wine; unfortunately the grapes are really expensive so just stick to pineapples