The French Polynesia is made up of over 100 different islands. These islands are a popular destination for both honeymooners and vacationers because of its overwater bungalows, white sand beaches, and amazing underwater life.
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Getting There
We booked our international flight from Los Angeles to the French Polynesia through Air Tahiti Nui. You will land in the main island on Tahiti and from there you can visit other islands either by plane or by ferry. Make sure you read about the latest COVID restrictions. When we visited in 2020, we had to get a negative test 72 hours prior and wear a mask for the whole flight. Read more about it here. Good thing the flight was only 8 hours! They also serve you a meal which was not bad.
Another good thing was that they did not fill up all the seats (I can’t say the same for 2021 though) so that means we had an extra seat right next to us.
Getting Around
As soon as you get out of the airport, you’ll see a lot of taxis everywhere. We didn’t have any issue getting a cab to our next destination. Most likely you will be traveling to other islands so you will be either taking a ferry or a plane. For our trip to the French Polynesia, we first landed in Tahiti and then took a ferry to Moorea. From Moorea, we had to take a ferry back to Tahiti so that we could fly to Bora Bora.
Tips
If you’re like us and need to be connected to the world 24/7 then we suggest getting a Wifi hotspot. There are booths at the airport where you can rent for the duration of your trip. We went with Tahiti Wifi and actually reserved in advance but you don’t need to do that.
Make sure you also call your credit card companies and inform them that you will be traveling to the French Polynesia. Normally we don’t do that and we never had a problem before. But we kept getting declined when we tried to use our card in the French Polynesia. Luckily, most hotels and activities will be able to send you a link to pay online in euros or cpf. So you’ll need a credit card that has no international fees.
Another thing to keep in mind is that some resorts might require you to get a Covid PCR test while you are staying there. They will provide you with the nasal swab kit and you do it on your own.
Moorea
This was our first stop and it did not disappoint. Moorea had spectacular underwater life – we saw everything from sharks to stringrays to humpback whales! Read more here!
Bora Bora
After our stay in Moorea, we took a ferry to Tahiti to fly to Bora Bora. You already get a breathtaking view of Bora Bora on the flight there (try to get the left side!) which added to the anticipation. We decided to get an overwater bungalow here and it was luxurious to say the least. Click here to read about our experience in Bora Bora!
Tahiti
Last but not least, we spent about a day and a half in Tahiti towards the end of our trip. So far we have been just using Tahiti as a travel point since the major airport is located here. For our last days in the French Polynesia, we explored Tahiti and got to understand more of the culture.
During our ~7 day vacation in the French Polynesia, we got to swim with many different wildlife including:
-Humpback Whales
-Spinner Dolphins
-Stingrays
-Eagle rays
-Reef tip sharks
The only thing that we would probably do different is to get an overwater bungalow at each resort and not just one of them! We would also probably dedicate more time to Moorea so that we could hopefully get more interaction with the humpback whales and explore the island.
