Tahiti Advice

[scuba kbell]

Hello! I am planning my first trip to Tahiti this summer and am looking for some advice. I only have 1 week vacation, so I don't have too much time there. I am looking into either staying at the Intercontinental Moorea or Moorea Pearl Resort. Can anyone recommend one over the other? How does the beach compare between the two (I need to take some topside into consideration.) Has anyone used Moorea Blue Diving Center? I see that they are based at the Pearl. How about Moorea Fun Dive or Scubapiti? I am NOT interested in doing shark feeding dives, so if anyone has a dive shop recommendation please let me know. Also, is it worth it to spend any time in Tahiti? I was not planning to fly to any of the other islands due to lack of time and since the interisland airfare is too expensive for our budget. I have never been to French Polynesia so any advice is appreciated!

 

[Heg]

Hi
I would never stay at the InterContinental Moorea, but that is because they have captive dolphins at the hotel and I am anti -captivity as far as cetaceans are concerned.

 

[Mike]

You probably know that the best diving is not around Tahiti or Moorea, but as you said you have limited time and budget.

We spent one day on Tahiti and it was enough for us, there is more to see if you have more time and want to get off the beaten track into the interior, but we did the loop around the island and once was enough. I'd get in and out of Tahiti as soon as possible and spend your time at your final destination as much as possible.

 

[Wingy]

I stayed at the Moorea Pearl for a couple of weeks - great hotel, nice enough location and within walking distance to bank and Caramelline, the best patisserie in FP. Would recommend it as a choice.

Heg I went to see the Dolphins at Te Moana because I heard they are retirees from the US navy program. They are actually in the best ''captive'' environment I can see anywhere listed as the US navy sea animals program does not seem to have any retiree facilities it wants published other than the two there.

Kbell I would also agree with taking a circle island tour of Tahiti - its a great way to see some of the ''best'' bits of the island. The marae, beautiful gardens, blowholes and lava tubes and waterfalls are a lovely way to spend a day.

 

[Laurie S.]

Moorea Fun Dive is a great operation. We'll be diving with them again in September. We'll be using Eleuthera in Tahiti this time, since they are on the same pass with Fun Dive. I've heard good things about them.

 

[dementisunus]

I'd second Moorea Pearl. I stayed there on my honeymoon and it was wonderful. We didn't go there for diving but for non diving activities we did a really amazing Jet Ski tour around the island which resulted in getting followed very closely by a whale. The shop who does the tours is right outside the resort and I'd highly recommend them.

 

[scuba kbell]

Mike - I would love to go to Rangiroa, but I'll have to wait until next time. We were thinking about renting a car and driving around Tahiti on the day we fly out. How long did it take you to drive around?

Wingy - Are there other restaurants in walking distance of the Pearl? Did you use the dive shop (Moorea Blue Diving Center) at the Pearl?

Laurie - Did Moorea Fun Dive feed the sharks? I've been reading about some ops that do in Moorea and I would prefer to avoid that. How crowded were the boats?

Also, I was curious about the op Scubapiti since their website says they don't do shark feedings.

How comparable is the diving in Moorea to Hawaii? I've spent a lot of time diving around all the Hawaiian islands and I was just curious if it is similar topography. Has anyone done both?

I plan on bringing my own equipment and I have a yoke regulator. Is that standard in French Polynesia? What about tipping after diving? Is it similar to the Caribbean or are there different customs?

 

[Wingy]

About a km walk past Caramelline and the little shopping area (ATM is there also) there is another great restaurant open every night - pizza to polynesian platters for dinners, quite a good menu selection. In the other direction (back towards the ferry dock) you will find a couple of Roulottes - caravan type restaurants - where the polynesians hang out and eat which is where I usually ate. Great atmosphere way cheaper and fantastic fresh food. Directly opposite the pearl is another roulotte although I never ate there as the guys who hang around there and run it seemed very sleazy (Im a solo woman traveller).
The dive centre at the pearl's owner is a lovely guy - very knowledgeable about FP diving and will try and find you the best of what Moorea has to offer. Unfortunately for me he only goes out at 7am - fortunately for me, I met a couple of lovely locals who were divers, freedivers and fishermen so I ended up diving Coral Gardens with them and a couple of other sites I can only recall the polynesian name of and cant work out how to type those words lol.
I would have liked to dive with the guy at the Pearl, he seemed a good small operator who was very into marine conservation so I would give him a try. Other people ive spoken to have dived with him and give him good wraps.

Havent dived Hawaii sorry so cant comment. Moorea diving is as you know not the diving but there is still some pretty good fish life around.

I dont tip. Its VAT tax added into your bills everywhere. French Polynesia does not have a tipping culture. You can if you want but its certainly not an mandatory thing.

 

[Mike]

Mike - I would love to go to Rangiroa, but I'll have to wait until next time. We were thinking about renting a car and driving around Tahiti on the day we fly out. How long did it take you to drive around?

We spent 4-5 hours with stops, you could do it in less or take more time, it depends on what you want to do and see along the way.

 

[Laurie S.]

Fun Dive did not feed sharks on either of the days that I dove with them. I don't believe they ever do. However, the owner did call sharks with a plastic soda bottle. That was interesting to watch.