On April 1st our group of 17 left Atlanta bound for Tahiti where we would cruise the French Polynesian Islands and spend 4 days in Papeete, Tahiti prior to the cruise. We arrived in Papeete at 5:30 in the morning on April 2nd after two long flights. A pre-arranged bus awaited us to take us and our luggage to the Tahiti Hilton. This was a beautiful hotel not far from the airport that had been built 20 years ago but had just reopened after a renovation that had taken 2 years. The hotel lobby was spectacular and the view outside the hotel gave a great view of Moorea, another French Polynesian Island that is extremely close to Tahiti. It was even more beautiful in the evening since the sun set over the island. Since we were unable to check into our rooms that early in the morning, we rented a cabana for the day to put our items as we enjoyed the beautiful pool at this hotel. Later in the morning some of us took a long walk into town to check out the area where the cruise ships come in and the ferries arrive/depart. We stopped over by the Market Place, but it was closed on Sunday although a few of the flower sellers were outside of the market selling some items. We decided we would come back the day our cruise ship departed to buy a flower arrangement to take on the cruise with us. For less than $20 you could get a beautiful flower arrangement that would cost your over $100 in the States. We checked into our room when we got back and was pleased with the large size and beautiful balcony overlooking the pool. In the evening we took taxies to the cruise port area where food trucks gathered most nights to serve their local specialties. We had a noodle dish that was very tasty.
The next morning, we got up early and went to the ferry to take it over to Moorea where we had a full day excursion planned. It only takes the ferry about 30 minutes to travel across the small channel and it is a very scenic trip. When we arrived, we were picked up in a bus to take half of us to the jet skies and the other half to the ATV’s. We started out on the jet skies and had a fun trip around part of the island going into many of the bays and seeing the mountain peaks the majestically rose right out of the water. We drove fast and had very smooth waters to skim across. After touring the island for a while, we stopped in a shallow, sandy area where we swam with the black finned shark and sting rays. You could wade around and watch the silhouettes of the sharks coming at you with eerie wonder. We were able to get some good pictures of these sharks as they darted in packs all around us. The sting rays were in harmony with the sharks and just floated on the bottom of the sand until the guide would get a little food to entice them up a few feet to the surface so that we could touch them and have some good closeup pictures with them. We have done this previously but no one else in the group had done it and everyone really enjoyed the experience. After our jet ski trip, we traded off with the ATV group and we took their ATV’s on a tour of the island. We went through the pineapple fields, through the valleys and up on top of some of the mountains where we got some great views of the island and bays below us. After the ATV tour we raced back to the ferry to catch the last ferry back to Papeete.
The following morning was another ferry ride over to Moorea to do some bike riding. Our entire group had signed up to rent some e-bikes to take a tour around the island. After getting on the bikes and taking a short test ride, almost half of our group elected not to bike and just spend a little time exploring the island by foot before taking the ferry back to Papeete. For those of us who did take the bikes, we were able to see some other areas of the island that we had not seen on the ATV’s or jet skis. For most of us, it took a little practice to get used to the gears on the bikes on the electrical assist feature, but we all managed to make it. The bikes were brand new and a few of them had some issues during the day, where we needed to have a few replaced during the trip. Part of the trip was on rocky roads that were challenging to many of us. The area is very hilly causing us to work hard in some places to make it up but the electrical assist feature (when it was working) really made it easy. By the time the day came to an end we had biked 28 miles and most people were tired. That evening we took taxies to the Blue Banana, a local restaurant recommended by two different people on the island. It turned out to be a great choice for fresh seafood or a steak if you preferred a less traditional island dish. Everyone enjoyed their meal.
The next day we stayed in Tahiti and had arranged for some boats to pick us up off the pier of the Hilton. They took us to another hotel down the coast where we split our group of 17 into 3 smaller groups. Our small group started off on jet skis where we toured the island of Tahiti. We were given time to just race fast and bounce across waves which was fun. We spent a lot of time on the jet skis roaming around spinner dolphins who we were told were sleeping. There must have been hundred of these dolphins in the area and as our jet skis got close to them, they would dive a little deeper or change directions. Some of the small ones weren’t sleeping and would occasionally jump into the air. At times you could see spinner dolphin all around your jet ski swimming under and around them. They were really fascinating to watch. Our Jet Ski guide also told us about whale season in Tahiti and the possibility of swimming with the young whale calves with their mothers. This is something Sharon had hoped to do on a trip canceled due to Covid in 2021. Now she is starting to plan a return to Tahiti in September 2025 to swim with the baby whales – anyone else want to come??? After a couple of hours on the jet skis we swapped out with another group and we were taken to a snorkel area where we snorkeled with the turtles. Most of the time the turtles were 30 to 40 feet down on the bottom but at other times they swam up to the surface giving you some good views of them. One turtle even swam side by side with us for a while before it did a deep dive down to the bottom. Although there were some fish around and coral, the snorkeling was really to see the turtles. We hope to have much better snorkeling opportunities in Bora Bora. After we were dropped back off at the Hilton pier we showered and dressed up for a trip to the intercontinental Hotel to see the Polynesian Dance that night. Upon our arrival at the hotel, a tour was arranged some our group could see an over the water bungalow. These are very popular on many of the Tahitian Islands and cost a minimum of $1000 a night with some going at high as $10,000 a night! Although these bungalows are very nice, it is hard to justify this high cost to stay there. Even though, many people want to stay there at least a few nights when they come to the Tahitian Islands. Prior to the Polynesian Dance we were given a buffet dinner with many local delicacies along with your beef and chicken alternatives. The food was very good, and no one left hungry. The Polynesian Dance is always interesting to watch because it is very authentic here. We had seen it once before almost 10 years ago. The Polynesian men were as we remembered them – muscular warriors with tattoos all over their bodies. The women this time around, were not dressed as traditionally as the first show we had seen and were not as young or as enthusiastic as we remembered from 10 years ago. The show was still enjoyable, and you are allowed to take pictures with the dancers after their performance. It is just another must thing to do when you go to Tahiti!
The following day was hotel check out day and cruise check in day. For 10 of our group this was to be a 10-day cruise around the Polynesian Islands. For the other 7 it was to be the same 10-day cruise plus an additional 17-day cruise going to more Polynesian Islands and Hawaii, before ending up in Los Angeles. After our pre-arranged transportation took us to the cruise port, we found check in onto the ship to be extremely easy. Rooms were not immediately available, and we had a little lunch while we waited. After we checked in to our stateroom, we walked off the ship to go over to the Central Market that had been closed on our first day. We spent most of our time picking out the flower arrangement we would bring with us on the cruise. As mentioned earlier these are beautiful arrangements of exotic flowers and are sold for extremely reasonable prices. After picking out our flowers, we walked the Market looking at the various local crafts, clothing, and jewelry. Certainly, black pearl jewelry is the most famous for the area and we had bought some 14 years ago on our first visit. Besides the flowers we didn’t buy too much else and headed back to the ship. That night we had made special arrangements for our entire group to eat at one of the Specialty Restaurants (Toscana) to celebrate one of our group member’s birthdays – Lisa Gardner. It was nice to get everyone together to kick off our cruise together and sing Happy Birthday to Lisa! It was also great to experience our first taste of Oceania who is known for the culinary expertise. This restaurant did not disappoint!
Stay tuned! Our next blogs will share our experiences as we cruise the French Polynesian and Hawaiian Islands!
Regards,
Sharon and Greg
The next morning, we got up early and went to the ferry to take it over to Moorea where we had a full day excursion planned. It only takes the ferry about 30 minutes to travel across the small channel and it is a very scenic trip. When we arrived, we were picked up in a bus to take half of us to the jet skies and the other half to the ATV’s. We started out on the jet skies and had a fun trip around part of the island going into many of the bays and seeing the mountain peaks the majestically rose right out of the water. We drove fast and had very smooth waters to skim across. After touring the island for a while, we stopped in a shallow, sandy area where we swam with the black finned shark and sting rays. You could wade around and watch the silhouettes of the sharks coming at you with eerie wonder. We were able to get some good pictures of these sharks as they darted in packs all around us. The sting rays were in harmony with the sharks and just floated on the bottom of the sand until the guide would get a little food to entice them up a few feet to the surface so that we could touch them and have some good closeup pictures with them. We have done this previously but no one else in the group had done it and everyone really enjoyed the experience. After our jet ski trip, we traded off with the ATV group and we took their ATV’s on a tour of the island. We went through the pineapple fields, through the valleys and up on top of some of the mountains where we got some great views of the island and bays below us. After the ATV tour we raced back to the ferry to catch the last ferry back to Papeete.
The following morning was another ferry ride over to Moorea to do some bike riding. Our entire group had signed up to rent some e-bikes to take a tour around the island. After getting on the bikes and taking a short test ride, almost half of our group elected not to bike and just spend a little time exploring the island by foot before taking the ferry back to Papeete. For those of us who did take the bikes, we were able to see some other areas of the island that we had not seen on the ATV’s or jet skis. For most of us, it took a little practice to get used to the gears on the bikes on the electrical assist feature, but we all managed to make it. The bikes were brand new and a few of them had some issues during the day, where we needed to have a few replaced during the trip. Part of the trip was on rocky roads that were challenging to many of us. The area is very hilly causing us to work hard in some places to make it up but the electrical assist feature (when it was working) really made it easy. By the time the day came to an end we had biked 28 miles and most people were tired. That evening we took taxies to the Blue Banana, a local restaurant recommended by two different people on the island. It turned out to be a great choice for fresh seafood or a steak if you preferred a less traditional island dish. Everyone enjoyed their meal.
The next day we stayed in Tahiti and had arranged for some boats to pick us up off the pier of the Hilton. They took us to another hotel down the coast where we split our group of 17 into 3 smaller groups. Our small group started off on jet skis where we toured the island of Tahiti. We were given time to just race fast and bounce across waves which was fun. We spent a lot of time on the jet skis roaming around spinner dolphins who we were told were sleeping. There must have been hundred of these dolphins in the area and as our jet skis got close to them, they would dive a little deeper or change directions. Some of the small ones weren’t sleeping and would occasionally jump into the air. At times you could see spinner dolphin all around your jet ski swimming under and around them. They were really fascinating to watch. Our Jet Ski guide also told us about whale season in Tahiti and the possibility of swimming with the young whale calves with their mothers. This is something Sharon had hoped to do on a trip canceled due to Covid in 2021. Now she is starting to plan a return to Tahiti in September 2025 to swim with the baby whales – anyone else want to come??? After a couple of hours on the jet skis we swapped out with another group and we were taken to a snorkel area where we snorkeled with the turtles. Most of the time the turtles were 30 to 40 feet down on the bottom but at other times they swam up to the surface giving you some good views of them. One turtle even swam side by side with us for a while before it did a deep dive down to the bottom. Although there were some fish around and coral, the snorkeling was really to see the turtles. We hope to have much better snorkeling opportunities in Bora Bora. After we were dropped back off at the Hilton pier we showered and dressed up for a trip to the intercontinental Hotel to see the Polynesian Dance that night. Upon our arrival at the hotel, a tour was arranged some our group could see an over the water bungalow. These are very popular on many of the Tahitian Islands and cost a minimum of $1000 a night with some going at high as $10,000 a night! Although these bungalows are very nice, it is hard to justify this high cost to stay there. Even though, many people want to stay there at least a few nights when they come to the Tahitian Islands. Prior to the Polynesian Dance we were given a buffet dinner with many local delicacies along with your beef and chicken alternatives. The food was very good, and no one left hungry. The Polynesian Dance is always interesting to watch because it is very authentic here. We had seen it once before almost 10 years ago. The Polynesian men were as we remembered them – muscular warriors with tattoos all over their bodies. The women this time around, were not dressed as traditionally as the first show we had seen and were not as young or as enthusiastic as we remembered from 10 years ago. The show was still enjoyable, and you are allowed to take pictures with the dancers after their performance. It is just another must thing to do when you go to Tahiti!
The following day was hotel check out day and cruise check in day. For 10 of our group this was to be a 10-day cruise around the Polynesian Islands. For the other 7 it was to be the same 10-day cruise plus an additional 17-day cruise going to more Polynesian Islands and Hawaii, before ending up in Los Angeles. After our pre-arranged transportation took us to the cruise port, we found check in onto the ship to be extremely easy. Rooms were not immediately available, and we had a little lunch while we waited. After we checked in to our stateroom, we walked off the ship to go over to the Central Market that had been closed on our first day. We spent most of our time picking out the flower arrangement we would bring with us on the cruise. As mentioned earlier these are beautiful arrangements of exotic flowers and are sold for extremely reasonable prices. After picking out our flowers, we walked the Market looking at the various local crafts, clothing, and jewelry. Certainly, black pearl jewelry is the most famous for the area and we had bought some 14 years ago on our first visit. Besides the flowers we didn’t buy too much else and headed back to the ship. That night we had made special arrangements for our entire group to eat at one of the Specialty Restaurants (Toscana) to celebrate one of our group member’s birthdays – Lisa Gardner. It was nice to get everyone together to kick off our cruise together and sing Happy Birthday to Lisa! It was also great to experience our first taste of Oceania who is known for the culinary expertise. This restaurant did not disappoint!
Stay tuned! Our next blogs will share our experiences as we cruise the French Polynesian and Hawaiian Islands!
Regards,
Sharon and Greg
A few pics of Moorea swimming with the black fin sharks and our next day adventure - biking! Next day in Tahiti - jet skis and snorkeling! Awesome trip!
Enjoying our last night in Tahiti for a dinner and Tahitian Show at the InterContinental Tahiti Hotel.
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