Tahitianbigkahuna

A little visitor to our garden this morning ...

Thank you for the kind words ... the background is the Maitai Lapita Village on Huahine. One of my favorite places to take pictures.

Here you go ... How much local money should I bring?

Taken yesterday from my patio. Red Tail hawk was about 75 yards away. This is why I love the Sony RXIV for a wildlife travel camera. The long reach of the lens make this shot possible. Sure I would love to have a 600mm full frame lens on one of my A7's but I don't so 90% of the time I use my cropped RX10IV.

Taken last Sunday ... in the garden Sony RX10IV

You might want to check to see if the Bora Bora motu is back in operation. It was not available a few months ago and they were taking people to Matira Beach

Sailed on PG 16 times ... As Medic stated for us that have going for decades we see some differences. PG is still a wonderful experience. Star Breeze is the new kid in town. She is now in FP full time. Have several cruises booked on her in 2024 and 2025. Star Breeze has some good things going for it. Without going into great detail as everyone has their beliefs I'll simply say the big 3 cruise lines that are full time in FP is the way to go. All 3 have the Polynesian Mana. You will not find that on cruise lines that come to FP for a few months or passing through. The big 3 are ... PG (Ponant), Star Breeze (Windstar) and the Aranui 5. Stick with the big 3 😉

not a river as many think ... short kayak tour.

There are only 3 places ... if you have 2 of them in your sights you should be fine

In the garden ... a beautiful finch ... Sony RX10IV - jpeg No filters

Not many options for the major car companies ... they will want to transport you to the ferry docks or Albert's in the main village ... both are a drive. There used to be parking at the tender dock but no longer ... car companies will require you to return the same day if your on-board and return the following day if you want to rent a second day ...

Not many as to get to the coral gardens you are circumnavigating the lagoon ... most people will want multi stops for this reason.

In our garden ... why we pay so much to live in California ... the weather. iPhone SE3

In the garden this afternoon ... Sony RX10IV

Totally agree with Medic ... Only good thing in January is usually the better fare rate. I've been 32 times to the South Pacific ... December - through early March is always a crap shoot. Just returned from FP ... was there for some of the cyclone ... we had 4 days of rough weather to deal with.

Last night's sunset from our garden .... Sony A7III with Zeiss 25mm lens

The wild side of Nuku Hiva ... Marquesas. Sony RX10IV ... no filters.

The wild side of Nuku Hiva .... Taken 9 days ago.

Taken on January 30th .... the Blue Lagoon on Fakarava. Drone ... no filters ... it really looks like this 😉

And people wonder why we love returning to FP .... 32 times now. Pictured is the Blue/Green Lagoon on Fakarava ... taken 10 days ago.

competition is always good for the consumer. Frankly, I’m looking for different itineraries than the Paul Gauguin. Currently, there are three small ships home-based in French Polynesia. Starbreeze cabins start at 277 ft.² … I don’t think I’ll miss the 8 ft.² :-). There are two other smaller ships looking to come in French Polynesia, which are on the planning stages for 2026.

i’m on a cruise in French Polynesia right now, and we’ve actually had very good weather, but looks like the next couple of days could be rather rainy. As I tell people a bad day in French, Polynesia is often better than most days back home 🙂 I prefer the shoulder seasons of March and April and October. I usually always take my groups during the shoulder seasons but the price was fantastic for this week. The driest time is during June, July and August but it’s also the most expensive time. People sometimes want to go when it’s not as hot and not as much humidity but they want to see the waterfalls in and lush vegetation. But you can’t have it both ways. What produces those waterfalls and lush vegetation of course is rain. Pictured is our group enjoying the drift snorkel of the North Pass on Rangiroa yesterday

No

In my 31 trips to French Polynesia I've never had an issue with stores, taxis, restaurants or most excursion vendors accepting the USD. On some of the smaller islands they prefer XPF and for this reason I always get some before our trip from our bank. The smaller islands don't have easy access to a bank on their little island. Most of the Cook islands vendors want NZD. Cruise lines have their own protocols in regards to local currencies. One cruise line my provide exchanges ... others may not. You need to ask the cruise in your on.

From my last trip a few months ago ... latest info