weather?

[5HappyCampers]

So it looks like cyclone Garry just went thru. Looking at a weather report for the next week or so.....rain, thundershowers, rain, thundershowers, and so on. Is this typical for the South Pacific? Is the weather like Hawaii where it rains for a few minutes everyday and then is sunny most of the time?

 

We have spent $$$ on our upcoming cruise and don't want to end up spending all our time under an umbrella. We want to see the picturesque Tahiti that is in all the calendars. We do have the insurance if we need to cancel. Checking the weather everyday is making us crazy!:(

[DrivesLikeMario]

I feel your pain. Weather can really make, or break, a trip. Take a look at Weather.com's averages: http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/FRXX7860

 

You'll see that January has the second highest rainfall average at 12.40". That's a lot of rain. We're going in late February and that month isn't a whole lot better. We had originally planned to go in December, but changed it due to the average rainfall and also because friends of ours had rain for something like 5 days straight while they were there in December. I thought French Polynesia had more of the - heavy rain for a couple hours, then sun - like in Hawaii or the Caribbean, but I guess not depending on the time of year.

 

I hope someone responds to your question who has actually been there because I'd really like to read what they say too. :)

[Tikiintahiti]

It's a real crap shoot this time of year though I've had good luck over the years and been blessed with good weather even in their summer.

 

 

However, this year seems to be a bit more 'wet' than normal and by that I mean where the rain sits for a long period of time. The norm is very similar to Hawaii where it rains and within a half hour it is sunny again though very humid.

 

The weather reports you see are the norm even when we have had good weather, it's called 'covering your bets'.

 

This isn't only a case for the South Pacific this year, world wide there seems to be a bit different weather patterns going on.

[DrivesLikeMario]

It's a real crap shoot this time of year though I've had good luck over the years and been blessed with good weather even in their summer.

 

However, this year seems to be a bit more 'wet' than normal and by that I mean where the rain sits for a long period of time. The norm is very similar to Hawaii where it rains and within a half hour it is sunny again though very humid.

 

This isn't only a case for the South Pacific this year, world wide there seems to be a bit different weather patterns going on.

 

I agree, it makes it hard to even guess what weather will be like! Thanks for the info. on the short bursts of showers, then sun. That helps a lot. ;)

[5HappyCampers]

Thank you all for answering! I did just check the webcam on our ship and saw sunny skies!:) We are able to deal with a little rain as long as it is not all day every day.

[jdm]

Just got off Ocean Princess from Honolulu to Papeete on January 19. Hawaii was fantastic. No rain. Five days at sea to get to French Polynesian Islands, nice and little rain, mostly at night.

 

Bora Bora - went on a snorkeling excursion. Started out okay, but poured second half of excursion. Still did the snorkeling, though water was not as clear as usual since it was churned up. Once we got off snorkeling excursion boat it POURED - I mean monsoon type pouring. We went to a little tent market near pier and looked around. Couldn't even cross the street to look down main street since water was coming so fast. road looked more like a river. It was difficult to see the true beauty of Bora Bora.

 

Moorea - cloudy. went on a drive around island. Again, difficult to see the true beauty of island because it was foggyish. Rained significant amount of time.

 

Papeete - Weather okay. Still cloudy, no sunshine, but driver did a good job showing us the island. Pretty island, away from the city. Many stray dogs for which I wish I had brought some food . Sad they don't have any type of spay/neuter program. (sorry - that was off the subject, but I still remember the nursing mom dog with her emaciated body coming up to me for food and all I had was pistachios - she ate them)

 

January is their wet season. Be prepared and don't it deter you.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Just got off Ocean Princess from Honolulu to Papeete on January 19. Hawaii was fantastic. No rain. Five days at sea to get to French Polynesian Islands, nice and little rain, mostly at night.

 

Bora Bora - went on a snorkeling excursion. Started out okay, but poured second half of excursion. Still did the snorkeling, though water was not as clear as usual since it was churned up. Once we got off snorkeling excursion boat it POURED - I mean monsoon type pouring. We went to a little tent market near pier and looked around. Couldn't even cross the street to look down main street since water was coming so fast. road looked more like a river. It was difficult to see the true beauty of Bora Bora.

 

Moorea - cloudy. went on a drive around island. Again, difficult to see the true beauty of island because it was foggyish. Rained significant amount of time.

 

Papeete - Weather okay. Still cloudy, no sunshine, but driver did a good job showing us the island. Pretty island, away from the city. Many stray dogs for which I wish I had brought some food . Sad they don't have any type of spay/neuter program. (sorry - that was off the subject, but I still remember the nursing mom dog with her emaciated body coming up to me for food and all I had was pistachios - she ate them)

 

January is their wet season. Be prepared and don't it deter you.

 

Good info, thank you! Glad we're going at the end of February next year, but with as wacky as the weather has been, who knows what we'll get?! I guess you just need to be really thankful when you do get good weather!

 

And, if I could only bring a 50 lb. bag of Dog Chow, I would! How sad!