A Very Late Review - 10 Night Society Islands & Tuamotus

[lovetotravel68]

I had always planned to write a review of my trip to FP but as the months went by and I still hadn't gotten around to it, I figured no-one would miss it if I didn't. BUT... for some reason, I still keep coming back to this forum (even though our cruise was 9 months ago) and I love reading the reviews and looking at the amazing photos (I think I may have the FP flu...). Anyway, seeing as so many people on these boards helped me with my planning by answering endless questions, I have decided to post my review in the hopes that it might help or inspire someone else in their planning stages. And hey, it's better late than never right?!

 

I have never posted a review on here so please be kind!

 

I will start from the beginning....

 

This trip was in celebration of our honeymoon - our once in a lifetime splurge and I spent YEARS planning and dreaming about how wonderful this holiday would be (we were engaged for 6 years so I had a long time to think about this!). While I was still in the planning stages we considered doing a land holiday to Papeete/Moorea/Bora Bora but quickly realised that hotel prices in FP are not cheap! We figured by the time we factored in domestic flights, accommodation, food, drinks etc it would be better value (and much less hassle) to cruise on the PG. We had never been on a cruise before so didn't really know what to expect and I spent many hours trawling through these boards trying to figure out how it all worked. Thank you to all those who answered my questions and gave me suggestions!

 

We were married on September 23rd 2013 in Wanaka, New Zealand.

 

 

It was a beautiful day and we were pretty excited to be married (we have been together for 18 years, since we were 13 years old), it had been a long time coming!

 

All of our 80 guests were from out of town and we wanted to show them a good 'South Island' time so we organised a weeks worth of 'events' including hosting a BBQ, jet boating, a day after wedding brunch and of course the wedding! Needless to say, by the time we were married we were exhausted and really looking forward to some 'us time' in paradise!

[lovetotravel68]

Eek my photo is huge! I'm sorry I don't know how to make it smaller :confused:

[lovetotravel68]

Ok I figured out how to make my photos smaller - thank goodness for google! Sorry about the giant wedding pic in the above post!

 

We flew from NZ four days after saying 'I do.' We always fly Air New Zealand and would absolutely recommend them if you ever have the opportunity to fly with them. Their service is outstanding and this year were voted 'airline of the year' by airlineratings.com.http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11186178

The flight was just over five hours long and we kept ourselves busy by watching movies and drinking champagne (yes we were already in honeymoon mode!). We arrived in the wee hours of Friday morning and even though it was after midnight it was very warm and humid. As we entered the airport we were greeted by smiling singers and dancers welcoming everyone to beautiful Tahiti.

 

We had arranged for an airport transfer to our hotel which was very easy. There was someone waiting for us at arrivals with a sign and our name and we were onboard and ready to go within an hour of arriving. We were also given a lei made of sweet smelling tiare flowers.

 

It was around a 20 minute drive to our home away from home for the next two nights, Hotel Tahiti Nui. We were really surprised at how busy and overdeveloped Papeete was, there were cars everywhere. I don't know what I was expecting? A tropical paradise adjacent to the airport maybe? Months earlier upon attempting to book a hotel, we discovered that the Beach World Cup Soccer coincided with our nights in Papeete so maybe it was a little busier than usual? Unfortunately for us it meant that not only had the hotel prices been hiked up, but most hotels were booked out (including the IC which would have been our first choice).

 

Nevertheless, we had booked a street side room at the Hotel Tahiti Nui (the mountain side were all booked out). Our room was very clean and spacious and the bathroom was pretty huge with a nice walk in shower.

 

(our hotel room, very simple but very clean)

 

We couldn't see much of the view from our hotel room window as it was now the middle of the night, but we could HEAR a lot! Cars beeping, sirens blaring, people yelling. They wern't kidding when they advertised our room as 'street side.' Luckily we were pretty tired so after a nice hot shower we managed to sleep. When we woke up in the morning we eagerly pulled back the curtains and stepped out onto the deck, excited to check out the beautiful view we had been dreaming about for the past couple of years. We were greeted with this sight...

 

(the view from our balcony)

 

Not quite what we had been hoping for! Traffic, construction and to top it off a nice slum across the road. Actually we became very fond of this slum, and in particular one of it's residents who we nicknamed 'Mr Sleepy.' Mr Sleepy was impressive. He slept outside on a mattress on his balcony all day and all night wearing only a little pair of shorts. No matter how hot and humid it was, no matter how noisy it was from the traffic, blaring music and constant amulance/police sirens, he slept like a log. We began to look forward to seeing him and marvelling at his daily naps.

 

Anyway, on with the story!

 

We went off in search of some breakfast. Although our hotel was noisy, it was very conveniently located. We could walk everywhere we needed to in a matter of minutes so it worked out well for us. Our first stop was le marche. They have everything you could possibly need here - food, tropical flower arrangements, pareos and lots of beautiful smelling soaps, oils and moisturising creams.

 

(beautiful flowers at le marche)

 

(fish at le marche)

 

After wandering around sniffing soaps for a while, we made a bee line for a local cafe to buy a baguette for breakfast. Our first baguette's in French Polynesia and they were delicious! We took them down to the waterfront area to eat but on the way disaster struck.... We had not been out and about for more than an hour when DH's sunglasses broke. I guess that's what happens when you buy cheapies from China for $10! Now this may not seem like a big deal but it was so bright DH felt he could just not go on without them. And he thinks I'm dramatic ;-) We had to immediately go off in search of another pair. This was quite an experience as none of the shop owners spoke English and apparently our French is very bad. DH was trying to point out a pair in the cabinet that he wanted to try on - they were yellow and he asked me what the French word for yellow was. I told him to say "je voudrais le soleil" which translates to "I want the sun". Yep glad I could help. After sweating it out in the shop for about 20 minutes (literally sweating as there was no air con in there) he finally found a pair he liked and we were on our way. We went back to the hotel to have a rest before dinner so a quick nap, gym session and swim later, we were feeling refreshed.

Edited July 15, 2014 by lovetotravel68

[lovetotravel68]

We decided to go for a walk along the promenade before dinner and it was absolutely beautiful. There was a walking track that ran alongside the harbour; a city of contrasts with the bustling city on the left side of the track and the peaceful harbour on the right.

 

(the beautiful harbour)

 

We had a clear view of the island of Moorea (where we were headed to next) and as the sun began to set behind it, we got some great shots.

 

(sunset behind Moorea)

 

It was about 6pm by this stage and we were just in time to see the roulottes setting up. The roulottes are food trucks and they entice you and your nose by cooking everything on site. There were about 20 or so roulottes in the waterfront area so we walked up and down the rows looking at everything on offer. It was mostly Chinese food (suprising, I thought it would be more French) and of course lots of seafood.

 

Once you decide on a roulotte, you choose a meal off the menu (they have a picture for every meal as most of them are in French), have a seat at a little plastic table and wait. We chose a Chinese place and shared a dish as the serving sizes were HUGE!

 

(fried rice with sausage)

 

It was pretty tasty but we still had room for dessert (much to my delight) so we went off in search of a new roulotte specialising in the French delicacy - crepes! I had sniffed one out in no time and we settled on a singular crepe to share with chocolate sauce, whipped cream and banana ice cream. It was delicious!

 

(amazing crepe)

 

Full and happy we walked back to our hotel to check out the nightclub. Yes we had a nightclub in our hotel. There were only about five people in there looking very lonely so we went back to our room and had a party for two with the gin we bought from duty free. We had a great time watching a terrible music festival on TV and occasionally stepping out onto the balcony to check on Mr Sleepy.

 

We awoke the next morning feeling a little worse for wear after a combination of gin, and the nightclub seemingly turning into some sort of rave around 1am (which equals thumping music and vibrations through the floor). We were hungry so yup you guessed it, went out to buy a baguette for breakfast. I actually lost track of how many baguette's we consumed on this trip - far too many I think! We went back to the same place as the day before - ate half and saved the other half for lunch.

 

By the time we walked back to the hotel it was time to check out and head to the ferry terminal as today we were going to Moorea! It was only around a 10 minute walk to the terminal so we decided to walk it and roll our two giant suitcases down. Uneven footpaths, heat, humidity, speeding cars, forgetting which way to look when we crossed the road; 10 minutes soon turned into 25. But we made it - slightly dishevelled albeit. We purchased our ferry tickets and looked around for the baggage area. A nice older gentleman started gesturing to us to put our suitcases in a cage he seemed to be 'guarding'. There were other bags in there so I presumed they would wait till it was full and then lock it but who knows. We did put our cases in the cage but hung around so we could keep an eye on them. All was well though and it was time to board. We chose a seat in the air conditioned section and settled in for the 30 minute trip to Moorea.

[lovetotravel68]

Papeete was not the tropical paradise you think of when you think 'Tahiti' and it is definitely not what you see in the travel brochures. If we were to go back to FP (which we hope one day we will) we would bypass Papeete all together and go straight to Moorea. It was fun to check out the market and the waterfront area but that can be done in a couple of hours.

 

The Tahiti Nui Hotel was adequate for a two night stay but I would absolutely recommend a 'mountain view' room if you stay here. These are at the back and located away from the street. We stayed in one of these rooms on our way back through and they were much quieter - we couldn't hear any traffic noise but could still hear the music from the nightclub! If you are arriving on the weekend... beware!

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[Emdee]

Thanks for the first instalment.

[Tikiintahiti]

We want more, we want more ............ :)

[justmeindustland]

Great start. Can't to wait to hear the rest.

[NJBeaglemom]

Personally, I liked the big wedding picture. :)

 

I'm with Tiki--we want more :)

[lovetotravel68]

Thanks for the report!

 

You're welcome! I am sorry to say there is MUCH more to come (I'm not very good at condensing information!) :)

[lovetotravel68]

Thanks for the first instalment.

 

Hi Emdee, I must say thank you to you for all your help on here when I was planning our trip. Especially for your information regarding the Blue Lagoon in Fakarava - this actually turned out to be our favourite day! :)

[lovetotravel68]

We want more, we want more ............ :)

 

Haha you might regret saying that! I have A LOT more to come...

 

I also wanted to thank you for all your suggestions and help on here. We chose the Hilton in Moorea based on your recommendation and couldn't have been happier!

 

P.S - love the pictures you posted recently from a previous trip(s). FP really is such a beautiful place, I can see why you have been so many times!!

[lovetotravel68]

Great start. Can't to wait to hear the rest.

 

Thank you so much! I was a little apprehensive about posting my review on here so thank you for the encouragement! :)

[lovetotravel68]

Personally, I liked the big wedding picture. :)

 

I'm with Tiki--we want more :)

 

Thank you, you are too kind! Next installment is coming NOW! :)

[Tikiintahiti]

I tweaked your wedding picture a bit. Couldn't do much more with the resolution being so low. Gave it a bit more clarity and contrast. Also warmed up your faces a bit, especially his. :)

 

[lovetotravel68]

Now where did I did I leave off? Ah yes, our ferry had just arrived in Moorea! We walked off and waited for our bags to be offloaded. There were lots of people also waiting for their bags and as the cage came rolling off the ferry my heart sank a little. The baggage cage was about 8 feet high and I could see my lovely pink suitcase right at the bottom of the pile. We did not have a transfer organised here and our plan was to catch the public bus to our hotel.

 

Alas, it was not meant to be. By the time all the bags had been removed and we finally got our two suitcases, all the buses and taxis (bar one) were gone. I suggested we catch the lone taxi but DH was not willing. He was still holding on to hope that the next round of buses would come and we would be transported to the Hilton courtesy of a $2 bus fare. So we waited. And we waited. All the other passengers were gone and we were now alone. Just us and the tumbleweeds. I felt it was only appropriate that I should put my foot down and demand that we take the ONE AND ONLY taxi still waiting (for us presumably as the driver knew there was no other way we were getting to our hotel). So my loving husband caved in and we sheepishly jumped in the taxi we had previously denied. $30 well spent I say.

 

A 20 minute drive and we had arrived. First impressions of Moorea and the Hilton? Two words; Tropical. Paradise. This is what you dream about when you think 'French Polynesia.' White sand beaches, green palm trees, jagged mountains, and the Hilton looked as incredible as I had imagined. Fabulous as we were here for four nights woohoo!

 

(the grand entrance to the Hilton)

 

 

As we exited the taxi we were ushered inside and offered a refreshing pineapple juice and a seat while we filled out our paperwork. Once we had read and signed everything, we were driven to our room in a golf buggy with the driver pointing out areas of interest along the way (like the different types of fruit trees, OWB's etc).

 

We had booked a garden pool bungalow. There were lots of them and were dotted throughout the garden area. Some of them (like ours) were joined while others were stand alone.

 

(a stand alone garden pool bungalow)

 

 

It was beautiful inside. We had a super comfy bed, nicely decorated with tropical flowers.

 

 

 

A beatiful marble bathroom with his and hers sinks and a rain shower. AND... our own private plunge pool!

 

(the very refreshing plunge pool)

 

 

We found our hotel room was absolutely perfect for us. We had considered booking an OWB but in the end went with the garden bungalow and are so glad we did. It was very large and we actually ended up using the plunge pool multiple times each day (more than the main pool). Although it was small, it was nice to jump in and cool off when the sun got too hot (which was frequently!). It was also completely private which was nice and we spent a lot of time reading and relaxing on the deck.

 

For us it wouldn't have been worth the extra money to upgrade to an OWB as we had to make a choice between that or excursions while we were on the cruise. If money was no object I would say go for it! But if you are on a budget don't feel as if you will be missing out on anything by not booking an OWB as the garden bungalows are still lovely.

 

The hotel staff were very friendly and were kind enough to have left a little suprise in our room.

 

(champers!)

 

 

A very welcome bottle of champagne (and a 'happy honeymoon' note). We thought we would save it for later and decided to have a wander around the resort.

[lovetotravel68]

I tweaked your wedding picture a bit. Couldn't do much more with the resolution being so low. Gave it a bit more clarity and contrast. Also warmed up your faces a bit, especially his. :)

 

 

Oh thank you Tiki! Yes I posted one of the low res images as I don't have copies of the high res ones on my laptop. We do look a bit better 'warmer' though don't we? Maybe we should have spent more time in the sun before our wedding?! :D

[lovetotravel68]

The grounds at the Hilton are beautiful and perfectly maintained. The grass is so green and there are lots of fruit trees around (we didn't eat any but it was interesting looking at the tropical fruits and different types of plants).

 

We were there at the start of October and it wasn't busy at all so we had no problems getting a beach chair or pool chair and it never felt crowded. Pretty much everyone here was either celebrating a honeymoon or an anniversary, we only saw couples and didn't see any families with children.

 

OWB's

There were two pontoons of overwater bungalows and from the edge, you could see where the lagoon met the open ocean. The water was so clear you could see right through to the coral below (which as you can see from the picture below - was plentiful).

 

(even the birds were lovey dovey)

 

We actually made some friends who were staying in an OWB and they invited us round for drinks one evening. It was slightly smaller than the garden bungalow but obviously had a few more perks, like the glass coffee table where you can look right through to the water (and fish) below. Obviously the fact that it was on the water was the main perk! It was beautiful sitting out on the deck with a glass of wine while watching the sunset.

 

(sunset from the OWB)

 

* I just want to note that the photo with the birds above, shows the worst weather we had on our entire trip (our first day in Moorea). It was still super warm, just cloudy. We were there for nearly three weeks and the weather was amazing the whole time. I'm not sure if this is typical of September/October but it worked out great for us.

 

The Pool

The pool was incredible what more can I say! I will add that they have a spa pool that we didn't use as it was way too hot (the weather, not the spa).

 

(the main pool)

 

The Beach

It was quite small but very beautiful. We did spend MANY hours sitting under a thatched umbrella reading, relaxing and marveling at the view (it really was incredible). The sand was white and there was lots of coral in the water which made for really great snorkeling. The water temperature was quite variable. Most days it was refreshing but a couple of times (when it was windy) got quite cold.

 

(beach bliss)

 

(floating by the OWB's)

 

One of the perks of staying at the Hilton was the free access to the watersports equipment - they have snorkeling equipment, kayaks and paddle boats. We actually didn't use the kayaks and paddle boards that many times as when it was too windy they roped them off (understandably).

 

The Gym

The gym was located across the road from the hotel in a thatched building (with aircon thank goodness!). They have pretty much everything you need including an iPod dock so you can play your own music.

[lovetotravel68]

This post has nothing to do with French Polynesia or the Hilton. It is a story of my DH attempting to open a coconut. If this doesn't interest you I completely understand so I am warning you now to please, skip past it... but I found it so funny I just had to include it.

 

We were ready for dinner so we set off down the street in search of the little Chinese shop, marvelling at how many palm trees there were. And of course we all know that palm trees = coconuts! DH's favourite! They were everywhere, scattered all over the grass. He took his time picking the perfect coconut.

 

(the perfect coconut)

 

The only thing left to do now, was to open it. What transpired, was the most hilarious attempts by my DH to open the elusive coconut. I like to call the next set of pictures...

 

'The Coconut Series'

 

First up was a steel pipe in the ground

 

(utensil #1)

 

Then a stick in the ground

 

(utensil #2)

 

Somebody's fence

 

(utensil #3)

[lovetotravel68]

A large branch

 

(utensil #4)

 

I can't even begin to describe how hilarious I found this. DH carrying around this coconut, looking for anything he could to try and open it. Breaking out in a sweat as he used his hands to try and pull off some of the husk. Ahh I was in heaven. So let me put this in perspective for you; by the time we walked to the restaurant, ordered our meal, waited for it to be cooked, walked back to the hotel, ate the meal, showered and slept for 10 hours; it still wasn't open.

 

Yes that's right. 15 hours later he was still at it. With our champagne bottle

 

(utensil #5)

 

Luck was now on his side though and in the battle of man vs coconut. Man won. Eventually.

 

(finally!)

 

You'll never guess what we had for breakfast that day ;-)

Edited July 16, 2014 by lovetotravel68

[Tikiintahiti]

Oh thank you Tiki! Yes I posted one of the low res images as I don't have copies of the high res ones on my laptop. We do look a bit better 'warmer' though don't we? Maybe we should have spent more time in the sun before our wedding?! :D

 

FYI,

 

I'm a professional wedding photographer/videographer ;)

 

Send me the high res and I'll really fix it up .....

[lovetotravel68]

Before we left NZ I had 'met' a couple on this very forum who were doing the same cruise as us as well as staying at the Hilton for the same days prior. We had arranged to hire a car with them to check out the sights of Moorea, so bright and early Monday morning we met them outside the Hilton foyer. It turned out to be the best thing we did; not so much for the car hire but more because they turned out to be so lovely and over the course of the next two weeks we became great friends.

 

We started our 'tour of Moorea' by stopping to have a look at Temae beach. It was beautiful with soft white sand and perfectly blue water.

 

(temae beach)

 

 

Next up we went to the fruit juice factory where we sampled locally made juices as well as a few different types of alcohol. Coconut rum seemed to be the order of the day - it was pretty tasty. The main reason we wanted to hire the car however, was to take a drive to the Belvedere lookout. A narrow, winding road led us to the top and the view was impressive; Oponuhu Bay on the left and Cooks Bay on the right (as well as a view of the PG!).

 

(the PG on the bottom right)

 

(the jagged peaks of Moorea)

 

Moorea is so lush and green and the lookout proved to be a great spot to see all the jagged mountain tops. We stayed up here for a while oohhing and ahhing - you know, doing the tourist thing. It was really peaceful (until the tourist buses arrived that is!).

 

The other stops along our drive included Le Petit Village (where they have an abundance of pearl shops) and Snack Mahana which is a little 'cafe' right on the waters edge. They do a great banana split I might add!

 

(the view from snack mahana)

 

We tried to visit the Tiki Village Cultural Centre but it was closed on this particular day so we consoled ourselves by heading back to the hotel and having drinks on our new friends OWB deck ;)

[lovetotravel68]

Toatea Bar and Creperie

 

The crepe bar is on the same pier as the overwater bungalows, located outside which makes for fun dining. The dress is casual and the prices are quite reasonable.

 

(the crepe bar)

 

Every evening it receives a number of hungry visitors - no not the tourists but reef sharks!! The chefs feed them the leftover crepes and they seem to love it! They thrash around in the water below trying to get a taste.

 

(hungry reef sharks)

 

The crepes turned out to be absolutely delicious. I had a 'captain cook' crepe, a savoury combination of potatoes, onions, cheese and a white wine sauce. DH and I also split a dessert crepe which was very good.

 

Arii Vahine

This is the main restaurant at the Hilton. We dined here once and enjoyed a 3 course meal. We all thought the quality of the food was excellent and very well presented.

 

(my dessert)

 

We didn't eat breakfast at the hotel as it wasn't included in our package so I can't comment on this. We bought cereal, soy milk and fruit from Le Marche in Papeete and had this every morning on our deck.

[Tikiintahiti]

For you that are thinking of the Moorea Hilton ........ there is a breakfast place across the street to the right.

 

Free wifi ........... ran by a beautiful French lady ..... good and reasonable.

 

 

 

 

I agree about the crepe bar ............ reasonable and good

Edited July 16, 2014 by Tikiintahiti