One week in Moorea. Rent car in Papeete or Moorea?

[oakridger]

I will be arriving in Papeete on the Windstar Breeze and am then going to Moorea to spend a week on land.  Is it cheaper or easier to rent the car in Papeete and take the ferry to Moorea or just wait until I arrive in Moorea to rent it?

 

Thanks for any information about the rental cars there.

 

~Nancy

[Leejnd4]

It's super easy to rent a car in Moorea. We spent several days there and rented a car. And it's super easy to take the shuttle to Moorea - and definitely easier to walk on rather than drive a car on. Plus, then you don't have to pay both ways for the car. The ferry terminal is next to the cruise pier in Papeete...you can just walk right over to the ferry. If you pre-arrange your car rental in Moorea, it will be waiting for you where you disembark the ferry.

 

Price is about the same...maybe a tiny bit more in Moorea, but not by much. 

Edited July 9, 2023 by Leejnd4

[Dbld777]

We rented directly from the Avis car rental on Moorea. It's directly across from where the ferry from Papeete docks. They have their own website to make a reservation, which is better than going through the Avis corporate website.

 

https://www.avis-tahiti.com/en/

[oakridger]

Thank you both for sharing your first-hand experience!  I'll reserve a car at the Moorea ferry dock Avis.  

 

@Dbld777 By the way, I'm an Ohio State grad.  March 1976!!  Threw my diploma in my trunk and moved to San Francisco.  I've not been back to Columbus since but would like to see what it's like now.

 

Thanks folks.

 

~Nancy

[Dbld777]

@oakridger I'm a '79 grad. You wouldn't recognize the campus at OSU. So many new buildings and not much greenspace left except for the Oval. The whole Columbus area has grown tremendously.

 

If you'd like an island tour while on Moorea, we had a great tour with "Lady in Blue", Spirou.

During a stop at one of the pearl stores, we met the owner, a native, who had once lived in Ohio for a few years. She was a pearl diver at Sea World in Aurora, Ohio for several years. Small World. The pearls there are beautiful btw.

 

https://ladyinblue-moorea.business.site/

https://www.facebook.com/MADAMEBLEU2

 

[Piaa]

We are doing this is September and will take the car ferry so fingers crossed.  Do check your rental contract as we first booked on Moorea with Avis and the rentals are plus mileage so I found a local rental car company in Papeete that came highly recommended that is cheaper and includes unlimited mileage which in a week I know will add up (I think it is something like 0.50c per mile with Avis)  

[oakridger]

Thanks @Piaa.  I'll check about the mileage.  Most car rentals here in the US offer them with unlimited mileage so I hadn't even thought about that!  Reminds me to always read that "fine print"!!!  

 

I'm new to Windstar so am really looking forward to the small ship experience.  My previous 3 wonderful trips to the islands were on (old) Crystal Symphony which only carried about 600-700 on those cruises. That had been my sweet spot for ship size.  Paul Gauguin looks great too, but I got a pretty good single supplement deal on Windstar for this one.

 

~Nancy

[oakridger]

11 hours ago, Dbld777 said:

If you'd like an island tour while on Moorea, we had a great tour with "Lady in Blue", Spirou.

 

Thanks for the tip.  Her style of tour sounds like something I would enjoy.

 

I probably wouldn't even recognize Columbus as you describe it now.  I don't have any personal connections there anymore so probably won't be back anytime soon! I think I'll go to the South Pacific instead!!!  😎

🏝️🌺

 

~Nancy

[Leejnd4]

14 hours ago, oakridger said:

Thanks @Piaa.  I'll check about the mileage.  Most car rentals here in the US offer them with unlimited mileage so I hadn't even thought about that!  Reminds me to always read that "fine print"!!!  

 

I'm new to Windstar so am really looking forward to the small ship experience.  My previous 3 wonderful trips to the islands were on (old) Crystal Symphony which only carried about 600-700 on those cruises. That had been my sweet spot for ship size.  Paul Gauguin looks great too, but I got a pretty good single supplement deal on Windstar for this one.

 

~Nancy

Nancy you will enjoy Windstar. Just keep in mind, it's not Crystal! 😉 It's a much more casual cruise line, heavy into a nautical theme. In our experience the food was very good, but didn't compare to dining on Symphony. And it's not all-inclusive, although fortunately we didn't feel "nickel-and-dimed" on our Windstar cruises, the way you do on the mass-market lines.

 

I'm off to the South Pacific myself in November, but I'm going on the Paul Gauguin. They are a bit more upscale than Windstar, and all-inclusive. But you're probably right that they don't offer a good single supplement.

 

You'll have a marvelous time. The South Pacific is truly magical!

[FlightMedic555]

I’m in Tahiti now. Rented from Hertz at the airport for one day to go to Teahupo’o.  Very high mileage charge. We go on the Paul Gauguin tomorrow and post cruise will ferry to Moorea where we have a car reserved with Avis. No mileage charge there 

[Leejnd4]

19 minutes ago, FlightMedic555 said:

I’m in Tahiti now. Rented from Hertz at the airport for one day to go to Teahupo’o.  Very high mileage charge. We go on the Paul Gauguin tomorrow and post cruise will ferry to Moorea where we have a car reserved with Avis. No mileage charge there 

I've got a car reserved with Europcar at the airport in Papeete, which has unlimited mileage. I reserved it through my Amex Travel, and was careful to pick a vehicle that clearly stated "unlimited miles". I learned from this forum that many of the cars rented in Papeete do NOT include mileage, or I wouldn't have known to look for that! And sure enough, the first ten or so cars that showed up in my search did not have mileage included. We're spending 4 days pre-cruise in Tahiti at an AirBnb, and plan on touring the island, so unlimited mileage was important. It's quite a bit more expensive per day than the ones without mileage included, but I suspect I'll come out ahead.

 

Looking forward to hearing your reports from your cruise! Enjoy!

[FlightMedic555]

We had $80 in mileage charges for our 1 day. Should have used a different company 

[oakridger]

7 hours ago, FlightMedic555 said:

We had $80 in mileage charges for our 1 day. Should have used a different company 

 

Whoa!!!  So glad you folks warned us about this!  Thanks again everyone.

 

~Nancy

[oakridger]

@Leejnd4   I read many of your posts on the Crystal forum before the pandemic and always thought you presented entertaining and valuable information in your reports. I appreciate the info and comparison of Windstar to Crystal.  My package does include their early booking offerings of reduced single supplement, beverage package plus Wi-Fi, gratuities and unlimited laundry!  No extras have to be paid for except excursions if I choose!  I'm happy with that!  Now I just have to wait a loooonggg time! (February 2025)

 

~Nancy

Edited July 12, 2023 by oakridger

[Leejnd4]

15 hours ago, FlightMedic555 said:

We had $80 in mileage charges for our 1 day. Should have used a different company 

 

WHOA! Now I'm REALLY glad I got the warning in advance! Sorry that happened to you. Given that we plan on driving completely around the island, and checking out Tahiti Iti as well, I suspect we'd have been gobsmacked by mileage charges if we hadn't heeded that warning.

 

8 hours ago, oakridger said:

@Leejnd4   I read many of your posts on the Crystal forum before the pandemic and always thought you presented entertaining and valuable information in your reports. I appreciate the info and comparison of Windstar to Crystal.  My package does include their early booking offerings of reduced single supplement, beverage package plus Wi-Fi, gratuities and unlimited laundry!  No extras have to be paid for except excursions if I choose!  I'm happy with that!  Now I just have to wait a loooonggg time! (February 2025)

 

~Nancy

 

Thanks Nancy! That's a great deal. But yeah, that is a long time to wait. 😉 Watch the Paul Gauguin forum for my daily reports in November! I always enjoy doing a daily travelogue when I'm on a cruise. That will whet your appetite even more!

 

I have a long wait for my next Crystal cruise myself: it's not until November 2024.