TAHITI & MO'OREA — CHARISMA SHAH

We all have different definitions of paradise. After honeymooning in the Maldives, our definition means pristine white sands that seep through your fingers and feel like velvet under your toes, and crystal clear turquoise waters for miles that instantly reveal the ocean floor. Without these features, well - thats just your average American beach.

I know. We are spoilt.

But just look how beautiful!

While we absolutely love to travel, I especially enjoy being efficient while traveling. So when we came across a deal to stop over in French Polynesia en route back to the US from New Zealand, I couldn’t pass up the chance. I had always wanted to go. The mountainous terrain mixed with turquoise waters and waterfront villas had been on my list since our honeymoon days. In fact, we had debated at that time to visit French Polynesia but it just was too expensive and wasn’t easy to combine with our already planned trip to India so the Maldives made more sense.

Our stop over was a total of 4 days and it was completely worth it!

about french polynesia

Most famously known for Bora Bora, French Polynesia is a archipelago of islands scattered in the Pacific Ocean that also includes Tahiti & Mo’orea. In total, there are 118 islands/atolls that make up the country and span about 1600 square miles. Thats a little bit bigger than the the urban land area of the city of Dallas.

Tahiti is home to the capital of French Polynesia, Papeete.
The islands have been a part of the French Republic since 1842.
Almost 70% of the country’s population lives on Tahiti itself.
While French is the official language of the Islands, native Tahitian is also spoken by about 40% of the population.
Papeete is only about an 8 hour flight (nonstop) from San Francisco.
Dry season is considered to be May - October.
Sorry my vegetarian friends, but its not the most veg-friendly destination. As to be expected, much of the cuisine is seafood-based.
Tahiti is known for its black pearls and vanilla.
The currency used is the Franc.

things to do

Swimming with whales. Yep, you read that right. Apparently, humpback migrate down to Tahiti & Mo’orea during August & the early part of September to give birth to and raise baby whales. During this time, oceanographic tours are available that take small groups into the open ocean to experience seeing the whales first hand. While it wasn’t guaranteed that we would see a whale, we did. A couple notes about this excursion:
1. This trek is not for sensitive stomachs or weak swimmers. The ocean swells were 8-10 feet tall at times and I just about thought the boat was going to capsize or I was going to drown from the sheer volume from the waves.
2. While you are NOT allowed to touch the whales, they may come and explore you. These are wild, HUMONGOUS creatures. We were lucky enough to witness both a mom & baby whale. To put things into perspective, the BABY whale was 20 feet long and weighed several tons. In our case, the baby was really curious and swam over. It even kissed my stomach! I was audibly freaking out. It was both the most uniquely memorably and terrifying experience of my life. I’m still not sure if it all really happened. I mean, the baby whale’s eye was the size of my face!
Visit neighboring islands. Mo’orea is just a short ferry ride from Tahiti and has tons to offer. In fact, we stayed on Mo’orea.
Try staying at an Airbnb. I wasn’t really expecting their to be Airbnb’s in the area, but there were. We were pleasantly surprised with our experience. If you book out far enough in advance there are some pretty stellar properties. We split up our time between an Airbnb and the Hilton on Mo’orea. The latter was also a great experience with hospitable staff, great amenities, and idyllic waterfront rooms.
Take a boat tour. Ours was offered through our hotel and included island hopping to see some great snorkeling spots.
Explore the smaller islands. We were able to take a boat ride to a nearby abandoned island. We decided to just walk around and found some great snorkeling spots, and a cool abandoned house.
Relax, duh. This probably goes without saying, but just enjoy the scenic views.