I am going to do a trip report for each island we visited. My husband and I went to Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora and Tahaa for our five year wedding anniversary. I am 32, my husband is 39. We are normally very laid back people at home but when it comes to vacation, we like to see the sights and keep active. I like to write a little about ourselves because everyone has different opinions based on their lifestyle.

We flew out of JFK to LAX on 5/14 and stayed with friends in Santa Monica. We had a 1pm flight out of LAX to PPT on Air Tahiti Nui (ATN). Our friend dropped us off at 11:10am. We bought business class tickets so the line was really short (about 3 people ahead of us). The coach line had about 45 people on it. There were 2 flights leaving, one for PPT and one for Paris, France. Once we got our boarding passes, we headed for the security line. That took 30 minutes. What held us up was our underwater case for our digital camera. It had to go through security 3 times. While my husband was doing that, I did the dumb thing and exchanged our money. It was (GASP!) an 80 dollar rate but it was only a $4.95 charge up to $4999.00. I exchanged $4100 so I thought in the end we might save money (the 3% on the credit cards and/or the charge at the hotel). I think the exchange rate was 84 island wide at the airport in PPT and in the hotels. I knew 80 was bad but I just wanted to get it over with. Anyway, once we got through security, we headed for the gate. ATN gave us a business class lounge pass but we had no time to use it. Once we got to the gate, they were starting to board first and business class. We had to get on a bus to get to the plane. I was wondering why they started boarding an hour in advance. The bus ride was about seven minutes. We took off on time (1pm sharp) and away we went. ATN was amazing, definitely the best airline we have been on. Business class was great. We each had our own tv screen which had movies, games and audio. My husbands games did not work but he didnt really care. The movies all started around 20 minutes after take off. No one ever said you can start using devices so we waited until we were at cruising altitude and we put them on. All of the movies started already. You can put the TV on right after you take off. We each got a little bag with a lip balm, hand cream, mini toothbrush/paste, a wet napkin, ear plugs and a sleeping mask. The food was good on the way there. A salmon appetizer, a choice of lobster or duck salad and then another choice of a main meal. They also had wine, champagne and the usual.

We landed at PPT around 6:20pm. We were the 8th off the plane and our luggage was the 2nd to come off. We then flew through customs and saw our names on the travel agent board. They took our luggage and took us right to the bus to head to the Intercontinental. The negative about this was that we had to wait for another 10 couples and that took OVER an hour. Next time, we would take the $5.00 cab to the IC ourselves. Little did I know that I would have had PLENTY of time to exchange my money there. Oh well!
Once everyone boarded, we were off. As I mentioned, the bus ride was five minutes. We got to the IC and everyone got off the bus. The best was that I paid the $150 for the ambassador card and got right on the priority line AND got my OWB upgrade (#497) which was the last of the OWB's before the beach. The OWB was a 5 minute walk from the lobby or a 2 minute ride with the hotel buggy. We got to our room and were TOTALLY exhausted and went right to sleep.
The IC room was ok compared to what lies ahead (other hotels/islands). They left us a bottle of water and a fruit place because of our 5 year anniversary and a DVD on the IC and its different hotels in FP. The TV only had one english speaking station and that was CNN. It wasnt american CNN but european.
We purchased the breakfast plan for our whole trip. My husband is a breakfast person. The IC buffet was ok. The coffee was close to our normal American coffee. They had an egg station where they can make you any kind of egg you want. They also had an assortment of pasteries, breads, etc. They also had cereals and yogurt. All in all, it was ok and it was nice that we paid for it already.
We woke up the next day to COMPLETE downpours. I wasnt too upset because we had a 4X4 tour. Little did I know that it was cancelled. I booked it prior to our arrival on the web Tahiti-safari.com. Anyway, I had a full refund upon my return (because I prepaid before we left). Anyway, the activities woman in the IC lobby was very nice. We were able to get on a bus tour (which was cheaper than the original safari). It was Marama Tours (50-7474) It was 8000 for both of us plus another 1200 for the Paul Gauguin Museum entrance fee. There was also another 2800 fee for lunch which we didnt pay because we thought there would be other options for lunch (but there werent). We ended up spending the 2800 anyway at the restaurant. The tour was good. We saw the blowhole, the Maraa Fern grotto, the museum and point venus. The sun came out a little while so it was nice. I really liked the tour, I would definitely recommend it. While I am on the subject, I would suggest booking MOST of the tours when you are there. I was a bit obsessive about booking things before we got there. It is completely unnecessary.
The tour ended at 3pm back at the hotel. This was our one night in Tahiti so we wanted to go to dinner at the Belvedere. At first, we had the 7pm pick up but since our tour ended earlier that the 4X4 one, we changed it for the sunset seating (which we knew there wouldnt be much of a sunset because it was raining still). The driver picked us up at 4:40pm and we were on our way. The first 20 minutes were on the paved road but the rest (another 30) were on dirt, hilly roads. If you get car sick, I probably wouldnt recommend it. I thought it was fun going up and down the hills and every time we thought we were there, we went up another hill. We got there around 5:30pm and were the ONLY people there that night. We ordered onion soups, I had the steak and my husband had lobster and we ordered the cheese fondue. We thought the fondue would be the appetizer but we ended up getting it last. It was WAY too much food. You can get away w/the fondue and a dessert each. This was one of our best meals there. My husband had a scotch and a 1/2 bottle of wine and I had sparking water and the bill came to 12500. When we were done, the ride was waiting for us back. It was about 5 minutes quicker on the way down. We got back to the hotel and went to bed.
***SIDE STORY***
During the tour my throat was starting to feel itchy and I started to feel a bit feverish. Those signs are normally that I was getting a throat infection. Of course I forgot to bring my supply of antibiotics so I was starting to panic, what if I couldnt get any etc.... so when we got back to the hotel I told the woman at the front desk about my problem and she called a doctor for me that came in 15 minutes to my room. Sure enough, I had the beginning of an infection and he prescribed antibio's for me. The next morning on our way to the market, we went to a pharmacy, I picked up the prescription and we were on our way. (He gave me 2 antibiotic pills when I saw him so I already felt better the next morning). His bill was 10000 and the pills (10 days worth) were 2000. The 12000 is fully covered on my travel insurance so I just have to file a claim. I am just telling that story to say how great the IC was.
5/17/05- We went to the market in the morning because we had a 12N flight to Moorea. We took a cab and it was 2000 from the IC. It was also raining this day so the market was perfect. It is two floors and people are selling the same stuff, veggies, fruit, pareos, postcards, tons of tiki's, oils etc. I would DEFINITELY buy ALL of your souvenirs HERE. The prices were MUCH less than the other islands. I wish I bought more. We then took a cab back. There was a cab stand near the market. That was 1800 back.
We got back to the hotel and called them to pick up our luggage to catch the shuttle to the airport. The bus was at 11:10am so we called the front desk at 10:50am. We were late for the bus because a lot of people were checking out at that time (11am). I would suggest checking out earlier. We would have walked ourselves but it was still raining. They finally came at 11:10am and we checked out in a snap and boarded the bus to the airport. We got to the airport at 11:30am and found out that the 11am flight didnt leave yet (due to the rain) so finally, around 12:15pm the 11am flight left. Then our flight left at 12:45pm. This was definitely the smallest plane we have been on and the shortest flight. It was an 18 seater. The best about the planes in FP is that you hand them your luggage, get a boarding pass and then they call you and you board the plane and take off in 5 minutes. Everyone was sitting on the right of the plane so my husband asked the pilot if some people need to move to the left (there was no door, you see what the pilot is doing the whole time) and the pilot just shrugged. It was funny. Anyway, we took off in a flash and we touched down in Moorea seven minutes later....

SUMMARY:
We stayed in Tahiti one full day. I am happy we stayed the night we arrived because we were exhausted. Not sure if there is an evening flight to Moorea but we probably could/would have taken an evening flight to cut out the 2nd night. It was nice to take the tour and go to the market.
The IC was a nice hotel. They were very attentive and it was well kept. It rained the whole time we were there so I am sure we didnt see the whole beauty of it. Out of all the hotels we stayed at, the IC was our least favorite out of the bunch but the others were SO nice, it made the IC look bad (but it wasnt, it was pleasant).
The Marama tour was very nice, I would recommend it. I am sure I will think of other things but I still have three more trip reports to write. Stay tuned for:

5/17-5/20 Moorea-Sheraton
5/20-5/24 Bora Bora-Nui
5/24-5/26 Tahaa-Le Tahaa
Yahoo pictures to follow soon.......