#76714 - 09/29/08 09:57 PM
Tahiti/Manihi/Taha'a/Moorea Sept 2008
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islandboyatheart
Expert Advisor
Registered: 07/19/05
Posts: 1376
Loc: Florida
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TAHITI – MANIHI – TAHA’A – MOOREA
This is our 4th trip to FP and we spent 14 nights on the islands. We used Airline miles for our tickets and hotel points for half of our hotel stays which helped to keep the costs down.
Here goes:
AIR TAHITI NUI-
Excellent service on board both going and coming- as good as service we’ve had on Singapore Airlines. Had free tickets both ways using American Airlines miles. Return flight was delayed almost 2 hours making our LAX to MIA connection tight.
TAHITI – 3 nights Le Meridien
We booked a standard room but were upgraded to a deluxe junior suite. Room was well-appointed and spacious with 2 balconies/decks, one small balcony and one huge outdoor area with chairs and table, couch, TV, easel, and lounge chairs. We had views of the pool and the ocean. This was our 2nd stay here, very nice resort, sand-bottom pool, good size beach area with snorkeling. Breakfast is the only meal we ate here but it was good. Staff was friendly.
Activities:
We rented a car for 2 days to drive around Tahiti Nui and Tahiti Iti.
Museum of Tahiti and Her Islands - Small but nice with good va’a, tapa and carving displays.
Marae Arahurahu – One of the best marae I’ve seen in FP
Taravao Plateau – Views of the isthmus joining Tahiti Nui and Tahiti Iti. Not as stunning as I expected.
Tautira Rd – Nice drive along northern coast of Tahiti Iti with numerous waterfalls visible along the road and a black sand beach at the end.
Fa’aurumai Waterfalls – Spectacular! 1st fall (Vaimahutu) is a 10 minute walk from the parking lot. Other 2 falls (Haamaremare iti and Haamaremare rahi) are a 20 minute walk from the 1st but worth the effort.
Shopping:
You can find everything you need in downtown Papeete. The Marche for souvenirs. Vaima Center for books and clothes. Pedron Music has by far the best selection of Tahitian music I’ve seen and the owner is a great guy.
Food:
Roulottes are still my choice for cheap, good food in PPT, especially L’Escato which has great kebab, La Boule Rouge which has good crepes and ice cream and Vesuvio for pizza. There are many others but those are the ones I tried on this trip.
Les Trois Brasseurs – Good place for good beer and lunch or a snack while visiting downtown PPT.
Tried to eat at Chez Loula et Remy on Tahiti Iti but they were packed and couldn’t seat us for LUNCH on a Sunday without a reservation.
MANIHI – 3 nights Manihi Pearl
We stayed in a premium overwater bungalow. The resort was beautiful. The room was nice and well-equipped. Premium bungalows are a bit more private but honestly not a big difference from the regular OWB. The room had A/C but we didn’t need it because of the wind. Infinity pool was nice but water was cool. Long beach but shallow and rocky along the water’s edge and for a relatively far distance from shore. The lagoon was clear but a bit choppy because of the wind. Good sea-life with so-so coral. If you plan to snorkel and you’re not in an OWB, walk to the pier and get in. Don’t try to wade in from the beach. Staff was very friendly. Surprisingly, the hotel was 75% Italian tourists with 20% French and only 3 Americans couples making up the rest. First time I’ve seen that in FP.
Activities:
Boat to visit Turipaoa village – not much to see, picked up some snacks and water at the small magasin.
Snorkeling the ocean reef drop-off – Incredible snorkeling. Amazing coral and fish life with a drop varying from about 3 feet to 5000 feet into the depths. When windy, can be very choppy.
They also offer excursions to a pearl farm, motu picnic, and hand-line fishing and sunset cruise which we didn’t participate in. Others reported good experiences although due to choppy seas, reported seasickness on the latter two excursions.
Food:
Only place to eat is the hotel restaurant but food is good and they have dancing and singing during different nights to provide entertainment – nothing fancy but nice. We met Celine, the night bartender, who remembered Vaitape and Tim and Carol from the TE board very well.
TAHA’A – 2 nights Vahine Island, 2 nights Le Taha’a
We were supposed to stay at Vahine Island for 4 nights but due a reservation mix-up, found out only two days before our stay that Vahine could only accommodate us for 2 nights. They therefore offered with great apologies to “upgrade” us without penalty to stay at Le Taha’a for the last 2 nights.
Vahine Island
We stayed in an OWB. The hotel is about a 40 minute boat ride from the airport. Beautiful resort in an idyllic setting with an intimate feel. Sylvie, the new manager and Thierry were both wonderful as were most of the staff. Only 9 total bungalows so you feel like part of a family while you are there. Our bungalow was large and nicely equipped with many small touches of luxury such as high thread count sheets, Turkish cotton towels, Molton and Brown bath amenities. The lagoon around the OWB is almost entirely fine sand, ideal for swimming but no significant snorkeling. The channel between the hotel motu and the adjacent motu has very good snorkeling but a bit shallow in many areas so you have to work your way around carefully. Great views of Bora Bora, especially at sunset.
Food:
You are required to purchase a half-board meal plan at Vahine but you cannot easily go anywhere else to eat and the food was gourmet so we were not disappointed. Breakfast includes cereal, bread and pastry basket, jams and butter, homemade vanilla yoghurt, fresh fruit, eggs and bacon. It is served rather than buffet style. For Dinner, you are given a menu for that day at breakfast and you make your choice between 2 different appetizers, main courses (one fish and one meat), and desserts. All the food was excellent. Lunch is a la carte but again, all the food is tasty and well-prepared. Service was always attentive. Entertainment was provided and for a small motu, they boated over some darn good uke players accompanied by singers and dancers.
Le Taha’a
We were booked into a Bora Bora Overwater Suite. The room was very large and luxurious and lagoon was beautiful. Nice large deck with comfortable lounge chairs and covered sitting area with a table, additional chairs, and, believe it or not, a ceiling fan. However, the bed was by far THE MOST UNCOMFORTABLE bed I have ever slept in ANYWHERE in the world! On the second night, after tossing and turning, my wife and I got up and slept together on the little couch in the room which turned out to be a 1000 times more comfortable. There was shallow water and a sandy bottom all around the bungalow which is ideal for swimming. The coral gardens in the channel next to the resort have spectacular snorkeling. The best way to see them is to cross over to the adjacent motu, walk down towards the ocean edge of the reef and then snorkel back with the current. The pool was nice with an infinity edge and there are multiple small beach areas with chairs and hammocks to catch some sun. This hotel felt the least Polynesian of all the hotels we stayed at on this trip.
Food:
Vahine paid for us to have the ½ board meal plan at Le Taha’a so we ate all our meals at Restaurant Vanille, with the exception of lunch, which we ate at La Plage, the poolside restaurant. The food was good but not as good as Vahine Island.
Activities:
We had planned on seeing Raiatea and Taha’a but because of the reservation mix-up, we only had one full day at each of our Taha’a hotels. This made it difficult to try to leave to do excursions. We tried to book a ½ day tour while at Le Taha’a but you need a minimum number of people to do excursions and not enough people seemed to be interested in leaving the hotel so we were unable to meet the minimum requirements on either day of our stay. Hopefully next time we will get a chance to see both islands.
Vahine vs. Le Taha’a – Vahine wins hands down in my opinion. At Vahine we were the only English-speaking guests so we felt like we really were someplace different. There was a much more intimate feel to Vahine island whereas Le Taha’a felt much more like a large resort. The staff is friendly at both places but at Vahine we got the feeling they genuinely cared about us whereas at Le Taha’a we felt like they were just politely doing their job. Vahine was a wonderful experience and we are sure to go back. I’m glad to have seen Le Taha’a but it is not the right place for us – and I stress us. My wife and I both think Vahine Island is a hidden gem.
MOOREA – 4 nights Sheraton Moorea
We stayed in a standard garden bungalow. For fellow SPG members out there, as an SPG gold member I have never once been upgraded and have never been awarded late checkout at this hotel. This was our 4th stay and I’ve written about the hotel before so not much new to report. The small Jacuzzi they were constructing by the pool is finished but is only big enough for about 3 people at a time unless you want to get intimate with your neighbors. The rooms have been redecorated and they were in the process of redoing a number of the OWB. Hotel was primarily American guests. A number of changeovers in staff since our last visit, some friendly others not-so-much. Pool boys are generally very nice and a few of the front desk are nice but not as friendly as a whole as it was during my other stays. The guard at the gate is flat out rude - don’t bother saying hello, he won’t respond no matter which language you speak – I tried it in 3. Lagoon and coral have deteriorated significantly since my last visit both from human damage and A LOT of crown-of-thorns starfish which I had never seen in the lagoon before. They even have warning signs posted at the hotel so guests don’t touch them – they call them “Taramea” in Tahitian. If you snorkel, the fish are still abundant but you have to get away from the beach and OWB before you start to find a lot of the more healthy coral.
Activities:
We’ve done most of the activities in Moorea so we rented a car for a couple of days to drive around, do some shopping and get some groceries. We didn’t plan on doing any sites but on our first day we picked up a French couple who had taken the bus from Le Petit Village and walked from Papetoai on the western side of Opunohu Bay all the way to Cook’s Bay with plans to walk to see the Belvedere and Tamae beach. Having been there before, we knew this to be an insurmountable task but for some reason they had bee told by the lady at the tourism office at Le Petit Village that this was do-able. We offered them a ride when we passed them in Cook’s Bay and when we found out their plans, we offered to drive them around to see the sites. They were very friendly and their impeccable English put our French to shame. We enjoyed the company and chatting with them. We visited the Agricultural School, some maraes, the Belvedere and the Toatea look-out (where they now have a monument to the victims of the Air Moorea crash – very sad).
Food:
Get out of the Sheraton for much better food. Reviews from other guests confirmed this is still the case.
Rudy’s – Good food with very good service, Hamara had recommended it and I highly recommend it. We had an escargot appetizer. I then had steak au poivre and my wife the Osso Bucco. This was my Wife’s favorite restaurant on this trip.
Le Mayflower – Good food and service as well. Split the lobster ravioli appetizer and then we both had the shrimp in coconut curry sauce (still can’t touch Le Bateau’s version). I think this was my favorite but Rudy’s was close.
La Plantation – Good food and service as well but the food was not as good as Le Mayflower or Rudy’s although the foie gras terrine was excellent.
Aito’s – Cozy atmosphere, nice view of the lagoon. Pleasant musical duo on a Friday night. We both had Corsican specialties and they were good; just not as good as our other meals. Service was friendly. We tried the pepper sauce but my wife and I love spice and with her being from the Caribbean, the sauce can’t touch the Caribbean pepper sauces.
Carameline’s – Good breakfast stop with good pastries and decent crepes as well as fruit and typical breakfast fare. Also serve ice cream with a large array of flavors.
Kaveka – Good lunch stop for good sandwiches or burgers. Didn’t go for dinner so can’t comment on the dinner menu. Nice setting on Cook’s Bay.
A few final observations:
The weather was cooler and less humid this time of year than during our usual April visit. It was windy most days and we didn’t really need the A/C for most of the stay. Lagoons were cooler but I was still able to spend hours in the water although I usually felt I had to take a hot shower after I got out (my Florida blood). Tourism is down but hotels were more booked than I have seen on any of my previous visits – maybe due to the fact this trip was at the tail-end of peak season. The vast majority of tourists appeared to be Italian, some Spanish, Japanese and of course French. Few Americans except at the Sheraton Moorea and Le Taha’a. We saw many smaller children on this trip, all European. Exchange rate was generally close to 80:1 at restaurants and most hotels with the exception of the Sheraton which was 70:1 (perhaps partly due to the drop in the dollar during our stay there). I didn’t check the bank rates as I had exchanged money at Amex while they had the 88:1 rate. I had purchased an unlocked phone from Yves prior to the visit and it worked great – the account was still active and you can find Vini recharge cards everywhere. We took Jan Prince’s book and Rob Kay’s Hidden Tahiti on this trip. Jan Prince’s book is good for restaurants, tour operators and phone numbers but Hidden Tahiti is much better for self-guided walking and driving tours. I will post some pictures soon. Unfortunately, my underwater camera died while at Le Taha’a so I couldn’t get underwater pictures from Moorea. Canon has promised to fix it so I will keep my fingers crossed.
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#76718 - 09/30/08 01:58 AM
Re: Tahiti/Manihi/Taha'a/Moorea Sept 2008
[Re: islandboyatheart]
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rodjune
Expert Advisor
Registered: 07/08/03
Posts: 1726
Loc: Kalama Valley, HI
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What a fun trip. Thanks for all the great details.
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#76719 - 09/30/08 05:40 AM
Re: Tahiti/Manihi/Taha'a/Moorea Sept 2008
[Re: rodjune]
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DenverJoe
Expert Advisor
Registered: 09/10/02
Posts: 1878
Loc: Denver, Co.
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Great report Ryan. Sounds like you had a good time. Vahine confirmed our res so all is well there also. Sounds like the typical ATN delay on the return flight.
_________________________
Nothing better than a Hinano in hand and toes in the sand.
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#76722 - 09/30/08 07:29 AM
Re: Tahiti/Manihi/Taha'a/Moorea Sept 2008
[Re: DenverJoe]
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Patti.
Expert Advisor
Registered: 03/28/04
Posts: 2460
Loc: Las Vegas, NV
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Great report. Interesting selection of islands this time around. I want to try a few news ones in the future too.
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#76731 - 09/30/08 10:17 AM
Re: Tahiti/Manihi/Taha'a/Moorea Sept 2008
[Re: Patti.]
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ryo-oh-ki
Member
Registered: 01/27/08
Posts: 109
Loc: Los Angeles, CA
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Awesome review. It's good to hear that Manihi is still the sleepy little resort out in the middle of no where. We had the same experience (Jan 2007) of being among the few Americans at the resort. I'm not sure if this was a seasonal thing. Or Americans in general tend lean towards Bora Bora instead of the Tuamotu's
_________________________
Tahiti Check List
x Manihi (12/2006)
x Moorea (1/2007)
_ Tahaa
_ Rangiroa
_ Tikehau
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#76737 - 09/30/08 12:14 PM
Re: Tahiti/Manihi/Taha'a/Moorea Sept 2008
[Re: ryo-oh-ki]
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vaitape
Expert Advisor
Registered: 02/09/02
Posts: 1387
Loc: socal
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Great report Ryan....mauruuru! and thanks for saying hi to Celine for us.
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#76754 - 09/30/08 07:02 PM
Re: Tahiti/Manihi/Taha'a/Moorea Sept 2008
[Re: vaitape]
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islandboyatheart
Expert Advisor
Registered: 07/19/05
Posts: 1376
Loc: Florida
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Thanks everyone.
I'm glad the reservations turned out ok Joe.
Patti, I wanted to try a couple new islands this trip. I would like to go back and stay on Raiatea itself but Fakarava will come first.
Ryo, Manihi is great and still a relatively quiet place.
Aita pe'ape'a Vai :)
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#76826 - 10/01/08 10:36 PM
Re: Tahiti/Manihi/Taha'a/Moorea Sept 2008
[Re: islandboyatheart]
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Elfie68
Member
Registered: 10/31/07
Posts: 45
Loc: Western Australia
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island boy, so enjoyed your trip report, was especially happy to hear that you were as impressed with Vahine as we were. I was also interested in staying at Taha'a for the luxury one day and was pleased to hear that you thought Vahine was better so I won't be so upset that I can't afford Taha'a! Vahine was such excellent value for money, imo.
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#76856 - 10/03/08 04:45 AM
Re: Tahiti/Manihi/Taha'a/Moorea Sept 2008
[Re: Elfie68]
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islandboyatheart
Expert Advisor
Registered: 07/19/05
Posts: 1376
Loc: Florida
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Thanks Elfie. It really is a beautiful and intimate place. The luxury at Le Taha'a is nice and the coral gardens are great but as a whole, I'll stick with Vahine.
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#76905 - 10/05/08 08:02 PM
Re: Tahiti/Manihi/Taha'a/Moorea Sept 2008
[Re: islandboyatheart]
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Justine2
Expert Advisor
Registered: 02/12/07
Posts: 1911
Loc: Minneapolis, MN
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Great report!
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