#81684 - 07/24/09 03:29 AM
Just back from our Honeymoon! - Moorea 27/06/09
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Daydreamer
Member
Registered: 04/28/09
Posts: 53
Loc: Yorkshire, United Kingdom
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We arrived back last week from what turned out to be the honeymoon of our dreams. A couple of days was all that it took for us to fall in love with Moorea, its people, climate and wildlife.
Travelling to French Polynesia was always intended as a ‘once in a lifetime’ trip, primarily due to the expense. However it’s pretty clear now that we can go nowhere else without wishing we were there.
Both myself and my wife wanted to thank you all for the advice you gave in the run up to our trip, you wouldn’t believe how useful it was to us while we were there. We made excellent use of our two weeks there, saw the sights worth seeing and did the excursions that were recommended to us. 2 weeks just wasn’t enough to do everything the island has to offer and I would suggest to anyone that they needn’t always go for the travel agent recommendation of seeing as many islands as possible in your time in FP, Moorea had plenty to offer by itself and we never once felt the need to look elsewhere. We’ve saved seeing some of the other islands for our return trip!
Things we liked:
The weather
The hospitality/people
Restaurant food
The sea/snorkelling
The beautiful views, no matter where on the island you were
Island time
Hinano
Things we didn’t like so much:
The cost (but we expected this)
Petty crime (had some money stolen but didn’t let it spoil the trip)
Hotel food
Flights:
The flights were long and delays dampened our spirits somewhat but we made fairly good time and the airlines were great (Air New Zealand & Air Tahiti Nui). A big thanks to the local band who turned out at 5am at the airport to welcome us in!
Hotel:
We arrived at the Sofitel Ia Ora Moorea on the morning of the 27th of June. We’d travelled 9,552 miles from the UK to Papeete over 26 hours of flights and transfers. you can’t imagine how nice a glass of pineapple juice and a cold towel to freshen up was. We were checked in efficiently and although we’d learnt some French before we travelled very little was needed as the receptionists spoke excellent English, we tried however and raised a few giggles at our poor pronunciation! (One thing of note is that the hotel couldn’t believe we were staying with them for two weeks solid, is this SO unusual???!) Lol We were informed our room would not be ready till 2pm and were given towels and access to a shower and changing room, so we changed/showered and headed to the beach. Time flew quickly and our room was available earlier than originally planned. Our bags were waiting inside for us. We stayed in a Deluxe Overwater Bungalow for the whole two weeks. The room was fantastic, so comfortable and well equipped.
We booked some time in with the excursion advisor at the hotel and arranged a couple of trips, Dr Poole’s dolphin and whale watching, the dolphins at the intercontinental, quad biking and a catamaran tour. At this point we were told that the hotel would like to offer us a complimentary meal at the A la Carte restaurant as it was our honeymoon, by the time we had returned to our room there was also a bottle of champagne waiting on ice and a voucher for two free massages at the Spa! The hotel really looked after us.
Having seen the other resorts during the course of our stay (from excursion pickups and eating at their restaurants) I would say that for charm and romance (not to mention the view!) the Sofitel is certainly one of the best if not THE best resort on the island. Certainly the best overwater bungalows.
Excursions:
Michael Poole-
This was one of my favourite excursions by far. Michael was great, very interesting, enthusiastic and chatty. We only saw one species of Dolphin, the spinner dolphin, but he kept us interested throughout and we enjoyed what turned out to be a great boat ride! The boat dropped us back at the Hilton (I think) and Michael offered to drive us back to the Sofitel as we were the only ones in the group staying there. He even stopped en-route to show us the fantastic view of Tahiti from the lookout over our hotel. I’d recommend this to anyone, and you know that the money you spend is going to a great cause!
Dolphins at the Intercontinental-
This was a magical experience, we’d always wanted to swim with dolphins and this was our chance. Pricey, but worth it. The guide was knowledgeable and entertaining and the dolphins were out of this world! The hour and a half we had there was the fastest time we spent on the island. Pictures bought we returned to the hotel somewhat saddened that we couldn’t go straight back and do it again.
Rando Quad Biking-
The tour was well led and the guide showed us so much of the island we would have missed otherwise. The guide also took pictures of us all throughout the trip and then e-mailed them to us the day after, free of charge. The tour took us through streams and up and down mountains so was pretty challenging in parts but great fun! We’d do this again when we go back. You stop halfway at the agricultural centre for freshly squeezed juices and great ice creams, if you get the chance try the Gardenia ice cream. If you do this trip, DON’T go for the 2 and a half hour trip, do the full 3 and a half hours. The last hour is the ‘Magic Mountain’ section, and it’s the best of the excursion by far, you get some stunning views over the bays and in the right season you can see humpback whales out to sea.
Catamaran tour-
This was booked through the Sofitel’s dive centre and was VERY disappointing. The brochure made it to sound as though the cruise took you around the island, however the boat took us to cooks bay, anchored for four hours then turned around. We did this on our last day and as we’d already seen that part of the island most days we felt it was something of a waste. We couldn’t wait to get back so that we could do something worthwhile with our last day. For the price (around £300 for two people for the full day trip) we felt robbed. We shared the boat with 3 other families, something we usually enjoy, it’s nice to meet other people, however, the families were all fluent French speakers and so as our French is poor (though we tried) we felt a little isolated. Must keep practicing my French…! I wouldn’t recommend this trip to anyone, if you do go, just be aware that you aren’t going to see anything you won’t see on Michael Poole’s tour, on the catamaran you’ll be left to your own devices and be prepared to sit for hours anchored to the same spot. If you want a boat ride go out with Michael for half the price and ten times the fun!
Favourite Restaurants:
Te Honu Iti-
Wow, what a restaurant. Best food on the island. So good we went back a second time during our stay. The Beef Tenderloin in Champagne sauce rates as one of the single greatest meals I’ve ever had, a beautiful piece of meat cooked perfectly, and the sauce! It is with sadness that I never asked the name of the waiter that served us on both occasions, a tall French gentleman with glasses who worked there on occasion to help out Roger. An extremely courteous and well mannered man, who helped us with our French and endured our poor language skills throughout both meals! Top class food. It was expensive but you paid for the quality, we didn’t mind the prices for food that good.
Alfredo’s-
Great choice, good prices and the waiter was a real character. Just watch out for the pickup driver, he got us there in record time but we had a few extra bruises in our sides along the way! Lol
The Plantation-
We’d hired a car for a week and on the last day of the rental we decided to drive to the Plantation (no pickup) for our evening meal. The surroundings were nice and the food was ok. What made the meal was the friendly waitress, who offered at every table to take pictures of the couples and was always on hand when needed for drink top ups etc. Friendly and efficient service. Our only negative would be the menu choice, it seemed to be very much the same as many of the other restaurants on the island, little choice for the adventurous.
Allo Pizza-
We called here after going shopping at Ron’s pearl shop (more below), and had two delicious pizzas, my wife had a seafood pizza and I had the Hawaiian, delicious! Washed down with an ice cold drink and chocolate mousse for afters! This place is great if you’re driving round the island, a good place to stop, we drove round the island a few times during our stay and stopped here for lunch on a number of occasions.
Mahogany-
This was one of my wife’s favourites (she’s a lover of Chinese food), great ambience and the most efficient service on the island (though we weren’t too bothered about speed by then!). I’d heartily recommend the duck in port sauce!
Shopping-
Champion supermarket was easy to find and had all we needed, including copious amounts of fruit juice and Hinano! We bought breakfast things here and had breakfast on our balconies most days as we did consider £50 a little too expensive for breakfast at the hotel, even in FP!
Le Petit Village-
We called here on one of our drives, a great collection of gift shops and a small supermarket and bank etc. The Plantation is nearby too though was closed at lunchtime which was a shame.
Ron Hall’s pearl shop-
We shopped around for a black pearl for my wife, Ron was by no means the cheapest but the quality of his merchandise and his enthusiasm shone through for us and we made our purchase here. Claire (my wife) treasures the necklace we bought here. We met some incredibly memorable people on our trip and Ron would be one of those people, he sat us down and told us all about how the pearls were produced and harvested, I think we ended up spending near on an hour chatting away. He took us outside so that Claire could try on the jewellery in natural light which was a nice touch.
Magasins-
There were shops almost everywhere on the northern side of the island, they were sporadic on the east and south side however so if your planning a drive/cycle round the island it’s worth noting that if you need to stop somewhere for a drink/snack you may not be able to find anywhere in the south or east.
There were too many highlights to cover in a brief trip report, we came back with many happy memories and a longing to go back. Someone said something to us which stuck in our heads about the Tahitian people and that was that the only thing they don’t understand is people that come and don’t want to get involved, don’t immerse their selves in the way of life and the culture, we found this to be very true. People there wanted us to have a good time and get involved, and we felt as though if we were happy they were happy.
So there it is, we’ll be going back for sure, I’ll definitely be taking up French lessons as although you could get by with English I think to really immerse yourself in the place knowing one of the languages is a big advantage, trying to use French was certainly appreciated by people we talked to. For anyone going soon who hasn’t been before I’d suggest 3 things-
1. RELAX, slow down and enjoy that things take longer
2. BE ADVENTUROUS, make sure you try the local delicacies and all the fresh fruit and juices.
3. SMILE, and the whole island smiles back at you!
Thanks again for your help everyone! If I can help in return I certainly will do. Info for people travelling from the UK is sparse at best so if I can help there let me know. :)
Edited by Daydreamer (07/24/09 03:31 AM)
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#81686 - 07/24/09 06:09 AM
Re: Just back from our Honeymoon! - Moorea 27/06/09
[Re: Daydreamer]
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Old Wife
Expert Advisor
Registered: 02/21/03
Posts: 2302
Loc: Burlington, Ontario, Canada
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Great trip report, Daydreamer. It sounds like you went with the right attitude and enjoyed Moorea to its fullest. I envy you spending 2 weeks there (it took us 2 trips to get a total of 2 weeks on Moorea!). The Sofitel does have a beautiful view and a gorgeous beach. I just want to say almost everyone thinks the resort they stayed at is the best, but each resort has good and bad points and people should research what it is they want in a resort & go from there (big/small, walking distance to restaurants and magasins/isolated, great snorkelling/good snorkelling, etc.). It really makes a difference if you figure out what's important to you (as you obviously did).
I agree about learning French. I think my sometimes-French-Canadian accent threw off the locals, LOL (we actually learn Parisian French in school in English Canada, but many of our teachers are from Quebec and travelling there makes you pick up local words & accents so I'm sure my French is a really strange mix). I've recently bought the Rosetta Stone, hoping to improve my French and I'm surprised at some of the pronunciations on it (I guess that's my Canadian French coming through). A Canadian blogger I read was in London, England when she was approached by two French woman who asked her (in French) if she spoke French. She replied, "Oui!" and the women said, "Oh, you're Canadian!" So it only takes one word to give that away.
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#81687 - 07/24/09 06:11 AM
Re: Just back from our Honeymoon! - Moorea 27/06/09
[Re: Daydreamer]
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tambir9
Member
Registered: 12/18/06
Posts: 210
Loc: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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So nice to hear that you enjoyed Alfredo's! It was our favourite in 2001 when we were there for our 10th anniversary. Moorea and Rangiroa are our favourite islands, both are on our island's to return to list. Sounds like you had a great time, thanks for the report.
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#81689 - 07/24/09 07:25 AM
Re: Just back from our Honeymoon! - Moorea 27/06/09
[Re: tambir9]
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DenverJoe
Expert Advisor
Registered: 09/10/02
Posts: 1849
Loc: Denver, Co.
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Daydreamer, great report. Glad you enjoyed it. Moorea is a favorite of ours also. And spending 2 weeks in one location isn't all that strange. We've done it on Bora and Moorea before. This November we stay 2 weeks at Les Tipaniers.
Welcome to the world of FP addiction.
_________________________
Nothing better than a Hinano in hand and toes in the sand.
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#81712 - 07/25/09 02:02 PM
Re: Just back from our Honeymoon! - Moorea 27/06/09
[Re: DenverJoe]
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Gary & Cath
Expert Advisor
Registered: 04/01/06
Posts: 1243
Loc: Wollongong, Australia
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Hi Daydreamer, we are so happy you had a great time. Our first trip overseas together was for our honeymmon and we spent 2 weeks at Club Med BB. We too thought it would be a "once in a lifetime trip" but now all we do is save every spare penny to keep going back again and again. Thank you for a great trip report!
_________________________
Is there anything better than a sipping a Tahitian Mai Tai on an Overwater Bungalow in FP?
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#81721 - 07/25/09 04:49 PM
Re: Just back from our Honeymoon! - Moorea 27/06/09
[Re: Gary & Cath]
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holte
Expert Advisor
Registered: 11/19/04
Posts: 2365
Loc: Duluth, Minnesota
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We, too, stayed at the Sofitel for our "once in a lifetime" trip. Ha ha. Now you're hooked like the rest of us. You're right, nothing else will do. We've tried. We also liked the Sofitel, but that was before the remodel. I don't think we could afford it now. You can now save money by staying at pensions, as we do, so that you can go at least once a year. Great report!
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#81722 - 07/25/09 08:25 PM
Re: Just back from our Honeymoon! - Moorea 27/06/09
[Re: holte]
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vaitape
Expert Advisor
Registered: 02/09/02
Posts: 1301
Loc: socal
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Thanks for your trip report. Love your attitude and laid back style. Congrats on your new lives together but so sorry....I think you'll come down with the Tahitian Flu like many of us...See you back in Paradise sometime in the future......that's why they made ANNIVERSARIES LOL!
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#81728 - 07/25/09 10:14 PM
Re: Just back from our Honeymoon! - Moorea 27/06/09
[Re: vaitape]
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Peter 2
Member
Registered: 03/12/05
Posts: 164
Loc: Hong Kong, Hong Kong
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Nice report!
Care to elaborate on the petty crime? How your money got stolen? Just want to know how it happened, so we can be cautious when we get there. Thanks!
Edited by Peter 2 (07/25/09 10:14 PM)
_________________________
member of TFPC (Tahitian Flu Patients' Club) LOL...
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#81743 - 07/27/09 04:20 AM
Re: Just back from our Honeymoon! - Moorea 27/06/09
[Re: Peter 2]
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Daydreamer
Member
Registered: 04/28/09
Posts: 53
Loc: Yorkshire, United Kingdom
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Thanks for the feedback all!
We've definately come down with FP flu, we've had a few moments over the past couple of weeks where we have both just said, 'what would be doing now in FP' or 'do you remember doing this or that'.
One of the things I miss the most is driving round the island, I loved it, seeing the whole place in an hour or so, all those beautiful views... Man I'm holiday sick... :( lol
As for the petty crime, we were silly and left 10,000xpf on a table in the room whilst we were on the balcony sun-bathing. Room cleaned and money gone whilst we were sat outside. The hotel were great about it though, we knew we wouldn't get the money back but we always report it if something like that happens, the hotel wrote us a letter apologising and gave us a bottle of champagne on the house. Was annoying in the first instant but we decided we weren't going to let it get to us, it taught us a lesson and we were careful about how we left things in the room. It's not a lasting memory of FP for us, you could get money or possesions stolen in any hotel anywhere in the world.
As for return trips, we're resort types through and through but if we could find a nice pension on the beachfront somewhere I'm sure my wife could be convinced! We'd have to be near the sea I think :)
Anyone going back sometime soon care to take a couple of FP flu stricken brits in their luggage???
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#81745 - 07/27/09 10:08 AM
Re: Just back from our Honeymoon! - Moorea 27/06/09
[Re: Daydreamer]
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STM
Expert Advisor
Registered: 10/15/01
Posts: 1616
Loc: Oregon, USA
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Nice report. You had done your homework beforehand and knew what to expect. As a result, you had a grand time.
There is no cure for the FP flu, but I find carrying a 100cfp coin in my pocket helps mitigate the symptoms.
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