The cheapest airport in the world to fly back to the US on New Year’s Eve was from Tahiti. We connected through New Zealand and arrived in Papeete, Tahiti at 1:30am. There was a full band playing traditional music to welcome us to the airport, which would make anyone happy.
We spent the night in Papeete then took a 30 minute ferry to the island of Moorea.
Moorea is amazing. It’s a small island that you could drive around in 2 hours. It’s surrounded by a reef so it’s shallow for at least a hundred feet with no waves. The water is crystal clear. The few grocery stores have French cheeses and baguettes as well as tuna poke, the local specialty. All the food is expensive but delicious. Taxis are extremely expensive and difficult to get. In a testament to the friendliness of the locals, a family in a pickup truck offered to have us jump in the back of their pickup when we were walking back from dinner. This was especially welcome because our son’s flip flop had broken and he was walking barefoot.
We stayed at a small hostel across the main road from the beach run by a family. We walked to a local resort and paid $5/day for snorkels which came with day use of their private beach. We could also have rented kayaks for $15/hr or even a motor boat. We spent two full days snorkeling in the shallow water. All the kids were able to snorkel, even the 6 year old. He could stand up, put his snorkel on, put his head under water, and see tons of colorful fish. With no waves, it was easy for him to use the breathing apparatus of the snorkel.we went on two boat rides to see dolphins and saw a huge herd, and hung out with reef sharks and stingrays. The stingrays are so ubiquitous that we literally saw a stingray one minute after we got to the public beach. They swim in shallow water and are not dangerous. They’re incredible to see. We also swam with sea turtles and saw schools of stingrays swimming in formation in the depths. We were sad to leave the perfect beaches, perfect weather, and wonderful people.
Highlights
- Marine wildlife up close: stingrays, black-tipped reef sharks, sea turtles, countless colorful fish, dolphins
- Easy snorkeling for young kids
- Friendly people
- Incredibly beautiful setting
Tips
- reserve a car early to take full advantage of the island (they were sold out both in Papeete and Moorea when we went)
- Many resorts will allow day passes. We heard this was virtually unheard-of in nearby Bora Bora.
- It’s only 2h time difference from the west coast of the US and an 8h direct flight from SFO or LAX
Food: 4
Budget: 2
Wildlife: 8
Natural beauty: 9
Vibe: 7