French Polynesia vs maldives

I always say I have left my heart in French Polynesia and have to go back for my fix. However I am looking at the Maldives as an alternate.

Hasnt anyone been to both - any suggestions.

I always say I have left my heart in French Polynesia and have to go back for my fix. However I am looking at the Maldives as an alternate.

Hasnt anyone been to both - any suggestions.

I'm not sure but I think the Maldives are in the Indian Ocean.

Just checked online , the Maldives are definately in Indiam Ocean just south of India and west of Sri Lanka .

Emdee the traitor :)

Actually I've thought about the same thing but frankly I've love the people of FP so it would be hard to do. I'm also not excited about the political environment.

But you go check it out while I enjoy FP :p

I would probably stick with FP.

Keith

Kamloops

I am perfectly aware where the Maldives are but I am planning a trip to Myanmar and one other place either Malaysia or Maldives plus a week in Bangalore (India) where I have most of my family.

Having been to FP 6 times with the 7th booked in January I am now looking at 2014 Feb. What to do where to go etc.

Tiki,

I am no traitor as I am scheduled to go to FP on the PG 2014 for the repeaters cruise and may even do the B2B.

However, given the bad winters in Canada I need to escape to some warm spot in February.

So much of the world to see for us so I try to go somewhere other than FP once or twice a year.

Really my choice is also Tikehau vs Maldives. Both really similar but one is a place I already love especially with a PG add on.

I have been told by a few that the length of the trip to the Maldives is a long one.

I know your in Canada but for us with paradise only 8.5 hours away why torture ourselves.

Tiki - you are correct- if I didnt want to visit other parts of Asia to complete my bucket list and if I didnt have family in India I would not consider Maldives. The long flights are a killer.

We hoard our points and then go first or business to the Far East. The Maldives will be more bang for the same buck so to speak! Besides the Asian airlines really treat you well in first.

We be poor :rolleyes: and can only afford coach :eek:

Not paying....Tiki ...using points!

Before we booked our up coming P&G trip we were going to do just as you.

After looking into costs and different times of year weather on the island we nixed it and are going on the Fiji to Tahiti cruise. Not that the island did not look great, BUT any of the top class resorts were very very costly and each one had some very bad write ups.

As my husband is in Asia all the time one day we may do it as a short side trip while it is still above water but for now it was not worth the cost for what you got. (Each side of the island has a different weather system)

I know the Maldives are pricey but no different than going on a Regent cruise.

Still mulling over the idea. Wil decide by March when we wil have to book reward tics.

I have been to FP and the Seychelles, and have done a lot of

research on the Maldives. The Maldives are supposed to be the most

beautiful islands in the world, and from the photos, I tend to agree.

But it is expensive, and also, because most upscale resorts are on

individual islands, it is hard and expensive to get a water taxi to take

you around to see the islands. So many people find themselves somewhat

isolated at their resort on their separate island. But if you look up all the

hotels on any of the travel sites, each one looks spectacular with white

sand beaches and aqua water surrounding them. Other than Bora Bora,

I didn't find Tahiti itself or some of the other islands, as scenic as they

didn't have as many sand beaches or atolls as the Maldives do. I say, if you have been to FP already, nothing to lose by going to the Maldives at least

once. It is the ultimate place to go in the world. How many people do you know that have gone to the Maldives? Very, very few. Good luck with your choice.

Marilyn

I think the Four Seasons has a small boat for mini-cruises around some of the Maldivian Islands. Generally speaking, the top hotels in the Maldives will be more luxurious and have better levels of service than anything in French Polynesia. The islands themselves are generally tiny atolls which you can walk around in maybe 20 minutes. Some of the hotels have gone for the overwater bungalows to increase capacity at the expense of natural beauty and environmental concerns. To me, these look terrible and I would never consider a hotel which has them. I first went to the Maldives in 1987 when things were much simpler - rustic charm over plasmaTV/spa/plunge pool suites. The beaches are powder perfect, the snorkelling superb if your hotel has a proper house reef and drop-off. I'd never go back there, whereas I'd always go back to the Seychelles, or Mauritius, or Indonesia and Thai beach resorts, or anywhere in the South Pacific. The Maldives are just too small, too limiting, too boring, too honyemooney, too bling for my taste nowadays.

Fletcher - can you suggest your preferred resorts in Thailand or Indonesia? Also Mauritius. Not going to Mauritius this trip but would like to some time.

I have been looking at the Four seasons boat. I like comfort but also afraid too much bling and maybe too expensive for a week.

I am also afraid that I will be bored staying in one place for the whole week.

Merrilanne, did you go to Fakarava, Rangiroa and other Tuamotus? The last two are atolls with exquisite sand spits.

Well, Emdee, we stayed at Le Prince Maurice in Mauritius. A beautiful property in many ways and we especially liked the food. The beach looks lovely but not really deep enough. There is a Four Seasons and an Oberoi - we had a lunch at the Oberoi and didn't really fancy it that much; the FS opened after our stay. This is an interesting, sizeable island worth renting a car for a few days and you can also hop over to Reunion, a French territory with Moorea-like scenery.

In Thailand - Phuket - I'd recommend Amanpuri and Trisara, though the hotel scene there changes almost weekly.

In Indonesia Bali, wow, there isn't much better than Amankila in my view and also Amandari and the Four Seasons Sayan in the rice terraces near Ubud. Stay away from Nusa Dua. There is also the Legian Beach which I hear good things about.

Also, check out Amanpulo in the Philippines, still the best beach resort I have ever been to. I'm a big fan of the Amanresorts who used to run the much loved and much missed Hotel Bora Bora.

Thanks Fletcher. Much appreciated.

I have never stayed at an Aman Resort - I do know someone who loves the Amanpuri in Phuket.

I had met someone on the PG a couple of years ago who told me he also loves Mauritius. The problem is the length of the flight from Canada especially since I have finished my safaris!

I loved Mauritius as it is many factors that make for a good vacation - beaches and resorts, flowers and scenery, shopping, etc. It is isolated, however, but I combined it with a trip to the Seychelles. Worth going there at least once.

IMO the Maldives are just as dreamy and exotic as Tahiti

For example the 4 Seasons properties are comparable

If you have the funds I highly recommend the small ship cruise from one 4 Seasons property to the next, it's beyond exotic especially you are a diver or a snorkeler

Have fun

jc

How many people do you know that have gone to the Maldives? Very, very few.

 

Marilyn

Maybe few North Americans, but ask Europeans. There are charter flights from Frankfurt, Germany.

Didn't go to the Maldives but went on a Crystal cruise in the Far East and had a great time.

Don't know if I will ever get there.

But FP will continue to visit on the PG.

I know this is an old thread, but it seems not many have been to both, and since I have, I thought I'd chip in my 2 cents.

I'm the kind of person who would do months and months of research to find THE perfect place, and so we picked Mirihi in Maldives (easily rated top 5 snorkeling spot out of all the islands that are inhabited in Maldives) and Moorea in Tahiti/FP (stayed at Hilton Moorea, apparently one of the best snorkeling off Moorea)

We didn't go on cruises as we were more interested in staying put at the time, and here are the comparisons:

Mirihi vs. Moorea:

1. Mirihi is very small, only 50-something bungalows, you can walk around the island in under 45 minutes vs. Moorea you need to take transport between places.

2. Mirihi's food was all at the same place, but the food was absolutely amazing, one of the best we've eaten at, comparable top cruise special restaurants - except it's buffet style and all inclusive vs. Moorea you need to do your research to find places to eat at, there were several amazing places but you have to fork out lots of $$ every meal, some of the best restaurants we couldn't afford to get to as they were too far away and the taxi would have cost as much as the meals.

3. Maldives you get flat flat flat ocean view, endless, white sand that's almost pure white and well maintained (no scruffs on the sand from the ocean) vs. Tahiti you get mountain view + ocean, more contrast, but the sand's not as pure white.

4. Mirihi snorkeling: the reef circled the little island and once you walk a few metres out into sea, there's no sandy patches, just corals, and it goes deep with a drop-off vs. Moorea snorkeling: at Hilton there were spots of reef, with sand in between, think Mirihi as a dense forest and Moorea as a garden. Both had fish soup and huge variety of fish.

5. Mirihi (and most further-away islands in Maldives) mosquito-free vs. Tahiti you will come across them everywhere.

6. Mirihi the service was out of this world, they know what you need before you do vs. Moorea could be a but patchy depends where you go, but no where near as amazing as Mirihi's service.

Personally I'd pick Maldives over Tahiti any day, if distance wasn't the obstacle (We live in New Zealand so Tahiti is by far closer to reach)

If anyone's interested, here are our photos of Maldives:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151396243056977.1073741829.606816976&type=3

photos of Moorea:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10153491311831977.1073741852.606816976&type=3