Pre and post cruise in Tahiti/Bora Bora- ideas?

My husband and I will be on the Wind Spirit Tahiti-Tuamoto Islands 11 day cruise sailing July 1, 2018. This will be our first time in French Polynesia. I have been doing more research and here is my rough plan:

Use American Airlines Miles to fly to Tahiti (I talked to both AA and Air Tahiti Nui yesterday and am confident we can get free award seats).

June 27, 2018, arrive midnight, transfer to B&B.

Stay one or two nights at Fare Suisse B&B, explore Papeete and Tahiti, possibly rent a car to explore.

June 28 or 29 ferry to Moorea. Rent a car and drive to Anapa Beach B&B for 3 nights. Explore island maybe do one or two tours.

July 1 return rental car and take ferry to Papeete. Board Wind Spirit for 11 day cruise.

July 11 disembark cruise in Papeete. Fly to Bora Bora

Arrive Bora Bora and transfer to Bora Bora Fishing Paradise B&B for 3 nights. While there do lagoon tour and relax.

July 14 or 15 fly to Papeete. Stay one or two nights at Fare Suisse B&B.

July 15 or 16 fly home.

How does that look? I plan to book all of this myself (other than wind Star cruise which my travel agent booked) since I have read that the B&B owners will pick us up at airports. We plan to rent a car on Moorea, and possibly Tahiti. I am fine booking the Air Tahiti round trip flights to Bora Bora and have already been on their website. We do not care to stay in a fancy OWB type hotel or spend $$$ for drinks and dinner. The Wind Star cruise for 11 days will be our splurge. The B&Bs I have looked in to are all very reasonable and will give us a much more authentic experience. Any tips or suggestions are welcome.

Very, very tough to get award travel on ATN using AAdvantage miles (we were lucky to find space a couple of years ago). But your travel dates need to be extremely flexible and it sounds like yours are not. Your flight from/to PPT/BOB will be on another, very pricey ($400+/person) non-jet carrier (Air Tahiti). You won't be able to use your AAdvantage miles. The flight will be packed (especially the very popular last one of the day), and if you're flying back to LAX you will have a long, long late night layover at the PPT airport. The price of air from/to PPT WILL change if you have the flexibility (which it sounds like you won't). But your task will be to find a sale fare that allows you to stay in Tahiti for more than 5 nights. Most of the time the sale will amount to a five day turn around with 3 nights of free PPT lodging. We booked a sale fare from/to LAX/AKL (where there's competition) with a free stopover in PPT for up to 30 days, at $900/person. Much lower than typical LAX/PPT fares. But this fare is rare. Car rentals on MOZ are very expensive. You can rent a car w/Hertz in PPT at a relatively low daily rate with no mileage allotment and then take it on the ferry to MOZ. MOZ is small so you're likely not going to rack up a lot of costly add on miles. And when everything is said and done, you'll have a rental car for quite a number of days on two islands. Something to check out. In addition, check out Passport Gourmand (do a google search). Discounts at restaurants, hotels, car rentals and Tahiti shows primarily offered to Tahiti residents. But the discount card is available for sale in PPT and if you're going to a number of restaurants, the savings may be worth it. Good luck.

I reserved business class with AA miles from PPT to Boston and I did this 332 days out, I was successful. We took the Wind Spirit across the Pacific so I did not need the airfare over paid one way Boston/San Jose CR extended leg room 300 each. I always reserve AA awards 332 days out abroad and am successful. Since you are going 7/1/18 you are coming up on 332 days out. I do this at 2 am in the morning because airline people are bored and I have always been successful, I have no status. We had to stay over night in LAX but that was fine. Good Luck, Happy Sailing it was a great cruise.

Flying homme today. Will answer back latérale this week.just did the Tahiti cruise. Marvelous.

Thank you all. I called AA this morning for flights to PPE on June 26, 2018. She said I was calling 2 days too early. So I will call again tomorrow and the next day. I know that Air Tahiti Nui has about 4 available award seats on the 4:25 flight from LAX to PPE so I just have to nab those if I am lucky.

We have booked 3 nights on Moorea before our cruise on July 1, and 3 nights on Bora Bora right after the cruise. I have booked very modest hotels for $200 a night on each island since our 11 night Windstar cruise is quite the splurge for us! I know the Air Tahiti flights will run us about $380-400. I will book those flights as soon as the dates are available on that airline.

So we will be spending one or two nights in Papeete at the start and end of the trip depending on the flight arrival and departures.

I was going to rent the car once we arrived on Moorea but it sounds like it may be cheaper to rent it for an additional day or two in Tahiti and take the car on the ferry to Moorea. Is that so? Everything is falling into place...just need to get those free milage award seats!

Dandee, can't wait to hear all about your cruise!

If you can, you can attend the Heiva i Tahiti 2018, held every month of July. Try to squeeze one or two performance at the Maison de la Culture in Papeete. July is the biggest month for anything cultural in Tahiti. Canoe race, dancing, etc.

Amazing, you will not believe your eyes: http://www.tntvreplay.pf/Heiva-2017-Resumes_r152.html

If it's too early to book award seats, how do you know they are available?

I don't see any award availability booking through AA for LAX-PPT for your date, although booking is open for purchasing with cash.

I have access to a website (expert flyer.com) that lists award seats available on different airlines. It shows 4 seats available on the flights I am looking at. But I just talked to AA and they said the info is not as accurate as it used to be on this website. As of right now there are no award seats available and the agent advised me to keep calling everyday to try and get award seats. If we can't we will have to bite the bullet and buy the tickets. Not the end of the world as we can use our miles for a trip to Switzerland and Italy next year if we can't use them for Tahiti.

Try calling Air Tahiti Nui using your One World miles. That might work. Friends of mine did that and were successful.

Just got off the phone with American Airlines. We were able to get 2 seats from Los Angeles to Papeete on Air Tahiti Nui with our miles! So we have our flights to Tahiti and on Aug. 20 I will start calling for our return flights. I feel very relieved!

Great, have a terrific cruise. The best seriously.

Just got off the phone with American Airlines. We were able to get 2 seats from Los Angeles to Papeete on Air Tahiti Nui with our miles! So we have our flights to Tahiti and on Aug. 20 I will start calling for our return flights. I feel very relieved!

Congrats! Did you get economy or business class? Did you get the 4:00 P.M. flight? If not you're going to arrive in PPT very late at night and if you don't have hotel transfers confirmed, it's going to be pretty pricey and you will arrive exhausted.

BTW, where are you originating your travel from (it's not LAX is it?). Are you looking for frequent flyer seats from/to that originating point/LAX? And if so were you able to grap seats to LAX to connect to your Air Tahiti Nui flight?

So I have a question for you. What happens if you cannot find frequent flyer seats for your return flight to LAX? My experience is that the one way fares to/from PPT are not half the round trip fares (they're more). And since you're sitting on one way seats that aren't refundable without paying a fee, you may not have that many options.

With that said, if you're very flexible, you'll probably be successful in finding frequent flyer seats for the return. But let me give you some suggestions if you run into problems. Air New Zealand used to have one flight/week from/to PPT/LAX but I wasn't able to find it based upon a cursory search. And I think Hawaiian Airlines has at least one flight a week with a pretty long layover in HNL. Then there's Air France. I think they offer a flight a week which is code shared with Air Tahiti Nui and/or Delta.

Good luck and please let us know how your quest for frequent flyer seats turns out.

Skitrips: Thank you so much for all the advice. We booked economy seats on the 4:25pm flight. I can't stand red eyes as I never sleep on the plane. We are hoping to get picked up by the hotel we are staying at for 2 nights before going to Moorea. I will be contacting them today. I will try for the return flight seats beginning on Aug. 20. We have flexibility so we will try for a flight that leaves July 16, 2018, but can return really anytime. A few more days in Tahiti would not be the end of the world. We will be staying in a very inexpensive B&B so a couple extra days would be fine. If we cannot get the free seats, yes, we will have to buy one way fare which I know is more than half of a round trip fare.

In answer to your question, we will be flying to LAX from the SF Bay area. AA did not have free seats on the flights I checked from Sacramento or SFO. We may wait and get cheap flights on Southwest. Sometimes we can get those for as little as $150 round trip. Our other option is to make the 7 hour drive to LA the day before and stay with my husband's sister who lives 5 minutes from LAX. A free place to leave the car.

I appreciate your tips on all the other airlines to check in case we have to buy a return ticket. I am making a note of all this info for when we try to book the return. Thanks again.

You are very lucky to get seats with your miles. Canadian CC company have very restrictive in the mileage we can use. Most top up at 1500$ per flight (1200$US) and then you have to fork the rest. It is cheaper in the long run to use those miles for free flight to the caribbean than Tahiti.

Manuia! (cheers)

Thanks KathiB -

The reason I asked where you are flying from is because with most frequent flyer seats, air transportation from/to your airport of departure IS included in the mileage redemption amount. By booking with Air Tahiti Nui it isn't (you must travel from/to LAX). So here's a recommendation. American Airlines (AA) offers a code share flight with Air Tahiti Nui whereas the flight is operated by Air Tahiti Nui. Although I can't see flights for next July, I can for next June. And it turns out Air Tahiti Nui's flight #7 which leaves LAX at 4:25 P.M. is the same flight as AA's #7173. Instead of booking frequent flyer seats on AA's "partner" airline (Air Tahiti Nui), have you investigated whether you can book them on one of AA's code share flight? If you can, you might be able to get the flights from/to the Bay Area/LAX thrown in for free. It's worth a try and it can save you at least a couple of hundred dollars and probably more.

My wife/I are flying on Air Tahiti Nui to PPT in mid-September. We originate from RNO. Thus like you we had to purchase flights from/to RNO/LAX. We started watching AA's web site for frequent flyer seats and were able to pick up a couple at only 7,500 AAdvantage miles/seat. I would imagine the same "reduced" mileage redemption amount is available from/to the Bay Area if you cannot book with AA direct for its flight #7173. So if I were you, I would be booking seats with AAdvantage miles right now from/to the Bay Area/LAX if you can't book AA #7173, and you can get them at 7,500 AAdvantage miles/seat.

Here's another alternative. The flights to/from LAX are very cheap right now. Although it's too early for you to purchase a seat, as you get closer to departure, I suspect the pricing is going to be similar to what it is right now. How cheap? How about less than $54/person one way? This is what we have booked (on SWA) for our return flight from/to LAX/RNO.

Here's another recommendation. I don't know if you've actually booked your PPT accommodations yet, but we're staying at the Hotel Sarah Nui. Why? First of all, it is within short walking distance to the pier from where the Wind Star as well as the ferry to/from MOZ/PPT departs. Thus no expensive transfers. Second, the cost is a little over $100/night which is cheap by PPT standards. Third, the hotel INCLUDES free transfers from PPT (but not the other way around). You are going to discover prices are very expensive in Tahiti and I suspect a cab ride from the airport to your hotel (as well as from your hotel to the pier) is going to cost you over $30/each! Finally, the hotel is located very close to the business center. This means you can easily walk to food, shopping and public transportation, whatever all of that translates to, before/after your cruise.

Good luck, and let us know how things work out with American.

You can easily walk to Carrefour, the local supermarket / grocery store / shopping centre, about 10 min. walk west of the hotel. There, you will also find VINI, a local telecommunication Co. that will prep your phone or tablet with a local SIM card. It cost me 100$ for the SIM card and 2GO of data for our 3 week trip there. Never used the ship internet or wifi on shore. As long as you are within antenna range, you should be able to use it on the ship most days.

Great tips Dandee. Will check into that for the phones. Skitrips: Great tips on the AA flights from the Bay Area to LAX. I will keep checking and see if they can be linked to the AA code share flight. At this point we are figuring on getting pretty cheap fares from Sacramento or Oakland to LAX on Southwest. They are showing some as cheap as $59 one way right now. For that price, or something close, I would rather spend the money and not use the miles. We can also drive to LA the day before and stay with my husband's sister who lives 5 minutes from LAX. We can have a short visit and have a free place to leave our car.

As for our lodging...we have reserved 2 nights at Fare Suisse B&B. Very close to airport, and town. Double room with AC and private bath for $85 a night. The owner, Beni, will pick us up at the airport the night we arrive (our flight arrives at 9:45pm), and he will bring us to the ferry when we are ready to go to Moorea. Although we are thinking of renting a car in Papeete and taking it onto the ferry for our 3 nights in Moorea. Then return it and board the Wind Spirit for our cruise on July 1. I really appreciate all the helpful tips from those who have gone before!

Yes, thank you, dandee2, for the tip about the VINI kiosk inside the Carrefour near Le Meridien! We were planning to go to the one in downtown Papeete, but since we're staying at Le Meridien on our pre-cruise night, this will be more convenient!

OP was very lucky to find any award availability. But now that it's ticketed, if she finds availability SFO-LAX, it can't be "linked" to the tickets she already has. She'd have to cancel and start over (not advised as someone else could grab the award tickets to PPT).

Although we are thinking of renting a car in Papeete and taking it onto the ferry for our 3 nights in Moorea. Then return it and board the Wind Spirit for our cruise on July 1. I really appreciate all the helpful tips from those who have gone before!

Check the price for taking the car on the ferry beforehand. We took the ferry over to Moorea (Terevau 30$US return) for our 4 days in Les Tipaniers but have used Albert car rental in Moorea. They picked us up at the ferry dock and drove us to the rental place. We got a small automatic car for our stay. They took us back to the ferry afterward. Good service from Albert and the road very good around the island.

If you think on coming back the same day of Wind Spirit departure, think again. It does happen that ferries are either delayed or even cancelled in case of heavy swell. Play it safe and come back the day before, get a room for the night and enjoy the sights of Polynesia. Cheers

Yes, we were lucky to get the award seats. We will either grab cheap flights from SFO to LAX on Southwest or we may even drive to LA the day before.

Dandee. Thanks for the rental car info. We are staying on Moorea at Les Tipaniers for 3 nights pre cruise. We do plan to return to Papeete the day of the cruise. I think if we plan for an early ferry and we have all day (until about 3:00 or so) we will be all right. There are flights to Papeete as well so that could be an option. We may look at this as we get closer and shift our plans for the Moorea pre cruise stay. We could go there a day a day early in order to return to Papeete a day early.

Do you have the kitchenette in Les Tipaniers? We did not (not a big deal) but useful. You must try "Snack Mahana" nearby. The Red Tuna Tartar is to die for. Very good review on Trip advisor. Also the Lezard Jaune (Yellow Lizard) and the Hibiscus sunset restaurant.

Amazing sunrise and sunset from les Tipaniers. The island is "dead" after 6PM (right after sunset), except restaurant, so plan your day accordingly. Tahitian are early riser.

We speak french and most people in the tourist industry try to speak english. Speak slowly and everything will be OK. 3 words to remember - ia orana (good morning, good evening, hello - all the same), Marruru ( Thank you, thanks, etc) and Manuia (cheers) :-)

I will post my trip photo soon :-)

Yes, we will have a kitchenette at Les Tipaniers. Even though it is just two of us I wanted air conditioning so we got a 2 bedroom bungalow with the kitchen. I agree that it will come in handy. Thank you for the restaurant recommendations. I speak a bit of French. We recently returned from a trip to Paris, the Loire Valley, and other areas of France, our 6th trip there. I speak enough to get by.

Regarding rental cars... if we are going to be in Tahiti for 2 nights before going to Moorea does it make sense to rent the car in Papeete and take it on the ferry? Or is it better just to rent the car on Moorea as you did? I appreciate all your advice.

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Regarding rental cars... if we are going to be in Tahiti for 2 nights before going to Moorea does it make sense to rent the car in Papeete and take it on the ferry? Or is it better just to rent the car on Moorea as you did? I appreciate all your advice.

Where are you staying in Tahiti? Do you plan on using the car to tour the east or west coast or just in town?

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We are staying two nights at the Fare Suisse B&B not far from the airport and port. We will arrive at 9:45pm on June 26. Beni (the owner of the B&B) will pick us up at the airport. We have all day the 27th and the morning of the 28th. We would like to explore the island a bit so having a car that first full day would work. Then on the next day we could take the car on the ferry to Moorea. After Moorea we would take the car on the ferry back to Papeete and board the Wind Spirit. But with just one full day we may just want to explore the downtown area without a car. Not sure yet. Curious if it is better to rent a car for 5 days from Papeete or for 3 days while on Moorea. We can do either so I will have to figure out a way to compare costs. Taking a car on the ferry vs. the price for 2 adults on the ferry, etc.