No Currency Exchange at Tahiti Airport

[MightyQuinn]

News that the foreign exchange outlet at Tahiti airport is now permanently closed was reported on Trip Advisor a few days ago. This leaves fewer options for folks who wish to purchase xpf upon arrival. Exchanging currency is still possible at LAX, but at a less attractive rate. Overall not good news.

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic...y_Islands.html

[Alberta Couple]

Can somebody let me know what the exchange rate is for XPF recently so I can decide whether to get it there or at home before leaving.

[Emdee]

Alberta Couple the price we paid in TO was huge. The ships was much better . LA not too good and the airport the best.

 

Find out from someone who is going before what the ships rate is like. Or by a little from a couple of places to even the odds.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

That's a kicker! These folks just don't get tourism, do they?

 

But don't sweat it, there are ATM's in downtown Papeete. As a matter of fact, was there not also an ATM at the airport?

 

And cabs will take USD I believe, to get you somewhere where there is an ATM.

[Ahab10]

On the three PG cruises were on we never exchanged dollars for FPF's. Never had a problem using a card or a vendor accepting dollars.:)

[mikenbob]

Same here Ahab10. We have been on PG for 25 days (soon to add another 14) and have never found the need to exchange dollars. We have taken cabs, rented bikes, eaten in restaurants, shopped in stores and at the ports, and either used credit cards, debit cards, or US currency without a single issue.

[MotuIslander]

Same here Ahab10. We have been on PG for 25 days (soon to add another 14) and have never found the need to exchange dollars. We have taken cabs, rented bikes, eaten in restaurants, shopped in stores and at the ports, and either used credit cards, debit cards, or US currency without a single issue.

 

Ditto...June will be our sixth trip and never have converted US$. Most larger purchases can be made with $ or credit card.

[lunamomma]

The responses have been very helpful. Thank you to all. Did you find that vendors gave you a fair exchange rate when you paid in USD?

[Emdee]

We personally found that cabs and vendors gave you an arbitrary rate when you paid in US ie rounded up to the next 5 or 6 $. I agree major purchases were on a card. We found it convenient to carry 300 or so$ worth of CPF.

[Alberta Couple]

If anyone has gone recently or is going on the next cruise can you post the ships exchange rate so that we can decide before we leave next week. Would be much appreciated since the airport one just closed and killed our plan.

[MightyQuinn]

What is the preferred currency for vendors on Motu Mahana? What is the going price for vanilla beans? Hand-painted pareos?

 

Is it possible to use credit cards on Marquesas? My Lonely Planet (8th Edition, May 09) says most vendors do not accept them and best to pay in cash, specifically in xpf. Any more current info?

[JLC@SD]

post deleted

[JLC@SD]

Can somebody let me know what the exchange rate is for XPF recently so I can decide whether to get it there or at home before leaving.

 

Yahoo has a conversion that includes a trend feature.

 

http://finance.yahoo.com/currency-converter/#from=USD;to=XPF;amt=1

[gerena]

"The exchange kiosks are in most terminals of LAX. Tahiti Air is in the Bradley Terminal (International airlines in this terminal) and there are currency kiosks in the in & out bound side. They do carry Tahiti currency so you are covered. There are kiosks in most of the terminals, but I think 1 or 2 do not have them."

 

This is the e-mail i got back from my friend who checked this out when I e-mailed him. He was actually flying from San Antonio to LAX and he got my e-mail just as he was arriving in LAX0--so he checked it out. HOwever, I don't know if they accept travelers checks or not. We will be flying Southwest to LAX and don't know how close the SW terminal is to Bradley, but may check it out if possible as we will be staying in the LA area for 3 days prior.

 

Sorry this is late posting---grandkids (6 and 8) here for 10 days and I will need a vacation. They don't leave until Sun and we leave on Tues. Will I get packed????

[Wendy The Wanderer]

What is the preferred currency for vendors on Motu Mahana? What is the going price for vanilla beans? Hand-painted pareos?

 

Is it possible to use credit cards on Marquesas? My Lonely Planet (8th Edition, May 09) says most vendors do not accept them and best to pay in cash, specifically in xpf. Any more current info?

 

Can't remember if they took credit cards in the Marquesas in 2008, I used cash (great wood carvings, tapa cloths.)

 

On Motu Mahana, you can use a credit card, at least if you're buying pearls (and they had a very respectable vendor there, looked like really nice pearls.) Can't remember if you could use a card for smaller purchases.

[Emdee]

In Motu Mahana

Cheap vendors( on right hand side of dock) sold with US cash. Vanilla was sold by cheaper vendors.

 

More expensive ( on left hand side of docking)with credit cards. They had necklaces in excess of $30,000. As well as cheaper pendants etc.

 

I read somewhere that Marquesas only take local currency.

 

Mighty, I would buy a couple of hundred or so local currency and then if you need more you can buy in Tahiti after your first cruise or from the ship. In the ultimate analysis while its good to save and get the best rate you can - no point in sweating it after you have paid thousands for the trip! You will have the day in Tahiti in between cruises as well.

[MightyQuinn]

Agree with you Emdee. This is a minor inconvenience only and we'll still get xpf somewhere, somehow.

 

Folks on Trip Advisor have confirmed that most, if not all, vendors on Marquesas use cash only (xpf) and do not accept cc. Some of their arts and handicrafts are quite pricey.

[Talisker92]

I always order foreign currency from my bank for starters. They give a good rate and only charge a few$ to send it to my local branch

[Texed]

I always order foreign currency from my bank for starters. They give a good rate and only charge a few$ to send it to my local branch

 

We order it from American Express, and the charge is minimal.

[rsmfly]

Just got back from the 5/7 sailing and here is what I found concerning money. Travelex in LAX exchanged CFP to USD at 70 to 1 with a pushy sales pitch about "going to one of the most expensive places in the world". Horrible rate. The two ATM's at PPT were both working on an early Friday morning. The ship was the best, they were exchanging at 81 to 1 with no service fees.

 

Paying in local currency worked best most places for us, from the market in Papeete to the Day Pass at the Moorea Hilton, to the local vendors on the dock on Moorea and Bora Bora, we seemed to get a better price on goods and services using CFP.

[bethcooks4u]

Just got back from the 5/7 sailing and here is what I found concerning money. Travelex in LAX exchanged CFP to USD at 70 to 1 with a pushy sales pitch about "going to one of the most expensive places in the world". Horrible rate. The two ATM's at PPT were both working on an early Friday morning. The ship was the best, they were exchanging at 81 to 1 with no service fees.

 

Paying in local currency worked best most places for us, from the market in Papeete to the Day Pass at the Moorea Hilton, to the local vendors on the dock on Moorea and Bora Bora, we seemed to get a better price on goods and services using CFP.

 

So how much do you suggest we get to get a few things like vanilla and trinkets for the kids?

[rsmfly]

So how much do you suggest we get to get a few things like vanilla and trinkets for the kids?

 

I did change a hundred bucks or so at LAX at the abysmal Travelex rate, but we had no problem getting cash from the ATM at Papeete upon arrival. So, to do again, I would just wait till arriving to get local currency from either an ATM in Papeete or on board the ship.

 

I just changed money every couple of days on the ship before heading out since it was the best rate with no fees.

 

Other people in our group went the other way and used a Capitol One card that doesn't charge a foreign transaction fee, and withdrew cash from local ATM's from an account like Charles Schwab that refunds/doesnt charge ATM or transaction fees.

 

We found that when a vendor would take both USD and local currency, using local currency nearly always had the better price when paying cash. Most prices from vendors seemed to be @ 70 CFP to 1 for items when using USD.

 

I budgeted what I wanted to bring in cash so as to avoid having a large Credit Card bill at the end, and that strategy worked well for us.

 

The ship will also convert CFP back to USD at the same great rate so you won't be stuck with CFP at the end of the trip. Unless you want to start your next PG trip kitty fund. :)

[bethcooks4u]

Will the PG take debit cards or travelers checks for the exchanges or do we have to carry cash? Thanks for your help.

[rsmfly]

Will the PG take debit cards or travelers checks for the exchanges or do we have to carry cash? Thanks for your help.

 

 

travelers checks for certain! Not sure about about using a debit card on board, though.