Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

What to do in Papeete?

SweetPease

By SweetPease,
in Oceania Cruises

 Share

Recommended Posts

Floridiana

Floridiana

Posted
Posted

Go to the market in town. Eat lunch where the locals eat: McDonalds :-) Eat dinner where the locals eat, at the Roulottes (water front food trucks). Check out the pearl shops!

 

Take the ferry over to Moorea, but prebook an excursion or make a rental car reservation.

 

Book a tour into Tahiti's interior.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
jpalbny "Live from...." Rare

jpalbny

Posted
Posted

We stayed an extra night pre-cruise in 2007. We rented a car for the day and circumnavigated the island; there's lots of beautiful landscapes once you get out of the city. It's a ring road all along the coast, so navigation is easy. Go at your own pace, stop when something looks interesting, and enjoy! Driving wasn't bad; a few potholes to watch out for IIRC.

 

Honestly we think that Papeete is the least attractive part of the island. A few hours there around embarkation time was more than enough.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Hawaiidan

Hawaiidan

Posted
Posted

Get friggen drunk...it is most unattractive place crowded, busy, over priced and blah! Sounds good but Papeete is a dump..and expensive one at that.

 

Two thing to do and one is to leave.

 

Get your rear on the ferry to Moorea and stay at the Intercontinental over there for 2 days..... 10x better

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Hawaiidan

Hawaiidan

Posted
Posted

Book a tour into Tahiti's interior.

 

Total waste of time and money...all overgrown with Miconia... an eco-disaster

it is not pretty or exotic . It Is a show case of"what not to do"

 

Get to Moorea... there is NOTHING in or on Tahiti to waste your time or money on....Been there 4 times

Link to comment
Share on other sites
SweetPease

SweetPease

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Wow. Looks like we are in for a not so pleasant end to our vacation :(. Do believe we are locked in. Going to have to make the best of it. Trying to book an interior island tour and will spend one day in Moorea. Also plan to go into market as suggested and maybe take the bus as suggested by ChatKat. You all have me quite concerned. Yikes! :eek: on the other hand, we've stayed in Jamaica twice in the past year (our daughter is a marine biologist who was doing research there), and it is definitely NOT a pretty place. We managed to have a great time. Guess I'll have to keep my attitude positive :).

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Hawaiidan

Hawaiidan

Posted
Posted
Wow. Looks like we are in for a not so pleasant end to our vacation :(. Do believe we are locked in. Going to have to make the best of it. Trying to book an interior island tour and will spend one day in Moorea. Also plan to go into market as suggested and maybe take the bus as suggested by ChatKat. You all have me quite concerned. Yikes! :eek: on the other hand, we've stayed in Jamaica twice in the past year (our daughter is a marine biologist who was doing research there), and it is definitely NOT a pretty place. We managed to have a great time. Guess I'll have to keep my attitude positive :).

 

There is only1 interior tour It is by 4x4 on a dirt road, that crosses the island and skirts a huge water treatment plant and facility after pasing through miles of industrial warehouses The eco-system has been devastated by construction and the invasion of this purple big leaf plant Miconia which has taken over and killef off 99% of all the original tropical plants... for the whole tour all you see is hills, fields, eferywhere covered like kudzu only worse.

You stop at a cook shack and get a chicken leg, a glump of soggy rise and a slice of fruit and a cup-cake while you swat mosquitos It was 7 hours of wasted time ... no views, no tropical forests or waterfalls, I am a professional NPS naturalist and was seduced, like you with the allure of seeing the interior of the island.... I was very sad at what I saw

 

If you cant cancel your hotel...for God's sake go to Moorea it is everything you were seeking Tahiti is NOT what you expect it is the industrial heart of the Pacific region... with crime, crowding and traffic....

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Floridiana

Floridiana

Posted
Posted

I thought that the interior of the central volcano was very interesting, but it seems that the 'better' side of the ascent is now blocked by private property which means that you now drive in and out through the same area which was still rural when we took the tour. We had a picknick up there.

 

Papeete is not a dump. It's a small South Pacific town with all the pros and cons of such a place. If you could handle 'non-resort' Jamaica, you are well prepared with the bonus that Polynesians don't hassle you.

 

Once we rented a car and drove around the island, very nice. Another time, we took the bus (le truck) to the Gauguin museum (wasn't really good) and had to hitchhike to Papeete because the bus never came back despite the driver's confirmation. (I speak French.)

This museum has been redone and seems better:

http://www.museetahiti.pf/

 

We also stayed in Moorea. Yes, we made car reservations beforehand. Another time we booked a tour into Moorea's interior - which is a large agricultural school. Very fertile soil and lush growth. We booked the tour spontaneously through our hotel on Moorea.

 

If you haven't seen one yet, watch the best Tahitian dance show you can find. Plenty of examples on youtube, look for Heiva festival Tahiti.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Hawaiidan

Hawaiidan

Posted
Posted
Gee, you must really hate it if you've been there four times!

 

However, cruises to many places seem to start or stop or travel through there. I do not like Miami or San Juan either... but it is the same BS with a French touch.. If you notice all but 1 of the 4 cruises actually started or stopped in Papeete. The rest traveling through and I had no choice. The last 2 times I kept on the ship and was happy.

 

Tahiti is a strange place full for French trying to act Polynesian and full of Polynesian that resent the French. The French won and introduced Rue du Faubourg prices to the South Pacific. Merci mon ami...gimme your dough.

 

Just so you do not feel left out I am not to hot on NY either...fast As I can get across the GW bridge the better. ( I worked in NYC thank you very much so my opinions are derived from experience)

I prefer LA to NY/SF totally....sorry

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Wendy The Wanderer

Wendy The Wanderer

Posted
Posted
It s the tail of the island of Tahiti...very rural and basic...really a suburb of Papetee.

The concept of Tahiti is to get to the gems...Moorea, Bora, and skip the rest.

 

I know that, just wondering if anyone has actually spent time out there, away from the crowds.

 

I'm musing about what to do in Tahiti for a day as well. In the past we've stayed east of Papeete, and have basically just hung around the hotel. We could just sit around the pool, or we could get a guide to take us to some places we haven't been (been on tours around the island, seen the museum twice, the marae, the grotto, etc.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Floridiana

Floridiana

Posted
Posted (edited)

I have been to Tahiti Iti when we rented the car for the circumnavigation. It's rural, no road all the way around. There is an official vista point on google map. We stopped in Tautira where the locals were entertaining their kids with a traditional sports festival: coconut tossing etc. Good event!

 

Unexpected things sometimes happen, for example the dance rehearsal in a remote valley on Hiva Oa.

 

As to pearl shopping: Papeete is a good place for quality pearls and nice design, so is Moorea. I did not care so much for the pearl shops on the other islands. But things change. So buy what appeals to your sense of beauty wherever you see it (and can afford).

 

My motto on all my trips to the South Pacific: Just go with the flow.

Edited by Floridiana
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Tansy Mews

Tansy Mews

Posted
Posted
We stayed for the day at the Meridien at the end of our cruise. Pretty grounds. We walked to the Museum of Tahiti and its islands. Worthwhile. When we were there, they did not take credit cards and they only took local cash.

http://www.museetahiti.pf

http://www.museetahiti.pf/infos.php

To clarify - the museum only took local cash.

We got some local currency at the hotel. BTW, the food at the hotel was very good.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Paulchili

Paulchili

Posted
Posted
Waiting now to hear about a private tour of Moorea. Should that not work out, if we simply take the ferry over to Moorea, can we just walk around the town?

 

Not much fun in that - much better to rent a car and drive around the island, enjoy a nice swim and drive to the mountain top viewpoint (take along a mosquito repellent for that visit)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
conan

conan

Posted
Posted

Don't you just love it when you seek information and the place you are seeking info about gets slammed? No help there. How adventurous are you? How comfort oriented? Are you a shopper?

Hop Le truck and head out of town to just beyond Punaauia to find the Museum of Tahiti and It's Islands. It's a bit of a walk from the main road but the flowers and gardens enroute make up for it. It's a nice way to look into polynesian cultural artifacts, geology with a little history thrown in. If you have independent transport then Vapahi Gardens in the same general direction beyond Mataiea is nice for an hour or so. The Gaugin Museum isn't worthy of a visit in my opinion but the restaurant next door is interesting especilly if they are feeding the fish and sharks in the enclosures on the seaside side. The Captain Bligh Restaurant up the road from the Manava Suites hotel has a lagoonarium. You descend to below water level via a shark's gullet and observe the colourful fish at eye level. A visit to the market is interesting especially the floral market and the handicrafts for sale (not the made in China ones) as is the fish market all under one roof. Sometimes there is a flea market in the Bougainville Park. If it suits your fancy, have the Meridien concierge make a reservation for you at the Belvedere restaurant. They'll come and get you and return you home (though not perhaps when you want to leave, they need a van ful to make the trip worthwhile) The road is not suitable for a novice to Tahiti driver especially after dark. Try to time your reservation for sunset over Moorea and note that the sun sets quickly in this latitude. The food is no great hell but the sunset view over Moorea (if there are no clouds) is stunning. A visit to the black sand beach and the lighthouse at Venus Point where Captain Cook started all the hulabaloo is worth a brief stop if you are circumnavigating the island. Just beyond is the Arahoho blowhole (worth 5 minutes of your time but not much more) Keep your eyes peeled for the access to the waterfalls up the Papenoo Valley.

Tahitians go to Moorea for the weekend. If going over to Moorea, contact Albert's Transport to get a price and transport for a motu picnic. A lot of them leave from the dock at the Bali Hai Hotel. Alberts can also provide a Moorea tour which would include the pineapple distillery and the Belvedere overlook of Cook and Openohu Bay. They can also provide a quote for the Tiki Gardens dine and show experience but this is more than a one day trip since the show does not finish before the last ferry back to Papeete. Consider Marama Tours at maramatours dot pf if you want a tour operator on Tahiti. Yes Papeete can be ugly and expensive (especially food). It was a whaling port and never shook off that heritage. It is noisy and bustling as any place with its population crammed between the shore and a high place. I found we got the best price break buying CFPs at an ATM rather than from the hotel desk or a bank. Everything closes down on Sundays,

Hope this helps! Good luck!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Paulchili

Paulchili

Posted
Posted (edited)
Thank you "Conan" for your more positive suggestions; have been wondering if we were going to find any enjoyment at all in visiting FP!!!!!

 

Just to be more clear on the subject - Papeete and French Polynesia are very different entities and Papeete is nothing like the rest of FP (and v.v).

When people speak of FP they usually mean places like Moorea, Bora Bora, Huahine, Raiatea, etc (or maybe even Tahiti) - not Papeete itself.

Not many people would travel that far just to see Papeete itself (unlike Paris, London or Rome) but will happily do so to see the rest of FP :)

Edited by Paulchili
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • Special Event: Q&A with Laura Hodges Bethge, President Celebrity Cruises
      • ANNOUNCEMENT: Set Sail on Sun Princess®
      • Hurricane Zone 2024
      • Cruise Insurance Q&A w/ Steve Dasseos of Tripinsurancestore.com June 2024
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...