What to do in Papeete?

[Hawaiidan]

that my and others postings were not to bash..but to make a traveler critically aware that Tahiti the island and Papeete the city are in no relation anywhere like what you have come to expect from Polynesia. They are the exact opposite.

 

Too, my point...get out of town , get off this island to true beauty and fulfillment.

 

My and others posts were to encourage the visitor to spend as much time out of Papeete as possible. You have come so many thousands of miles you should not assume ALL the islands are the same...they are not. Tahiti is the LA or NY of the region. You did not come all this way to experience Honolulu where the spoke French?

 

Yes there are tons of things you could do in Papeete. No they are not 1/10th as good as on ANYOTHER island..budget your time in the places that you dream of..

 

That is the point.

[Mumofnine]

Having lived in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea some years ago, I am totally aware that these island capital ( + Papeete) towns are "jumping off" points for much nicer places further afield and that being so unfortunately attract the uglier things that come with it. I will not expect to be seeing Papeete through rose coloured glasses.

I do realise that the true beauty of FP lies outside of Papeete!!

I would not by choice stay in Papeete but flight restraints dictates that is the way it is to be; I guess we will see the "good, the bad and the ugly"!

Sometimes you just have to look harder to see the "good" in a place!!

[SweetPease]

Conan, thank you for the positive spin on Papeete. Hawaiidan, I do appreciate your honesty and advice as well. We will try to see some of Papeete and will definitely get to Moorea. As Mumofnine said, we will see the good the bad and the ugly. :)

[Mumofnine]

We are currently booked into the Intercontinental Tahiti for 2 nights pre cruise (arriving into PPT at midnight) and 1 night post cruise, however taking on board all this "chat" about Papeete am looking now at feasibility of maybe first night closer to the port and staying 2nd night on Moorea. Had not really wanted to be on the move too much as this is supposed to be a restful holiday but if it ensures a better experience, so be it.

I do appreciate all the comments and information and I am sure we all want to enjoy a wonderful cruise!

[Paulchili]

Having lived in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea some years ago, I am totally aware that these island capital ( + Papeete) towns are "jumping off" points for much nicer places further afield and that being so unfortunately attract the uglier things that come with it.

 

Port Moresby is a good comparison to Papeete. While Papeete is not quite as "dangerous" as Port Moresby, it is equally unattractive.

It is simply no longer the paradise that might have attracted Gaugin and others to FP :(

As you said, it is just a starting and ending point for most visitors to FP. I am sure that you will enjoy the rest of your cruise in FP.

Edited January 1, 2014 by Paulchili

[Tansy Mews]

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.

 

Luckily, from their hotel, they can walk to the museum. Just ask staff how to get there. The route is odd - out the back door of the hotel and then a 10 minute walk.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

We are currently booked into the Intercontinental Tahiti for 2 nights pre cruise (arriving into PPT at midnight) and 1 night post cruise, however taking on board all this "chat" about Papeete am looking now at feasibility of maybe first night closer to the port and staying 2nd night on Moorea. Had not really wanted to be on the move too much as this is supposed to be a restful holiday but if it ensures a better experience, so be it.

I do appreciate all the comments and information and I am sure we all want to enjoy a wonderful cruise!

 

I wouldn't spend just one night on Moorea, not worth the schlepping, at least to me. It might be worth it to take the ferry for the day, and rent a car then come back (although be aware the days are short there, and the ferry doesn't operate after dark.)

[Hawaiidan]

I wouldn't spend just one night on Moorea, not worth the schlepping, at least to me. It might be worth it to take the ferry for the day, and rent a car then come back (although be aware the days are short there, and the ferry doesn't operate after dark.)

 

 

While the US use Daylight Savings time Tahiti and Hawaii and Arizona do not and keep on the same time zone year around Only difference is that April 18 at 1100 GMT or UTC/Z daylight savings will mean the normal 2 hour time change will be 3 hours till October.

 

Not only do the ferrys not operate and night the commuter flights do not either.

 

I too encourage spending 2 days on Moorea... if you want go spend a half a day on Tahiti but come back to Moorea

[Hawaiidan]

I wouldn't spend just one night on Moorea, not worth the schlepping, at least to me. It might be worth it to take the ferry for the day, and rent a car then come back (although be aware the days are short there, and the ferry doesn't operate after dark.)

 

 

While the US use Daylight Savings time Tahiti and Hawaii and Arizona do not and keep on the same time zone year around Only difference is that April 18 at 1100 GMT or UTC/Z daylight savings will mean the normal 2 hour time change will be 3 hours till October.

 

 

 

I too encourage spending 2 days on Moorea... if you want go spend a half a day on Tahiti but come back to Moorea

[ChatKat in Ca.]

We are currently booked into the Intercontinental Tahiti for 2 nights pre cruise !

 

We stayed at the IC in an overwater bungalow for 5 nights. We could see Moorea from our bed and there was a glass window to see the water underneath. We had room service breakfast one morning dubbed Breakfast by Canoe. We spent much time just lounging on our deck watching the canoes go by, swimming a bit from the deck, and we enjoyed walking the grounds. There were two restaurants - the upscale fish venue was wonderful although pricy. We caught Le Truck right at the entrance of the hotel to go into town. We did take a taxi back. The Polynesian dance show was very nice.

[Mumofnine]

Thank you for the recommendations; unfortunately we are not able to stay 2 consecutive nights on Moorea as we arrive into PPT at midnight on 3 April for 05 April cruise and fly out on 20 April on Air New Zealand.

Have an overwater bungalow booked at IC for last night.

May have to be content with adding an extra day trip to Moorea as well as day on cruise itinerary.

[cottagelover]

We disembark the Marina on the 26 th of March and fly home that night at 9 pm.

We were contemplating a car rental with idea circumnavigating the island to pass the day. After reading the posts,we are now debating this option.how long does it take to drive around?

Apparently,according to another thread we will have the option of staying on the ship until 5 pm.The cabin of course would have to be vacated but we could relax in public areas,read etc

If you stay on board are you permitted an on/ off option to look around the town?

Please provide any feedback or experience to help with the decision

Thank you

[TERRIER1]

We are staying 2 nights in Papeete at the end of our cruise. Any suggestions on what we should do or see? We are staying at Le Meridien. Thanks!

 

We rented a car a did the circumnavigation of the island stopping at our leisure at points of interest around the island. We never made it to Tahiti Iti since it was a Sunday and we had to get the car back by 5 pm. The car rental will pick you up at your hotel. On Moorea, I attended a church service which was beautiful. It was in Tahitian - very beautiful and lots of singing. The service is very long - about 2 hours. There are lots of services in Papeeti if you are there on a Sunday and it's a lovely way to experience the culture.

 

We stayed on Tahiti for 2 days prior to our cruise. Our flight landed at 10 pm so we wanted to get to a hotel and then decompress and get rid of our jet lag. We stayed at the Manava Suites which was very nice. I would only stay on Tahiti again pre-cruise in order to get rid of the jet lag. If you can get out of your reservation I would do so and hop the ferry to Moorea and stay there for two days. The islands are night and day. Also, we ate at the roulettes which are very good and took in a Polynesian show but not on Tahiti. Have fun and enjoy.

[TERRIER1]

Thank you for the additional ideas. The museum looks quite interesting! 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?

 

There is "no" town to speak of where the ferry lands on Moorea and the bus is erratic. The bus oeprates to met the ferry schedule and take people to their hotels. Your best bet is to arrange a tour. We stayed on Moorea at the end of our cruise at the Moorea Pearl. We used Albert's for our excursion and it was very nice.

[SweetPease]

We have arranged a tour with Franckyfrank in Moorea. Great reviews on tripadvisor. As for the next day in Papeete, we will see what happens. May just enjoy a day at the pool/beach at our hotel and relax.

[TERRIER1]

We disembark the Marina on the 26 th of March and fly home that night at 9 pm.

We were contemplating a car rental with idea circumnavigating the island to pass the day. After reading the posts,we are now debating this option.how long does it take to drive around?

Apparently,according to another thread we will have the option of staying on the ship until 5 pm.The cabin of course would have to be vacated but we could relax in public areas,read etc

If you stay on board are you permitted an on/ off option to look around the town?

Please provide any feedback or experience to help with the decision

Thank you

 

Check with Oceania what is the deal with your cruise since they vary. On ours we were allowed to come and go. The circumnavigation takes about 4 hours.

[Hawaiidan]

Check with Oceania what is the deal with your cruise since they vary. On ours we were allowed to come and go. The circumnavigation takes about 4 hours.

 

Check in is requested 3 hours ( 6pm) before the flight and closes 1 hour before the flight (8pm)

The car option will be your best bet IF, you can store all your luggage where it can not be seen for safety. Tahiti does have its problems so its not total safe to leave a rental car parked in remote areas with all your stuff in it. Hawaii has the same problem in some areas too as do many big cities.

[Benita]

We spent three days in Tahiti and four in Moorea before our Paul Gauguin cruise. We took a tour with adventure eagle- the owner spent much of his life in Hawaii, so his English was great. He offered a circle tour for four hours hitting the highlights- yes, there are a few. We also went to the Museum of a Tahiti, which is near Le Meridien, where we were staying- worth a couple of hours. We also took a bus downtown and window shopped the beautiful pearl shops and went to the market. We had dinner at the roulette. And taxied back to the hotel.

Moorea is much more impressive, but we enjoyed Tahiti, too.

[SweetPease]

Thank you Benita. It's nice to hear some positive experiences. :). Several have suggested taking the bus downtown and visiting the Museum. Have put those on our list. ;)

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Yes, the Marché in the middle of Papeete, right across from the docks is great, just be aware that it's only open on Saturday morning (not sure about other days, but I think it's closed on Sunday.)

[Floridiana]

The market market is open on all weekdays.

[LuAnn]

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.

 

Papeete for a day on a T/P on X. We are to dock at 8 AM and the only ferry in the AM (it's a Sunday) is at 9 AM. Is the ferry dock close to where the cruise ship will dock? We would like to go to Moorea but sounds like the 9 AM is our only option. Thanks! LuAnn

[Paulchili]

Papeete for a day on a T/P on X. We are to dock at 8 AM and the only ferry in the AM (it's a Sunday) is at 9 AM. Is the ferry dock close to where the cruise ship will dock? We would like to go to Moorea but sounds like the 9 AM is our only option. Thanks! LuAnn

 

Hi LuAnn,

It's the pier next to the cruise ship, IIRC - next door.

Paul

[TERRIER1]

Papeete for a day on a T/P on X. We are to dock at 8 AM and the only ferry in the AM (it's a Sunday) is at 9 AM. Is the ferry dock close to where the cruise ship will dock? We would like to go to Moorea but sounds like the 9 AM is our only option. Thanks! LuAnn[/quote

 

The ferry is very close to where the ship docks. With your luggage it is probably a 5 to 10 minute walk. You can see the ferries from the ship.

[Acrusa]

How far is it from the Intercontinental hotel to the dock?