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# Fiji VS Tahiti? Country forums / Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea / Fiji
summertimeone 08:55 UTC 04 Jan 2010 | I read this on the internet: Ive been to Tahiti 7 times and Fiji 12, 20 times to the South Pacific overall. I have carried on a love affair with the region since 1980, the 430 days i spent there have allowed me to form very strong and passionate opinions. Here goes. The Society Islands (Tahiti) are the most dramatically beautiful island chain I have seen. Bora Bora takes top prize folowed by Moorea and Tahiti itself if one can overlook Papeete. The islands interior mountains are breathtaking and much higher than the mountains of the outer islands. The lagoons of the Societies and the Tuamotu's are unsurpassed. The turquoise, green, deep blue etc of the barrier reef enclosed wonders is a sight to behold. Beaches are often a bit disapoointing as they are often not real big or wide. Bora Bora's main body really only has one beach, the stretch from Hotel Bora Bora up to and around Matira Point The best are found on the motu. Fiji is a beautiful place in it's own right though the islands lack the stunning dramatic visuals of the Tahitian chain. Many are flat little sand keys of beach and palm (love it) and the volcanic main islands are bigger and not all that stunning although Taveuni and parts of Kadavu are very visual. Diving is better in Fiji overall, snorkeling in Tahiti is better. Beaches are better in Fiji. Which do I prefer. If you asked me this 20 years ago I would say Tahiti hands down, even though I had never been to Fiji as of then, I was lucky to have gone when it was a vacation destination, affordable, undiscoverd by the honeymooner, and very quiet. There were only 3 hotels on Bora Bora and the best on the island, if not the entire region of F.P. the Holel Bora Bora, was affordable. This is not the case anymore, Bora is choked with hotels that charge prohibitive prices, meals are bankbreaking as well. If $$ is no object, and you see other islands as well, not just Bora, than I would say go there. Nothing had the ambience, majesty, whatever you want to call it. It's not the same but that is coming from someone who knew it before, it might not bother you. Fiji's beauty is that many of their resorts are on their own island, this allows for max privacy. Fiji has a wider range of resort classes as well. While there are some like Vatulele and Turtle Island that charge F.P. like rates, there are many more places that are wonderful and surprisingly affordable . The Fiji dollar will offer a better exchange and English is spoken by all, if that is important.I would have to say that nothing did it for me like the Tahitian islands but today due to the negatives (my opinion) that I mentioned, Fiji is a better destination for value. You will also be able to return sooner if you wish to return. Case in point, I was priced out of Tahiti long ago. _____________________________________________________________________________ OKAY: I was considering to go to either Tahiti or Fiji, but since Tahiti seems crazy expensive, I think I'll go with Fiji. If someone been to both places, and also to the Cook islands, I'd like to see how the C.Islands compare to Tahiti and Fiji aswell. Also, can someone recommend some budget accomodations on Fiji if there still are any? The private islands with a lot of privacy, and small beaches secluded by palm trees sounded amazing. For a double room with 2 people, are there are places that charges less than 50 US dollars a night? We can pay up to 100 dollars for the two of us, but then we would have to spend less days there. But at the same time we wanna stay at some beautiful island... what place is the most price worthy? Also, how much is a common lunch or a dinner and a bottle of water on Fiji? THANKS! |
gillrh 05:19 UTC 10 Jan 2010 | Check out some of the hostels in Fiji. There are some that are nearly as nice as a 5 star resort but at a fraction of the price. I found Fiji quite affordable, as were the Cook Islands. Tahiti was by far the most expensive place I visited in the South Pacific. | 1
summertimeone 16:29 UTC 11 Jan 2010 | Ok it doesnt look like we're heading out to the Pacific islands this year. But maybe next year. Do you remember the names of some of the places you stayed, and what price range they were? Thanks PS, was it easy and cheap to go island hoping in Fiji and the Cook islands. How far is it between the islands, how many minutes by speed boat? | 2
h2ooh 17:55 UTC 23 Jan 2010 | SummertimeOne... Fiji has the Yasawas and maybe some others to go island hopping by boat. In the Cooks you have to go by airplane. The islands are too far apart to have scheduled transportation by small boat. That's one reason why the Cooks are much less crowded than most other destinations. To some of us, that is a good thing. | 3
jbphdelaney 02:38 UTC 18 Jan 2011 | I've been to both Tahiti & Fiji. My husband and I went to French Polynesia (FP) for our honeymoon in 2008. We stayed on Moorea, Raiatea, and Bora Bora. Moorea is definitely the most beautiful place I've ever seen. The diving and snorkeling in Moorea were amazing, and the views from the mountains were incredible. We stayed in a premium overwater bungalow at the Moorea Pearl, and while we're not resort-type people, the views from our bungalow, and the convenience of snorkling off our steps were perfect for a honeymoon. That said, the food in FP is horrible (and we're not foodies - we're good with basic sandwiches, etc), and is extremely expensive. I'm sure you already know that it's extremely expensive to stay in FP. Additionally, I did not feel very welcome there. The people who work on the resorts, those who work in the restaurants, and those who are just shopping in the grocery store with you are all very rude and uninviting. You get the distinct feeling that they don't want you there, despite the fact that they couldn't live there without the income from tourism. Also, very few people speak English, INCLUDING the ones who work on the resorts. You would expect that people who work in tourism in a country that gets lots of international tourists would be multi-lingual. I suspect that some of them could speak English, but chose not to just to be rude to us Americans. Raiatea was Polynesian hell! We wanted to go there to go off-the-beaten-track. We like to do this on our vacations, and usually have good experiences with it. The people on Raiatea were incredibly unwelcoming. See my review for the Hawaiki Nui on Raiatea on tripadvisor.com (http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g309691-d307163-r29333906-Raiatea_Hawaiki_Nui_Hotel-Raiatea_Society_Islands.html#CHECK_RATES_CONT). Bora Bora was nice, but I still feel that Moorea was much more beautiful. My husband and I went to Fiji for our one-year anniversary in 2009. We stayed on Taveuni at Makaira by the Sea (http://www.fijibeachfrontatmakaira.com/). Simply, we LOVED it! See my review on tripadvisor.com (http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g297562-d1224574-r49066812-Makaira_by_the_Sea-Taveuni_Island.html#CHECK_RATES_CONT). It was very affordable. Without a doubt, the most expensive part of your trip is the airfare. The rates at Makaira are much lower than many regular hotels in the US. The owners are Hawaiian ex-pats, the manager is a Fijian Indian, and the staff is a Fijian family. They all make you feel extremely welcome, and you feel immersed in the culture of Fiji! It’s awesome! The food at Makaira is also amazing! The owners REALLY know how to cook, and they just keep bringing plate after plate of food, for only $20pp for dinner. My mouth waters just thinking about the teriyaki sauce and the fresh yellowfin tuna. Taveuni is very much the eco-tourism island in Fiji, so if you’re into 5-star resorts with spas and infinity pools, it’s not for you. Makaira is more than comfortable for those of us who just like to explore and relax, though! We loved it so much we’re going back already (despite our plans to “see the world” before having kids). | 4