Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020 |

# Tahiti Affordable for Students? Country forums / Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea
oceanhighs 06:08 UTC 25 Jan 2010 | So I am a student in Washington DC trying to make it to Tahiti in back with a budget of 1500 for a week and a half, is this possible? Does anyone know any special student packages or website I could try in order to make this dream a reality, thanks! |
dmx007 01:30 UTC 26 Jan 2010 | Tahiti / French Polynesia is insanely expensive! Accomodations, food, drinks, just about everything. You might want to consider other pacific island chains that are less expensive (and arguably just as nice). I just returned from Fiji and loved the Yasawa islands, and I've heard good things about the Cook Islands, Tonga, and Samoa. I also recommend the outer islands of French Polynesia over Tahiti itself, as they can be nicer and less touristy: Raiatea, Huahine, and the Tuamotos. They have more budget accommodations, are a little more "real" and a little less developed by the giant resorts. If you're absolutely set on FP, I suggest booking a package including air. Dig around and you might find something workable, as it is the off season right now. | 1
trvlguy66 02:44 UTC 26 Jan 2010 | I would think if you have a budget of $1500 for 10 days and that you should try the Cooks, Samao, Tonga or Fiji as DMX has mentioned as well. French Polynesia is so expensive even though you can find some more budget oriented accommodation in the say of local run B&Bs and guest houses - the cost of food, car rental, excursions etc is still so high it is very hard to do on a tight budget. I would definitely say to save Fr. Polynesia for another time when you can go with a higher budget and really enjoy it. For this trip and your budget, you can have have an incredible time on that budget in some of the other South Pacific Islands and think you'd be better doing that. If you want to see what kind of budget accommodations there are in French Polynesia have a look at the Tourist Board's website at www.tahiti-tourism.com | 2