6 days on moorea:advice

We will arrive in Papeete the 18th of april in the evening (8,30 pm). So i was thinking to have a place near the ferry dock to take the ferry the next day to moorea.

From 19 to 25 april we can spend time on Moorea (we fly from Papeete at 23,30 pm)

We dont really know which price category of hotel to stay in...a overwater bungalow seems nice and a fancy hotel once in a while is also nice (but since we are on a one year round the world trip, i suppose we will have done so after some months travelling in asia). In my logical thinking it makes more sence to stay in a posh hotel when you only have to relax and do nothing then to stay in one at moorea (in our case) since there are a lot of nice things to see and do on the island.
Dont know really about your opinion.

We were thinking now on staying 3nights at 'linareva' (120 euro + kitchenette/night) breakfast is not included and costs 13 euro per person. But since we have a kitchenette we could make our own and going to the shops.Linareva is situated near Haapiti (snorkel,kayak,bicycle included) and 3 night at Fare Vaihere (150 a night,breakfast included.)
also free bicycle,kayak,snorkle. This fare vaihere is located at opunohu bay.

It seemed nice to us to have to places to stay, since that way we can cover the whole island...
What do you guys think about that?
We would also like to bike a bit, make walks (for example to the belvedere), possibly hire a scooter,.... snorkel a bit.
Maybe , because in thailand we are most probably getting our diving padi , do some dives. But not sure about that...

What are your experiences with doing groceries at the shops?? And the distances from both 'hotels' to places to see, shops,bars.
Have to say that we dont really like to go partying. A beer once and a while is nice but prefer peace and quiet and just see things and enjoy atmosphere.
On tripadvisor i saw that the comments on both places where really nice but like to have more info on the surroundings.

Is there someone who could give me the link of another forum especially for pacific islands? I once found this but lost it

thanks

We have stayed in Linareva and found the location to be very good. There are two stores about 5-10 minutes bike ride (in opposite directions) where you can get a good selection of supplies. We made our own breakfasts and either lunch or dinner during our 3 day stay. There were a number of places where you could buy fruit by the side of the road. It is quite rural in this area and very quiet. We enjoyed taking the kayaks out - the view from the water was lovely. There was a pizza place close by - don't know if it is still there. We rented a car for one day to explore but biking was fairly easy. I'm sorry I can't give you some information about your other choice of accommodation but Opunohu Bay is busier and will give you a nice contrast with Haapiti. You might like to check out the forums at www.tahiti-explorer.com for more recent information.

thanks newfie 43.... Linareva is still our first choice.
We can cycle, hire a scooter, have the free kajaks....
We can cook, but don't have to if we dont want to. Ok, there are no restaurants around but i suppose that if we really want to go there on foot (for example) and get back by taxi

Newfie: Does it have a nice beach to lie on? Is the water deep enough to swim in?
2 years ago we were on Gili Meno (near lombok) and we had to walk for over 100 to 150 m in shallow water to be able to swim

Do you still have tips for us about excursions? Things to see/do
We are really interested in hiking paths

Have you been to tahiti?? or Bora bora ??µ
thanks a lot for replying

As I recall, there is a small beach at Linareva and they had beach loungers. There is a dock out over the shallow water and you can swim/snorkel from the end of it. We only did one excursion in Moorea, which was an afternoon snorkeling tour to Opunohu Bay. - we booked this with Club Bali Hai(they also shark/ray feeding tours). They also have a lovely restaurant called The Blue Pineapple - was reasonably priced. We did not do any hiking as we are more into snorkeling but the posters at tahiti-explorer should be able to help you with that. I can also recommend Jan Prince's book on Tahiti as a good source of information. We also visited Bora Bora and Tahiti - BB was one of our favorites, along with Huahine

My recommendation for a good place to stay overnight in Papeete is Fare Suisse, very close to the airport and ferry dock, and Beni, the owner, will include transport to and from the airport on arrival and airport/ferry the next day as part of your price. Very reasonable rates and clean accomodations!

On Moorea, you might also want to check out Moorea Fare Miti, Les Tipaniers, and Hibiscus Hotel, all on a nice white sandy beach with great sunset views, and within closer walking distance to more shops and grocery stores than Linareva.