Cheap flight/ferry from Tahiti to Bora Bora

I am planning to got o Tahiti and Bora Bora in my own trip in Chistmas time,
does anyone know the ferry schedule/fares or cheaper flight from Tahiti to Bora Bora?

Cheap flight form LAX to PPT? from Tahiti to Rangoria?

Any dive shop/sites your recommended for open water cert in Tahiti?

Thanks,

Kate

There are no ferries between Tahiti and Bora Bora, you could take a cargo boat. (Schedules are available on the Tahiti Tourisme Web site).

If you purchase airline tickets in Tahiti it will cost you less than if your purchase them overseas.

International airfare? Check my advice on the question about finding cheap airfares from Europe to Tahiti.

Thanks,
I am planning to go from last week of Dec and first week of Jan
Here are my plan:
3 days in PPT
3 days in Moorea
3 days in Bora Bora
3 days in Rangoria

Please advise cheap places to stay in each places and ferry transport from PPT to each place.
Hiking , dive shop, other activities to do ?
Thanks very much.
Kate

Only ferry transport is from Papeete to Moorea. I suggest buying an Air Tahiti air pass. (Flying is your only option for that routing and schedule.) There is not a significant savings buying one there so do so before you leave. Be aware that it is not a hop on, hop off pass but rather a discounted airfare within certain groupings of islands.

Check out the links that I've posted in the FAQ to help you find accomodation and tourist information.

silavanocat is right, there really isn't a way to do this cheaper. Even if you do get on the cargo boat, it takes long enough that in most cases the plane would've been almost as cheap.

Ed

Tahiti Moorea is around 900 francs one way. Airport to ferry is1800 francs with a taxi but is possible with a the bus at around 200 francs. Walk across the parking lot up the stairs to the road, cross the road, to get to the side where the busses go to Papeete. From downtown Papeete there is only a short walk to the Moorea ferries, you can see them on your right when looking out over the water.
( just now there goes 100 francs to 1,25 dollars) but it'll probably be more come cristmas, with the way the dollar decreases in value.

Cheapest accomodation is camping, if available. Normally around 1000 francs compared to 1700 to 2000 for dorms. I made some comments on Rangiroa camping, a few threads back.

On Tahiti, pension Te Amo has dorms and the least expensive rooms, close to Papeete center. ( I didn't write "cheapest" as there is no such thing as cheap acc. on Tahiti).

Its probably easier to find dive bases on Moorea than on Tahiti but 3 days for a diving certificate, can not even PADI accomplish :o)

Buy the LP guide book, it has a lot of info, I believe there are dorms at the camping sites on the west coast.

Dorm at .pension Motu Iti is 1700 francs a day but here is not much action there. I met 2 american girls, that hat had a real good time at one of the camping sites on the west side of Moorea.

Return flight Tahiti- Rangiroa is 27000francs, The Dory freightboat doesn't take passengers anymore, but by boat, it would take you 2 days to get up and 3 days back anyway. Bora-Bora will be even longer time.

On such a tight schedule, you should plan most things from home as the only place with a bus system is Tahiti. On Moorea you can use the ferry busses (le truck) but they only go when there is a ferry coming or going.

All other places, the best way is to book ahead and they will pick you up at the airport.

PS: Tattoos are 15000 to 20000 if you are so inclined, but reserve when you arrive, they are very busy, its the latest thing to do in Polynesia :o))

Thanks!
I will be in Tahiti for about 15 days in Dec/Jan,
So do you think
5 days in PPT (2 days for LAX to/from PPT)
3 days in Moorea
3 days in Bora Bora
4 days in Rangonia or one of the other Leeward islands?

I love to get my scuba cert in Tahiti, any recommendations in which dive shop?
Kayaking around atoll?
I read Paul Theroux book, it was great!

Kate

Paul Theroux's book (Paddling etc....) was so bad I couldn't believe it. Misrepresented both history and current culture. At least this was true re Cooks, Tonga, Fiji, even Fr. Polynesia, probably Marquesas re history. Self-important dolt, IMHO.

Actually dusty PPT is not that worth of 5days , it is better to be removed from there ASAP, I suggest to change 3 or 2 days out of that it to e.g. Huahine ?

Hi Kate
Remember that any transfer will take 1/2 to a full day, I would visit less places but I'm used to taking it very slow, having 6-8 weeks of vacation every year :o))
What places depend on what you want to do in Polynesia. Most people just stay in Papeete the day they arrive and the day they leave. Most flights arrive early in the morning and leave late at night, so there's plenty of time for shopping and stocking up on supplies before leaving for the atolls.
Moorea is good for beaches and there is diving too but I don't know about that.

The atolls, such as Rangiroa, don't have much nightlife, but if you come for the diving, the passes are amazing. From shore You can see the dolphins jump in the waves of Tiputa pass and I saw whales jumping in the ocean just outside the Avatoru pass. I met a frenchman that had one introduction dive and then went out and saw manta rays with the Raie Manta club !
Rangi diving clubs

Yes I paddled around Rangiroa on the inside.

I enjoyed Theroux' book but I'm not much of a history buff. I read it for the adventure, the people and the kayaking.

PS: Raro, your answer really helped Kate ;o(

Poul

I wasn't aware of any nightlife outside of Papeete. Rangiroa with its restaurants is as lively as it gets.

I did a drift snorkel through the pass in Rangi and while I had my eyes closed in fear at that moment I was told that there was a hammerhead below us eating another shark.

The main island in Rangiroa is not very attractive with lots of litter. But I'm sure Paul saw some incredible places on his kayak tour (if you have pictures you'd like to share, I'd love to see them), the Blue Lagoon on the other side of the atoll (went on a tour) was just incredible.

On Tikehau, a very pretty and clean atoll, I used my pensions sit on top kayak to get to nearby motu. You might want to consider it instead of Rangi.

As #8 said, unless you have a specific reason to stay in Papeete for longer I would get out as soon as possible. Papeete is not a bad place, it's just not what one goes to Tahiti for. It's a small city.

Poul---Not sure what your sarcasm was for about the fact I think Paul Theroux's book was incorrect. Kate liked it, I was just telling her basically do not believe too much of what he says about the South Pacific, he is pretty much an ignoramus about the Cooks, Fiji and Tahiti. You liked "The adventure, the people, the kayaking". His adventures and people he met were so personal and so non-representative of those places that I would hope Kate doesn't assume that she will even come close to finding anything similar. OK, if she's a kayaker, I guess it's a good book, that's as far as I might recommend it.
I think the views on this TT, e-pinions, etc., are much more valuable to her than the drivel written by Theroux---unless, as I said, she is a kayaker.

Thanks Poul , silvanocat and Raro, SergeyU
My friend and I are looking at the airpass, but I do not see where to buy on the air tahiti website,
well, I will call them tomorrow to get the Bora Bora pass,
We finally decided on the iterinery:
Day 1 PPT
Day 2-5 Moorea
Day 6-10 Bora Bora
Day 11 to 13 Huahine - any good pearl farm?
Day 14 -15 Tahiti - is good hiking in the south side?
I read the book and went to Hawaii and now I really love to see the jewel of the South Pacific!
Is Bora Bora - the most beautiful island in the world?
Kate

That's great that you've chosen Huahine! Huahine is rather large with only around 70 guest rooms on the island in total, which makes a charm of thsi uncrowded island.

If you will go to a one day Huahine lagoon tour, which I highly recommend, than except seeing the island from all sides, having drift snorkelling, picnic lunch almost in water, shark feeding, then you'll definitely visit a pearl farm, which is one of the biggest in FP - be sure to take fully charged credit cards with you :)

To buy the airpass you fill out the reservation request form with the flights that you want. A few days later they will respond either confirming your reservation or suggesting alternate flights. Then you fax your credit card information to them (because email is insecure). When I did it they did not have the telephone option (which could be a lot easier).

As far as Bora Bora, I almost wept when I got off the plane, it was so beautiful even at the airport. The varying colors of blue in the lagoon are unbelieveable.

Well, I haven't seen every island in the world, of course, or even in the SP, but it surely has to be in the top ten worldwide, top two or three in the South Pacific (along with Aitutaki in the Cooks).

Well, we changed the itinerary one last time, with the Bora Bora pass schedule:
Day 1 -4 Bora Bora
Day 5-6 Maupiti Any suggestions in places to stay/eat/play?
Day 7-8 Raiatea Any suggestions in places to stay/eat/play?
Day 9-11 Huahine Any suggestions in places to stay/eat/play?
Day 12-15 Moorea
Thanks,
Kate

I've never understood the thing with Theroux. I travel a lot though, and its often the only thing there, since everyone else seems to disagree with me! I find him smug, pedantic and often plain vanilla wrong. Kinda chaps my butt since he lives in HI too!

On Maupiti I stayed at This place. The hosts were very kind, very easy to get along with and the food was great. Ui (pronounced oooh eee) is a font of knowledge about polynesian navigation, crops, everything. His English is not great but his wife's is far better though I only spoke to her on the phone. We talked through complex things about the stars using my 10 words of French, mangling some Spanish and a few words of Hawaiian.

The walk across the hill in the center of the island is a great one, and the lagoon is endlessly interesting. If you walk or swim across the lagoon to the outer bit of island along the reef you will almost certainly be alone on the other side. Which leaves you alone in the world as far as you will be able to tell.

Ed

I agree, that was my point about Theroux, don't rely on his writings for anything you might expect, at least in the places I mentioned:

" I've never understood the thing with Theroux. I travel a lot though, and its often the only thing there, since everyone else seems to disagree with me! I find him smug, pedantic and often plain vanilla wrong."

Anyway, I guess this could turn into a long debate on Theroux, and that would be a waste of pixels, but since the OP mentioned it, that's why I replied.

Helo,
I am still having trouble getting room in Maupiti, any sugguestions in any persions, or
desert motu hut I can sleep in?
Kate

Talk to Ui at Visit Maupiti. Here is his website link. His English is serviceable, his wife's is much better. Of course if you have French you'll be fine. If you're into the Polynesian celestial navigation, he's a good guy to talk to. They are wonderful people but the experience there is spartan, like the rest of the island. I loved it and went hiking every day I was there, swimming every afternoon when it got hot and generally saw no one at all most of the time. Its paradise, it truly is. But it is NOT touristy in the slightest. I think there are 2 places on the island to buy a meal-and I didn't try either-and 2 Magasins (stores something like a cross between a 7-11 and an old fashioned general store) and 2 or 3 bars. Thats pretty much it.

Ed