Tahiti or Noumea

I see for a week in August, it is practically the same cost to fly from Auckland to either Papeete or to Noumea. How on earth does one decide which of these offers to take up? Any views? I'm most interested in just going to relax, and I'm sure you can do that on either. Cost of food and lodgings might be a useful factor, and ease of getting about, whether one has more to see than the other - either in terms of scenery or man-made points of interest e.g. good shopping, galleries, bars. Oooh - does one have better coffee and beer than the other?

I'll post this twice, once with each country as the tag. Thanks for anyone who can shed any light on this most arduous and difficult of decisions.

Have not been to New Caledonia but here are some considerations:

Weather - August in French Polynesia is considered the very best time to go (and is high season). It will be hot but it is less humid/rainy than their/your summer months. New Caledonia is further south so the weather will be cooler, will it be hot enough for you?

Is one airfare a much bigger bargain that you don't expect to see again?

Snakes? NC has sea snakes. French Polynesia has no snakes.

French Polynesia is not the place to go for "good shopping, galleries, bars". You shouldn't stay in Papeete, it's a small city (with no beaches) and from what I've read if you want city life then Noumea would offer much more. However, Moorea, a quick easy ferry ride away has incredible scenery. Some consider it the most beautiful island in the world. (But I'm absolutely amazed as I look at photos of the Ile des Pins in NC.)

The local beer, Hinano, gets good reviews. Instant coffee seems to be served a lot.

Lodging? I'm guessing that you'll get much more bang for your buck in terms of hotel amenities in New Caledonia.

With regard to the weather - we were in New Caledonia in September and found it quite cool as compared to Tahiti in August. Tahiti has a more South Pacific vibe than does New Caledonia. Noumea has more of an European feel to it. Ile des Pines is beautiful but we found that we needed to speak more French to be fully understood, whereas in Tahiti is was a lot easier. I would second silvanocat's suggestion of going to Moorea, it is just beautiful.

Number One New Caledonian beer is pretty tasty and the Jean Tjibaou (sp?) cultural centre is really interesting. When I was in NC in 1999 poor exchange rate (from Australian dollars) made shopping quite exxy, although you would face the same issue in Tahiti I suspect.

Good luck with your tortuous decision making!

I haven't been to NC, but I agree with the above that if you go to FP, head to Moorea rather than spend too much time in Papeete.

But pretty much forget the shopping, galleries and bars as a major attraction in FP, though there are some exceptions.

"shopping, galleries and bars " plus restaurants and ease of travel - Noumea beats Papeete hands down. Prices would be lower for most things in NC that FP. I love NC, but if the fares were similar would still head to FP cos usually its much dearer to get to FP than NC

BTW Noumea isnt NC any more than Papaeete is FP.