Moorea - off the beaten path

We are leaving for our honeymoon in Moorea on Sunday! I've been reading through everything here on the forums and gotten a lot of great information on things like the hiking trails, etc. Here are a few questions I can't find an answer to yet:

First let me say that we are both seasoned travelers. We hiked up Kilimanjaro last year, and I have back packed through China as well as done self-guided hikes and tours of many countries throughout the world. We wanted our honeymoon to be a little more lavish than what we typically go for -- thus we are staying at the Hilton (former Sheraton) Lagoon, splitting our time between a garden and overwater bungalow. But we'd still like to maintain our ability to explore on our own - as i find the best trips I've been on are the ones where I didn't follow the tour companies recommendations and just found my way through the local town on my own.

Breakfast is included with our stay, but the rest of the meals are on us, and I am excited to try out the local markets and moving food carts. Our favorite memory in Africa was having fresh grilled octopus on a stick from the night market vendors in Zanzibar.

I'm confused about payment though. Our travel agent, whom has been to FP several times, encouraged us to bring little cash and mostly use credit cards. She recommends against traveler's checks or changing money, saying everywhere we go will accept American cash. Is this true for the food carts and markets? Or should we prepare to exchange some money? Can anyone recommend what proportion of cash to credit we should expect -- we ran out of cash in Africa and had to hit an ATM, which I also hear are limited in FP.

Along those lines, what's the deal on actual events on the island - such as a polynesian feast, shark/stingray swim, 4WD, etc. We haven't decide which of these things we want to do, but I'm wondering the best way to sign up if we decide on a whim we want to do one. Is it possible to contact the company directly, or will we have to go through the hotel to sign us up. My experience in the Caribbean is that the hotel concierge charges 2 - 3x the price for the same service. Any suggestions as to which are worth the while and which are more geered for tourists who don't have much of an adventurous past?

Lastly, I have a question about travel throughout the island. We were hoping to rent bicycles and use this as our primary transport into the Bay where most of the restaurants and markets are located -- is that realistic, or should we really consider hiring a car or calling someone to come pick us up? We'd like to maximize our ability to just explore and wander about, but for example when I traveled to Maui -- there are just some places that you are much safer going via car or the bike ride would be so long you don't get to enjoy the destination.

Thanks for your replies!

• Tracy

US$ is accepted by everyone, but the exchange rate you get can be VERY erratic. Just go to an ATM, withdraw FPF, it is the easist way to do it. (with back up cash/cards of course)

I went sorkling with sting rays -awesome- in Moorea (2 weeks ago), and highly recommend it, don't book through a hotel, you'll find agents.

The food was pretty dissappointing, I found it more Spam/hot dog than seafood feast.

Lastly, it is REAL expensive.

Samara

Of course you will need local currency. Use credit cards at places where they take them and local currency where they don't. Most places do not take U$ dollars.

You can contact the excursion company directly. (Check out the Tahiti Explorer and Trip Advisor forums for suggestions re: tours.)

You can easily bicycle (or walk) from the Hilton to Cooks Bay (3 miles/ 5 km one way). However, you might want to have the restaurants pick you up for dinner.

When I was planning our trip to FP(2006) I found Jan Prince's "Tahiti" and Rob Kay's "Hidden Tahiti" to be a great source of information. If I recall, Rob's book outlined a hike to a waterfall on Moorea that might be what you are looking for. We booked our tours when we got there and except for one, had no problems getting what we wanted - we dealt with the tour companies directly. Biking around is a great way to go - we stayed at a smaller place that offered complimentary bicycles - but you will find some hilly areas. Hopefully the ATM situation is better now as we found we could not find one that would accept our bank card - changing travelers cheques at a bank incurred a steep fee.