About Tahiti

Tahiti is tropical-paradise located in the French Polynesia. It is the region's biggest and most famous island. Picture aqua-blue seas and palm-fringed beaches and you see Tahiti.

The French Polynesia is made up of tasteful resorts, lagoons teeming with tropical fish, perfect for scuba diving and a unique mix of French and Polynesian cuisine.

Papeete is French Polynesia's port capital. It has a beautiful waterfront where yachts, ferries and cargo boats come and go. While in Papeete, you must visit Marché du Papeete market on a Sunday morning, this is the day when it is buzzing with people. The market covers a whole city block just back from the waterfront. It is an airy two-storey building with fruit, vegetables, meat and fish downstairs, and clothes and arts & crafts upstairs.

A few kilometres inland of Papeete is the famous Bain Loti. This is a favourite swimming spot for locals. Tahiti also has a lush and rugged side that offers endless possibilities for walkers and mountain climbers. Here you will find spectacular waterfalls, lava tubes and Polynesian relics, including the ruined temples.

The Island of Bora Bora is regarded as the most beautiful island in the Pacific because of its lush-green volcanic peaks, huge lagoon, and the sandy motus that skirts its coast. People come here to dive in the fish and coral-filled lagoon and to climb the three peaks, Hue, Pahia and Otemanu.

Rangiroa, in the Tuamotu Archipelago, is the second-biggest Island in the world.It is the most populated island in the archipelago. Divers come from everywhere to experience the great abundance of marine life within the lagoon. Pearl farming and mother-of-pearl production is important to the local economy here.

The Marquesian island of Hiva Oa dominates the southern group of the archipelago. Atuona is dramatically set against the backdrop of Mt Temetiu and Mt Feani and the island has many archaeological sites, petroglyphs and giant stone tikis.

Culture

Life is pretty laid back in French Polynesia dress standards are casual, even in the trendiest restaurants and beach wear is mostly just below the waist. Church is very serious and Sunday is the day of worship (fully clothed).

French Polynesia cooking methods combine the South Pacific with French, Italian and Chinese influences. This shows up in the flashy restaurants and the roadside mobile snack bars, les roulottes. Food is still cooked in traditional pit ovens that are common throughout the Pacific. A hole is dug in the ground, stones are placed within it and then a fire is lit to heat the stones. The food, wrapped in banana leaves, is placed on top, and then the hole is filled in again with earth. The baking process takes several hours. In French Polynesia this kind of oven is called an ahimaa and the feast is called a tamaaraa.

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The cost of living in French Polynesia is about as expensive as it gets anywhere in the world.

The banks are pretty nasty when changing currency or travellers' cheques and generally you can expect to loose about 5% with each transaction, although exchange rates and fees vary from bank to bank. There are plenty of automatic teller machines on Tahiti, and other touristy islands will have at least one or two. Your Visa or MasterCard will get you around most of the heavily touristed parts of French Polynesia, but once you go to the smaller motus or out-of-the-way places it's strictly cash.

Tipping is not the usual practice in French Polynesia and you won't be expected pay more for goods and services than the listed price. But neither can you expect to pay less than the listed price - nowhere in the Pacific is bargaining accepted and a vendor would regard it as demeaning for a customer to haggle. Black pearls and expensive jewellery, however, do have some margin for 'discounting'.

Transport

Inter-island boats run regular routes between all of the island groups and can be a great way to travel within the region. Huge catamarans ply between Tahiti and Moorea and the very modern Ono-Ono services the rest of the Society group.

Tahiti and the developed islands operate a local bus service known as le truck which is cheap and reliable. Taxis are available for hire, but they are extremely expensive. Rental cars, scooters and bicycles are good ways to explore, and 4WDs can be hired if you want to head inland on some of the tracks.

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