Guide: 14 best tips for traveling to French Polynesia, our experiences

If someone tells us to close our eyes and imagine the most beautiful beach that you can dream of, those islands and atolls between palm trees with their coral barriers, crystal-clear water and full of fish of all kinds of colors quickly come to mind for all of us.

Well, after returning from French Polynesia, I think I have found the place we all dream of.

Most of us mortals have always dreamed of living the experience of being on one of the incredible movie atolls that we have seen in hundreds of photos.

We recently fulfilled that dream and, although it may seem incredible, it is even better than we had imagined and probably than we are able to express.

It is a journey worth experiencing.

Furthermore we had an extra reason, since the majority of the coral of the world is disappearing due to warming seas, and before we run out of it, we wanted to travel to one of the best areas in the world to see it.

Swimming among sharks, feeding manta rays, diving among schools of fish and with dolphins, there are many unique experiences to be had on these incredible islands.

Here we leave you the video we made of the trip, where we tell you what it is like to travel to paradise and we add images to the information in this article.

But let's start at the beginning and explain everything you need to know to travel for tourism to French Polynesia.

Where is French Polynesia

One of the first questions that arise when you hear about the French Polynesia It is the classic question: where is French Polynesia?

La French Polynesia is located in the middle of South Pacific and occupies an area the size of the European continent.

They are a set of Islas 118 of volcanic origin distributed in 5 archipelagos with transparent waters absolutely full of coral, so here are some of the most beautiful beaches in the world.

Specifically, here you have information about the What are the best islands to visit in French Polynesia?.

This Pacific area It is located five hours by flight from New Zealand, which is the largest population group that is closest to and from which the Polynesian islands are supplied.

The magic of Polynesia is in its formation.

Conclusion ancient volcanoes that once they have died, they have begun to sink, and this has led to the interiors of the calderas being submerged, but their edges not, which causes a central lagoon to form protected by a Coral reef.

A perfect environment for incredible marine reserves to form, a true wonder of nature that we are lucky to be able to see.

How to fly to French Polynesia

La capital of French Polynesia is the city of Papeete, which is located on the island of Tahiti, which is where all international flights arrive.

Although it must be clarified that in reality it is not in Papeete where the planes land, even if the airport is called that, if not they arrive at Faa'a.

It is curious because Polynesia is in the area where from Europe it is already faster to go through America and not across Asia, as many of you might think, especially those of you who have been able to travel to Indonesia o Australia.

It is very close to the imaginary line that marks the change of day, so when in Polynesia you enter the new day, after 12 at night, in areas of the world like Australia o New Zealand which are just a few hours away by flight, that same day is about to end.

Although there are other alternatives, if you travel from Europe the most normal thing is to make the journey with Air Tahiti Nui, which is the airline that makes the connection from Paris and the one that makes flights between islands with the brand Air Tahiti.

It is very important choose the company and type of ticket well, because there are many hours of flight and it is key to have enough space in your legs during it.

Specifically, there are 12 hours of flight from Paris to Los Angeles and another 8 until Papeete, and from Spain you have to add another two hours to reach the French capital.

In total there are about 22 hours of flight without taking into account the time for stopovers, and therefore there is a lot of difference between making the trip in Business or with a company like Air Tahiti Nui, to do it in a low-cost, which has to be to shoot yourself.

If you travel from other countries of Latin America There is another way which is to travel from Chile through Isla de Pascua, which is an 11-hour flight to Tahiti from Santiago de Chile.

To move between islands it is best to go by plane, with all the internal flights by Air Tahiti, and yes, they are not cheap flights and they are also carried out on small planes so it is advisable to make reservations in advance.

What visa is needed to travel to French Polynesia for tourism?

Regarding the papers that are needed to travel tourism, there is only one essential.

Obviously, depending on your nationality of origin you must consult it at the embassy of your country, but for a European citizen the only procedure, apart from having the passport valid for more than 6 months, prior to the trip you must request the ESTA Authorization to enter United States.

El ESTA Authorization It is the tourist visa that the United States issues to you as an essential requirement to enter its country.

If you travel via Paris and you stop at Los Angeles, although it is only a transfer at the airport, they make you get off the plane and go through all the controls, since you are going to set foot on US territory.

Best time to travel for tourism to French Polynesia

Paradise is always a good time to travel, but it is true that there are two marked seasons, one cold and dry and another humid and hot.

The rainy and hot season is from November to April, while the dry and cold one is May to October.

The temperature is great all year round, but when we talk about cold temperature, we are always talking about a minimum temperature of more than 20 degrees, and the maximum temperatures are below 30.

What climate is there in French Polynesia?

So when we talk about two different timesBasically the most notable difference is the rain, because when it gets a little warmer, tropical storms form.

But for those of us who come from thermal fluctuations as large as there are in Spain between summer and winter, the difference in seasons here is quite insignificant.

We can conclude that it is summer all year round.

What currency do they use in Polynesia?

Despite belonging to France, currency used in French Polynesia It is not the euro, although it is also true that in some places they can accept it as well as the dollar.

In the Polynesia they use the polynesian frank, which at the exchange rate is around 120 francs for 1 euro. The mental trick to know the price of things is to remove two zeros from the price you see and then a little less.

It is an indicative calculation that is quite helpful in making the conversion.

When it comes to withdrawing money, we always do the same thing in all the countries we travel to: look for an ATM that says ATM They charge you a fixed commission of 2 euros every time you withdraw cash.

The ideal is to get money when landing in Tahiti, although if you are going to be on this island, there are quite a few ATMs, especially around the Papeete market.

If you are going to move around islands or atolls that are a little lost, keep in mind that there are fewer ATMs than on islands like Tahiti, Moorea o Bora Bora, although at airports you will always have the possibility of withdrawing money.

On the other hand, in the vast majority of restaurants you can pay with a card, even in stores You can pay by cardYes, there is usually a minimum purchase of between 6 and 12 euros

Insurance for traveling to Polynesia

Before traveling to any corner of the world, there are two things that cannot be missed.

El passport and travel insurance; From there you can move around the globe without problems.

I wouldn't want to see myself in the situation of being on a remote island with a health problem like appendicitis, as has already happened to us. You never know where something is going to happen to you, so it is essential to carry a travel medical insurance let me solve it.

In fact, there are countries that ask you for it when you enter.

In addition, these travel insurance include compensation for lost luggage, flight cancellations or delays, which is very important on a trip in which from Spain you have to take three planes.

It is important to hire it with a company that responds immediately and that they are the ones who advance the money because if not you may have problems.

Because if you are on an island, how can it happen to you on the French Polynesia, in which you have to take a flight to go to the nearest hospital, the solution may not be easy without insurance.

We always travel with insurance IATI, which is a leading insurance company specialized in travel with which, by entering through this link, you also have a 5% off.

What language is spoken in Polynesia

In French Polynesia the language spoken mostly is French, although there are two official languages ​​if we include the tahitian.

On some islands there are also dialects that have evolved from Tahitian, especially on certain more isolated islands such as those of the Marquesas Archipelago.

Although when you go as a tourist the first thing they do is speak to you in French and if you don't understand it they speak to you in English, almost everyone related to tourism speaks it, so there is no problem communicating.

There are several words in tahitian What is useful to know to integrate into the local culture and what you will hear very often.

the morning means Hello and it is used in all types of situations, since it is also applied when you want to say good morning or good night, as happens in Hawai with the word Aloha, that is used for everything.

Meanwhile Maururu It means thank you, and if you want to say thank you very much, it is Maururu Roa.

Lastly, girl It is used to say goodbye, although they told us that it is not the real word, which is used girl because it is very easy for anyone.

What to eat in French Polynesia

Logically, being islands very isolated from the rest of the world, everything is expensive, especially fresh products.

Here they produce some fruits like pineapple or mangoes, which are brutally good, but as for meat, just some chicken and pork; The rest of the meat, such as beef, is brought from New Zealand.

Most traditional foods They are closely related to the products they have historically had, such as coconut and fish.

That is why it is very common to find dishes similar to ceviche made with fish and coconut milk, which is the typical dish that they always recommend you try, the poisson cru.

But there is another part of cuisine linked to immigration, especially China, since the Chinese were the first important source of immigration, so it is very common to see the influence of this culture in food.

On large islands, such as Tahiti, can be seen perfectly in the center Papeete market, next to the ferry station, there is an area with many Chinese food stalls, with combined dishes of rice with chicken or beef and vegetables in sauces.

Another very curious thing is how they have adapted customs of France, especially when we talk about bread.

It is very common to see sandwiches, especially baguettes filled with anything, like meat sandwiches in sauce with chips, something we had never seen in other corners of the world.

And if you like food trucks, you are in luck because there are markets full of this type of van where you can try different ones. Tahitian food dishes.

I don't want to forget to recommend you try the coco pan, an authentic delicacy that is made in all corners of Polynesia.

What it costs to eat in French Polynesia

To give you an idea of ​​the prices, a mug of beer next to the Papeete market It costs around 8 euros; A combined Chinese rice dish in the same market is 7 euros, and if you add a soft drink, 1 euro more.

And dining in a restaurant in a good hotel, two courses plus a drink, will cost you around 30-40 euros per person.

What is essential to bring to Polynesia

When you travel to a destination like French Polynesia In addition to bringing your swimsuit and towel, there are several essential things that you should put in your suitcase.

The sun hits quite hard so you have to bring sunscreen, but that's not all, since when you buy the cream it is very important that you make sure it is biodegradable so that neither the coral nor the fish that live in it are affected. .

Since you are traveling to one of the world's diving paradises, you cannot forget to bring goggles and a snorkel to do snorkel, since at any time you can jump into the sea among the corals to see fish, especially if you go to atolls like Bora Bora o Rangiroa.

In our case we also took small fins just in case, but at the end of the trip we only used them twice, so it is an option to consider.

In addition, in some hotels the rental of material to make snorkel on the hotel beaches, as happened to us in the Manava Resort Moorea.

And there is another thing that you have to bring with you, which is an anti-mosquito repellent.

For example, if in Tahiti You are going to see the interior of the island, you should know that it is a very leafy area and plagued by mosquitoes wanting to bite you; In fact, this was where we used it the most.

We recommend that you always carry both sunscreen and mosquito repellent with you, it is vital!!

What hotels are like in Polynesia

The hotels in French Polynesia They are absolutely amazing.

Here the first hotels emerged with bungalows of wood that are built above the water, with which everyone has dreamed of being able to sleep in them at some point.

This type of accommodation is undoubtedly the most popular as it has stairs that allow you to go directly down to the sea among corals full of fish, and in this type of accommodation bungalow you can enjoy incredible sunrises and sunsets.

We were in one of these hotels, in the Manava Resort & Spa, riding a Maharepa on the island of Moorea, which was next to the barrier reef in the north of the island.

Only the best have this type of accommodation resorts, but there are others that offer you cabins on the beach or some that are in incredible locations, so there are many options.

We would recommend that if you are going to be on several islands, you change the type of hotel and not just choose the same option.

Furthermore, there are atolls that do not have this offer, or if they do, it is not the best option, such as in Rangiroa.

What is interesting about this atoll is being close to one of the two water inlets that open into the interior of the caldera, since there is a lot of marine fauna in that area.

On this island we stayed in the hotel Les Relais de Josephine, which were a few cabins among palm trees, from where every afternoon, during sunset, a family of dolphins could be seen surfing and jumping the waves that the current produces when leaving the atoll.

It is a family that lives there all year round and has made this island famous. In short, seeing these dolphins is an absolutely incredible experience.

This link will be useful for your trip. booking.com to search hotel in Tahiti and on other islands in French Polynesia.

Traditions of French Polynesia

To know a place well, it is best to learn and live its traditions and Polynesia has some very curious ones.

Tattoos in Polynesia

Perhaps the most significant and recognizable tradition of Polynesia is the tattoo culture, and it's funny because everyone is tattooed.

Tattoos in Polynesia are almost like a religion and are full of symbology.

It is a tradition that comes from the archipelago of the Marquesas Islands, which is the northernmost group of islands in the French Polynesia.

Tattoos originally had a function: the part of the body on which the tattoos were made indicated the origin of the tattooed person.

In the same way they had a symbology related to power, the higher the hierarchy, the greater the number of drawings.

The drawings are not made just for the sake of it, each drawing represents pagan icons that are associated with a concept.

For example, turtles are associated with longevity

Sarongs in Polynesia

the sarong It is the most characteristic outfit of the islands, as it is worn by both men and women.

It is very common to see some Polynesians who only dress in pareos, since they have also developed very different ways of tying it.

If you have the chance, ask the people who sell them at the markets, because they love to explain this part of their culture.

Traditional music and dances in Polynesia

Music and dance are the essence of the islands, almost everyone plays an instrument.

You realize right away, just by walking through any place where there are people gathered, the music and dancing is always there.

The guitar and drums accompany the instrument par excellence, which is the ukulele.

There is so much love for traditional music and dance that many hotels offer their visitors their own show every week.

Don't miss the video with images we recorded of traditional music and dance of French Polynesia.