Traveling to Tahiti and the Marqueasas Islands

My wife and ard I have booked to trip to Tahiti and the Marqueasas Islands. Does anyone recomendations for things to see and do? Mahaio!

!!!!!Get Tattooed!!!!!

I came very close to booking one for this year, but only had a week so going to do it in 2023 when we can take 2-3 weeks off. Which islands will you be visiting, and where will you stay, if you don't mind sharing? The big Marqueses festival on Fatu-Hiva is the first week of July.

We booked through Aranui cruises. The ship is half freighter and half cruise ship. It stops at all the islands as it is the main supplier of goods for the islands.

Wow! Nice!! I can't help with suggestions, other than take lots of pictures to share!

Hello Mike,

I did the Marquesas three years ago on The Aranui 5. They have activities on every island you go to. They also have extra activities you need to pay for such as scuba dives, snorkeling (Rangiroa). Check what's available early because some of them will sell out. Every island has amazing local crafts but each one has different specialties. If you see something you like then purchase it because you probably won't see it again. If there is something you missed and still want it, the Papeete airport has a gift shop that has just about everything.

Be sure to take a lot of CFP French Francs (their currency). None of the islands you travel to, on the Aranui, take credit cards - everything is cash. I think you will want to buy a few things, so take about $100,000 in CFP which is about $900 USD. The ship will also give you CFP by charging to your ship account but you will get a better exchange rate at a bank or exchange in the US.

Tahiti itself is not exciting in Papeete. I good suggestion is to rent a car and drive around the island. You can also take the car on the ferry and see Moorea. We went in 2019, we flew home the same day the ship returned. We thought that was too much so our last trip, to the Austral Islands, we flew to Rangiroa and stayed at five nights at the Kia Oro hotel and did three days of SCUBA. You will stop on Rangiroa on your return from the Marquesas.

The first island stop in the Marquesas is Nuka Hiva. Here is a picture of one of the beaches:

If you want more information send me a PM and we can talk on the phone.

Have a great time, it's an amazing experience.

One other suggestion. There is Internet on the ship but it is very expensive and very weak. Some of the islands have Internet Cafes but not strong signals. We used Whatsapp to communicate back home since our cell phones didn't work in Tahiti.

John

I'm sure I'll take more than you want to see! Thanks!

Tahiti's downtown has the most impressive wooden carved tikis we have ever seen. There are two large shops. Drives a person crazy because everything is super expensive. When we were at the port there were tables set up with items for sale. We found one locally made tiki mug for $20 and a huge seashell for $20. Back in Ocean City I saw it for sale for $140!

We took a 6 hour round trip to a museum and a couple of national parks. One with a few old stone tikis and another with a beautiful waterfall. We saw hundreds of homes with tall walls with graffiti. We were told to not walk in neighborhoods because there are wild dogs.

I think staying downtown and walking there or going to a resort where there are the rooms on stilts would be more fun to explore. The bus ride was far too long for what we saw.

That large Marquesan tiki is amazing! Was that for sale? If you remember the price I'd be curious--though shipping it back to the US would be the challenge I guess!