Anyone not like French polynesia?

I seem to be suffering from the same illness. Is there a cure? I hope not!

I want to get back there, but with everything so expensive it will take a while. Air New Zealand has some pretty good prices for flights to Raratonga from LAX and I am considering that instead of Moorea since it is significantly cheaper. For those of you who have also visited the Cook islands, how do they compare to FP?

I loved it .hope to go vack with my son as a graduation present .Maybe it helps to be French speaking but I fpund the people delightful and really very nice .i loved the snorkeling first on in water ladt one out .I know my son would love it .I swam with sharks everywhere ...what a thrill yes those lemon sharks were huge but they did not bother us ,The drift snorkel in Taha.a was exceptional ...wow "...wow....wowloved it

Yes i got the same fever Wendy has ......would love to return

I loved the time we spent on Rarotonga. They speak English and don't use CFP. Their local deity caused quite the stir among my fellow cruisers.

It was very laid back and I would go back in a heartbeat. Didn't see anywhere to snorkel but we didn't do any tours, just walked about the town.

I want to get back there, but with everything so expensive it will take a while. Air New Zealand has some pretty good prices for flights to Raratonga from LAX and I am considering that instead of Moorea since it is significantly cheaper. For those of you who have also visited the Cook islands, how do they compare to FP?

In 2011 we flew on ANZ from LAX to Rarotonga, spent 8 days there, then took the (then-) weekly Air Tahiti flight for time ashore in Tahiti and in Mo`orea before taking the 10-day Princess cruise from/to Papeete.

We were happy to have spent 8 days in Rarotonga. As Spikesgirl noted, it is a laid-back, very small, and scenic place, English speaking, relatively economical, with lots to keep us interested (and as busy as we wanted to be:)). The most notable beach, Muri Bch, is on the SE corner of Raro, about 1/3rd of the way around the island from the main town, Avarua. There is a narrow lagoon around most of the island, broader off Muri Bch. We certainly like to cruise, but trying to experience even a small place like Rarotonga during a port stop of just a few hours duration would barely scratch the surface.

If we have a chance to return to the Cooks, we would spend some time in Raro but would try to arrange a side-trip to Aitutaki. There are frequent flights from Raro.

Overall, I view the Cooks as another very interesting place to visit, not an alternative to FP, which is much more populous, more diverse, and more expensive. For those with sufficient time, it is possible to visit both FP and the Cooks on the same trip, as we did. That would also be true for folks from N.Z. and Australia, as there are frequent flights from N.Z. to Rarotonga (much more frequent than between LAX and Raro). Anyone hoping to fly between Raro and Tahiti needs to plan carefully as those flights are also infrequent (1 or 2 a week).

John

Thank you. I am so torn on what to do. I really loved our time there. I am currently planning to do a week on Moorea with my family next Spring Break. I need to get in touch with Dr Poole and get on his tour outside of the Gauguin excursion if we end up going. It was very educational. The Cook Islands are another place I'd like to visit, but I really want to go back to FP now that I've been and know what to do while we are there.

Besides, I never got that Polynesian tattoo in Papeete I told my kids I was getting. That was the best Facetime chat of the week when my wife and I showed them our "tattoos" (temp painting on board the PG). Apparently we are too old to get them . :D

We have been to the Society Islands a few times and always thought that if they eliminated Papeete (and the entire island of Tahiti) from the itinerary it would be an improvement. Of all the island we have visited in the region we found Tahiti to be our least favorite (by far). As to smaller ships, the Paul Gauguin is in those waters all year and a perfect size for this part of the world.

Hank

We have been to the Society Islands a few times and always thought that if they eliminated Papeete (and the entire island of Tahiti) from the itinerary it would be an improvement. Of all the island we have visited in the region we found Tahiti to be our least favorite (by far). As to smaller ships, the Paul Gauguin is in those waters all year and a perfect size for this part of the world.

 

 

 

Hank

FYI--Windstar has a ship there year round now as well. I have sailed both and would not sail with PG again, but can't wait to get back on Windstar.

DH says that if all you want to do is read a book on a beach and get a tan, there are easier and cheaper and nicer places to do that in the Caribbean. But for everything else, it's hard to beat French Polynesia.

We agree with G -- and we haven't even made it (yet!) to French Polynesia. We've been to many Caribbean islands - in fact, pre-installed we were working on visiting a new island(s) every winter and planned to do that until we'd been to them all (or at least all the primary ones).

Now we're headed to FP as a special place to celebrate our 40th anniversary. The Caribbean would be easier and cheaper but to us a special occasion deserves a special trip to a special locale.

And we fully expect that -- like so many others -- we'll love FP so much this "once in a lifetime" trip will become the first of many more to come... :cool:

And the wonderful Pescado Amarillo blog of her B2Bs has only reinforced that belief, helped us so much with our planning, and made us even more excited to get there!

The problem with most of the Caribbean is the ever increasing crime rate and the people who bother you every 5 minutes on the beach. I love the beauty of many of the islands, but when I go to sit on the beach, I don't want to be bothered. I really liked being able to look at the wares at our stops in FP without being pressured or bothered.

The closest I've come to that in the Caribbean is actually the Exumas in the Bahamas, but even there it's getting worse.