Papeete Suggestions???

[Kiwi_cruiser]

The last time we went to Papeete we spent two days here, on the first day we walked around the town and in the afternoon we went to the "le meridien" resort on the 2nd day in Papeete, we did a private tour with Patrick (Patrick Adventure), he took us up in to the mountains of Papeete, we had a great time.

 

This time I would like to explore Papeete a bit more below the mountains.

 

What else is there to do in Papeete and is there any else would you recommend doing in Papeete??

 

Also is there any good snorkelling spot on Papeete?

 

And is there any private tour company's you would recommend??

[J-D]

We found Papeete interesting, but we particularly enjoyed getting out of the city and visiting other locations, e.g., Matavai Bay and Point Venus (east of Papeete), where the early British explorers spent much of their time. The Museum of Tahiti and the Islands, west of Papeete, was also interesting to us. The drive along either the east coast or the west and south coasts of Tahiti Nui (and further to Tahiti Iti) is scenic. It is easy to travel around the coast if one rents a car. As you noted, a tour into the interior is also excellent, but you have already done that.

 

Rgds... John

[Tikiintahiti]

I concur ......... rent a car and circle the island. Very scenic with mountains and waterfalls to gaze at.

[Donray]

The last time we went to Papeete we spent two days here, on the first day we walked around the town and in the afternoon we went to the "le meridien" resort on the 2nd day in Papeete, we did a private tour with Patrick (Patrick Adventure), he took us up in to the mountains of Papeete, we had a great time.

 

This time I would like to explore Papeete a bit more below the mountains.

 

What else is there to do in Papeete and is there any else would you recommend doing in Papeete??

 

Also is there any good snorkelling spot on Papeete?

 

And is there any private tour company's you would recommend??

 

Papeete is a city on the island of Tahiti in country of French Polynesia. Papeete is the capital of French Polynesia.

 

There is no snorkeling in the city.

 

Rent a car and drive around the island. Very nice drive.

Edited June 6, 2013 by Donray

[Hlitner]

Not only is there no good snorkeling in Papeete, but there really are no good snorkeling spots anywhere on this particular island. In fact, when we posed the question about good snorkeling sites to a couple of knowledgeable locals the most common answer would be "go to Moorea." :)

 

Also keep in mind that many of the snorkel tour operators on the other islands (Bora Bora, Moorea, etc) do not routinely provide fins as part of their equipment. Since we have our own equipment this was not a problem for us but did cause some real issues for others on Moorea. When we were recently on this island there was a full moon and the tides were running quite high. Hence the currents off the island were quite strong. On two different snorkel excursions we had to help pull some snorkelers out of trouble when they could not handle the unusual currents. These folks had no fins, and it was nearly impossible for them to move about without that equipment. In one case the current was so strong that all I could do was pull a lady off a reef and hold her until our boat could pull up anchor and come for the pick-up. The boat operators told us the currents were unusual but did sometimes happen with certain moon cycles.

 

Hank

Edited June 7, 2013 by Hlitner

[diane.in.ny]

I concur ......... rent a car and circle the island. Very scenic with mountains and waterfalls to gaze at.

 

Can you tell me who you rented a car from? We need an automatic and I can only find rentals with manual transmission.

 

Also, do you have any idea how long the circle road is?

 

TIA

 

Diane

[Fletcher]

Avis and Hertz have autos. We have rented from both. If you drive around the island make sure you go as far as Tautira as there is a wonderful view from there and it's also a taste of Tahiti as it used to be. A leisurely drive around the island usually takes us 4-5 hours with stops. Unfortunately, there really isn'y anywhere to stop for a nice lunch.

[Tikiintahiti]

About 80 miles around Tahiti Nui (large part)

 

I would agree about driving out to Tautira as not many tourist go out this far and it has a different feel.

 

There are a few places to eat along the way, we stopped at a restaurant between Mataiea & Papara on the lagoon side of the road. Large place you can't miss it with a large parking lot which is fenced and gated when they are not open. The couple who owns it is a hoot. The guy is an American who came to Tahiti and married a Tahitian lady. They have a menu that pleases everyone, a bit of everything. Prices were reasonable, setting was casual, has a bit of a California surfer feel to the décor.

 

Hertz, Avis & Europcar are at the airport and downtown. I've used all 3 and find Avis to be my preference

[diane.in.ny]

Thanks for the rental and drive feedback.

 

I'll check out the suggestions.

[Mercruiser]

[quote name='diane.in.ny;39348431...We need an automatic and I can only find rentals with manual transmission.

 

...

 

Avis at the PPT airport has automatics. See attached image file. They are category "F". Here is their web site: http://www.avis-tahiti.com

 

Prices are a bit less on avis.com and you don't have to pre-pay. But' date=' they have a larger selection of car types on the avis-tahiti web site.

 

Good luck with your trip. We will be renting a car from Avis on our departure day to Auckland.[/color']

[diane.in.ny]

Avis at the PPT airport has automatics. See attached image file. They are category "F". Here is their web site: http://www.avis-tahiti.com

 

Prices are a bit less on avis.com and you don't have to pre-pay. But, they have a larger selection of car types on the avis-tahiti web site.

 

Good luck with your trip. We will be renting a car from Avis on our departure day to Auckland.

 

Thanks!

[newcruisers04]

Do you happen to know if Avis has a shuttle from the tender dock area to the airport to pickup a car? Basically the road on Tahiti goes around the whole island and you can stop where you want for photo ops and a swim? Do any of the roads go to the interior to the Mt. Orohena? (I am looking at a map)

thanks again for any info!

Lori

 

About 80 miles around Tahiti Nui (large part)

 

I would agree about driving out to Tautira as not many tourist go out this far and it has a different feel.

 

There are a few places to eat along the way, we stopped at a restaurant between Mataiea & Papara on the lagoon side of the road. Large place you can't miss it with a large parking lot which is fenced and gated when they are not open. The couple who owns it is a hoot. The guy is an American who came to Tahiti and married a Tahitian lady. They have a menu that pleases everyone, a bit of everything. Prices were reasonable, setting was casual, has a bit of a California surfer feel to the décor.

 

Hertz, Avis & Europcar are at the airport and downtown. I've used all 3 and find Avis to be my preference

[Fletcher]

The round island road is excellent. Try and get to Tautira as well as the Belvedere. I can't really recommend anywhere you might stop for a swim - the beaches on Tahiti are not for the faint-hearted except for three that I know: the beach right off the Radisson Hotel (Lafayette), the beach at Point Venus/Matavai Bay and, best of all, the long beach on the opposite side of the little peninsula of Matavai. You need some nerve to get there as you have to walk through private property but it's a gorgeous beach, easily the best on Tahiti.

 

The interior road is NOT recommended for anything except 4X4s.

[Tikiintahiti]

Avis has an office 2 blocks from the ship

[diane.in.ny]

Avis has an office 2 blocks from the ship

 

I've been researching this and, just for information purposes, Avis charges a fee if the car is not dropped off back at the downtown office.

 

I also emailed Avis Pacificar directly and got an exhorbitant quote... over $200. I called Avis in U.S. and they quoted me $134 all inclusive but had to send the request for approval to Tahiti. Haven't heard yet.

 

Hertz wants about $80 PLUS about 70 cents per kilometer. That will add up to another $70 to $80

[Tikiintahiti]

$134 is about right plus the add on cost of the drop off. Rentals are very expensive in FP, no way around that.

[Skai]

Go with Avis(unlimited miles option).

 

As for the price? Yeah, for someone used to spending around $35-60 per day to rent a basic economy/standard car in the U.S., F.P. car rental prices may seem borderline ridiculous. Be prepared for most everything being noticeably more expensive there.

 

That stated, the freedom provided by having one's own car to explore the island at one's own preferred pace is well worth an extra expense.

 

The cheapest car AVIS offers will be a gutless 4 cylinder tin can, but it will still get one from point A to point B, C and D.....

 

For convenience it's really worth it to go with the airport drop-off option for the extra fee. It's a really easy process to return the car.

 

IIRC -- It's more like 5 or 6 blocks from the ship's dock to the AVIS downtown office(but it's an easy 10 minute walk).

[Tikiintahiti]

56 Rue Des Amparts

Papeete

[diane.in.ny]

I'm still waiting for Avis US to hear from Avis in Tahiti if they will "accept" the reservation. The quote I got directly from Avis in Tahiti was over $200 for an automatic!

[Skai]

56 Rue Des Amparts

Papeete

 

 

The correct name of the street is Rue Des Remparts, and having actually done the walk myself, the distance from ship-side to the car rental agency is indeed closer to 5 or 6 blocks (or a 10 min. walk) in actual distance.

 

EDIT: The reason for this clarification is to suggest that the distance may be long enough to where one may prefer the convenience of leaving their luggage at the dock (while going to get the car), rather than having to roll it the distance to the car agency.

Edited August 10, 2013 by Skai

[Tikiintahiti]

Psst ............... there very short blocks, I've walked it before as well. I always walk up, grab the car and then bring it back and then load the bags ;)

 

BTW, though I agree with your address Avis has it posted on their web site as I stated .........

 

[Tikiintahiti]

[Skai]

 

Just trying to be helpful;)....Your initial post ITT stated that AVIS was a couple of blocks from the ship, and as your map clearly shows, that claim isn't entirely accurate. The block containing the City Hall is rather elongated as well.

 

Leaving the bags ship-side and walking up to the agency is definitely the way to go:).

 

Good luck getting your quoted price diane.in.ny. IIRC it was around $130 a day(unlimited miles) for an automatic economy car for the few days that we were there post-cruise.

 

We also opted for the extra fee to do the airport return -- Which was money well spent, considering the cost of local taxis/shuttles.

[Tikiintahiti]

Idioms ;)

[Big Easy]

Tiki, do you have thoughts on the Fare-Suisse accommodations in Tahiti?

Thanks - Mike