Help with Understanding Tahiti Entrance Requirements

[Leela]

Hello,

 

I have been researching this topic literally for months and I cannot get enough information to make me feel confident that I will not have issues entering Tahiti. I'm hoping someone here will help. Please do not tell me to contact my airline because all Hawaiian Airlines has on their web site regarding travel to Tahiti is a link to the Tahiti Tourisme web site. I've studied the web site and still have questions.

I see that I have to present the negative results from a PCR test taken within 24 hours of my departure. I understand that. What I'm worried about is if there is actually a list of acceptable test providers that I don't know about that will trip me up? Or, is there a certain way the results must be presented to the airline during the boarding process so that I will be able to fly? I do not want to inadvertently get an unapproved test or have it presented in a way that the airline will not accept.

I live in a remote rural area of the Island of Hawaiʻi, and it's been difficult to find any place that can guarantee me a PCR test in under 72 hours, let alone under 24! The first one I found only takes appointments three days in advance of travel because they cannot guarantee a supply of available tests. (What if I cannot get an appointment from them?!!) I just found another place that will do RT-PCR tests with a four-week-advance-booking and a guaranteed 16-hour turnaround, but unlike the first place they do not SAY that they are a travel clinic so I'm worried about being trapped in some bureaucratic nightmare where my test won't be accepted. When Hawaiʻi started their "Safe Travels" program last year, some of people got tripped up by not using an approved provider and were turned away upon arrival in Hawaiʻi. I'm trying to find out if Tahiti is like that or not.

Thanks for any help.

Laura

Edited March 4, 2022 by Leela

[gwenmarie]

I’m in this same situation as you are but we are from Oregon doing an overnight in Honolulu to take the one day a week flight to Tahiti. Our Sheraton hotel in the area has given me a few possibilities including a walk in clinic that may work. Very stressful 

[Leela]

If I find out anything I'll let you know: I emailed Tahiti Tourisme's COVID-19 questions address, and I also asked the woman organizing the trip to Tahiti I am going on.

 

I could be overthinking the entire thing...but I don't want to mess this up!

[USNA 72]

1 hour ago, Leela said:

I see that I have to present the negative results from a PCR test taken within 24 hours of my departure.

 

I believe you can use an Antigen Test that detects the "N protein."  See highlighted section of email from Tourism Bureau below:

 

and from the Tourism Bureau:

 

‘Ia ora na,

 

Unfortunately, home collection and saliva tests are not accepted.

 

A test for the detection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus genome at a medical center or screening center or medical analysis laboratory.

Or an antigen test allowing the detection of the SARSCoV2 "N" protein.

 

All molecular tests proposed with the abbreviations below* are accepted:

*RT-PCR = reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction;

*RT = reverse transcriptase ;

*RT-LAMP = loop-mediated isothermal amplification;

*TMA = Transcription Mediated Amplification;

*Isothermal amplification;

*STAR = Selective Temperature Amplification Reaction.

 

Regards,

 

Hinarere TAPUTU Responsable Communication par intérim   Interim Communications Manager T : +689 40 50 56 46

[Leela]

Right, I read that...I can get an RT-PCR test and I thought I that would be fine until I read on the Paul Gaugin web site that certain RT-PCR tests aren't actually accepted by Tahiti...so which ones are accepted and which ones are not? Even the Tahiti Tourisme web site isn't clear -- in some places the say that you just need a PCR or RT-PCR test and don't put on any other restrictions other than time frame...but in another place they say that saliva-based tests are not accepted. I'm trying to get a definitive answer so I don't take a test that isn't accepted. So far I know to stay away from Abbot ID NOW and anything saliva-based, but what else are they not specifying? 

 

Like, what does it mean that the test has to be administered by a medical center or screening center or medical analysis laboratory. Does the pharmacy that gives an RT-PCR with results returned under 16 hours count as an acceptable place to get tested, or do I need to go to an actual doctor's office or a place like Diagnostics Labs of Hawaiʻi or Clinical Labs of Hawaiʻi?

Am I overthinking this? Probably. But there's a lot of unrecoverable money riding on this if I mess up. 😞

Edited March 4, 2022 by Leela

[Leela]

1 hour ago, gwenmarie said:

I’m in this same situation as you are but we are from Oregon doing an overnight in Honolulu to take the one day a week flight to Tahiti. Our Sheraton hotel in the area has given me a few possibilities including a walk in clinic that may work. Very stressful 

I have an answer that may help you! If your flight from Oregon gets in early enough, you can get tested at the airport (after you've picked up your baggage). 

This web page: https://www.oneoahu.org/covid19-testing has all the info. From it, I see that for $140 you can get a fast PCR test, taken from a nasal sample, with results in about six hours. It's from the County's mobile testing laboratory, so that should't split any hairs that I have been obsessing about. 

The only catch is that they are only open 9am-5pm. Take a look at the web page and if it fits your schedule make an appointment as soon as possible (it's a busy testing site that books up fast).

Good luck! I wish this would work for me, I really don't want to change things to have to fly in from Kona the day before 😞

[dandee2]

I have a similar question. We are flying to LAX from Canada. We usually arrive from Toronto the day before the ATN flight (at16h) to PPT. Tahiti needs a covid test 24 hours before departure. Is that right? Does it means that if the test is done 25 hours before the flight it is no good?

 

[Leela]

I don't have an answer for you, DanDee2 😞 Tahiti Tourisme never answered any of the emails I sent them a week ago, either. Fortunately my question has a happy resolution: the travel testing clinic that told me they could only book testing three days out called me today and asked me if I wanted to book for next month. Of course I did, so now we have appointments at a medical clinic to get RT-PCR tests within 24 hours of our departure to Tahiti.

[Mercruiser]

On 3/8/2022 at 11:50 AM, dandee2 said:

I have a similar question. We are flying to LAX from Canada. We usually arrive from Toronto the day before the ATN flight (at16h) to PPT. Tahiti needs a covid test 24 hours before departure. Is that right? Does it means that if the test is done 25 hours before the flight it is no good?

 

Is your Canada to LAX flight on the same reservation as the LAX to PPT flight? This is important because it determines when the 24 hours starts.

 

If both flights are on the same reservation, the 24 hours starts before your first flight in that reservation, e.g. 24 hours before the Canada to LAX flight. Conversely, if your LAX to PPT flight is on a separate reservation, the 24 hours starts from the LAX departure.

 

The explanation for this is hidden in footnote (2) of the "Protocol for entry and stay..." documents.

 

See https://tahititourisme.com/en-us/covid-19/

 

In the English translation, it's very confusing. Perhaps it is more clear in the original French.

 

 

On Feb 12, I travelled to Tahiti from Spokane with a test that was taken 22 hours before my Spokane departure. The Spokane to LAX flight was on the same reservation as the LAX to PPT flight.

Edited March 12, 2022 by Mercruiser

[Mercruiser]

Also, if you need to get a covid test in LAX, Air Tahiti Nui recommends Clarity

https://claritymv.com/

 

They are located within the LAX airport itself.

 

Here are their prices. You would need the Antigen test (1 hr) for Tahiti.

 

Antigen Test (1 hr)- $80.00

Standard PCR (24 hr)- $125.00

Fast PCR (3-5 hr) – $175.00

Quick PCR (90 min) – $199.00

 

You don't specifically need a PCR test to enter Tahiti. Either PCR or Antigen are acceptable. Antigen tests are acceptable and much cheaper.

(PCR tests used to be required before Feb 10.)

 

I think Leela is having to get a PCR test because that is what's available in Hawaii. On the mainland, antigen tests are widely available and are acceptable for travel, if performed by the right lab/clinic.

Edited March 12, 2022 by Mercruiser

[patty1955]

Does anyone know if a  Abbott BinaxNOW proctored test is acceptable?

[USNA 72]

54 minutes ago, patty1955 said:

Does anyone know if a  Abbott BinaxNOW proctored test is acceptable?

They are NOT. For entry to FP (as of 28 Feb); but, that could change any second.  Our cruise line (Oceania) WILL accept them for boarding, though.  As a result of different rules many of us have spent much of the past several weeks thoroughly confused.

[patty1955]

2 minutes ago, USNA 72 said:

They are NOT. For entry to FP (as of 28 Feb); but, that could change any second.  Our cruise line (Oceania) WILL accept them for boarding, though.  As a result of different rules many of us have spent much of the past several weeks thoroughly confused.

Oceania might but they don't require people boarding in Tahiti to test themselves before boarding.

Where did you get the information that the Abbott BinaxNOW isn't acceptable?

[USNA 72]

21 minutes ago, patty1955 said:

Where did you get the information that the Abbott BinaxNOW isn't acceptable?

Both Air Tahiti Nui Airlines and the French Polynesian tourist bureau.

[Leela]

4 hours ago, USNA 72 said:

Both Air Tahiti Nui Airlines and the French Polynesian tourist bureau.

Meanwhile Hawaiian Airlines told someone I'm traveling with that the proctored Binex test *is* accepted, and when I emailed the COVID-19 questions address for Tahiti Tourisme to ask if that was true they never replied. This is why I'm going the full step of getting an RT-PCR test done at a medical clinic within 24 hours of my departure. It may be overkill, but it's perfectly clear to me on the Tourisme Tahiti web site that the test I'm taking is acceptable. I live in the boondocks and can't afford logistically to mess this up.

[Leela]

7 hours ago, Mercruiser said:

I think Leela is having to get a PCR test because that is what's available in Hawaii. On the mainland, antigen tests are widely available and are acceptable for travel, if performed by the right lab/clinic.

I live in a remote rural area of Hawaiʻi and I didn't want to get tripped up by whatever the definition is of "the right lab/clinic" for an easier-to-obtain and less expensive antigen test, so I'm going with an RT-PCR being done in a medical clinic. Based on my reading of various web sites, and the lack of clarification from any official source, I figured overkill was the best solution for my case. 

[Leela]

On 3/8/2022 at 9:50 AM, dandee2 said:

I have a similar question. We are flying to LAX from Canada. We usually arrive from Toronto the day before the ATN flight (at16h) to PPT. Tahiti needs a covid test 24 hours before departure. Is that right? Does it means that if the test is done 25 hours before the flight it is no good?

 

Take a look at the Tahiti Tourisme web site, it differentiates between travel on connecting flights that are all flown on the same ticket, and other ways of getting to Tahiti where you do a stopover en-route. How you are ticketed affects when the 24 hour clock starts. 

Edited March 13, 2022 by Leela

[USNA 72]

43 minutes ago, Leela said:

Meanwhile Hawaiian Airlines told someone I'm traveling with that the proctored Binex test *is* accepted, and when I emailed the COVID-19 questions address for Tahiti Tourisme to ask if that was true they never replied. This is why I'm going the full step of getting an RT-PCR test done at a medical clinic within 24 hours of my departure. It may be overkill, but it's perfectly clear to me on the Tourisme Tahiti web site that the test I'm taking is acceptable. I live in the boondocks and can't afford logistically to mess this up.

 

You can open up this post and see my email responses from both ATN  and FP Tourism Bureau.

 

 

 

[patty1955]

2 hours ago, USNA 72 said:

 

You can open up this post and see my email responses from both ATN  and FP Tourism Bureau.

 

 

 

Which reply number? I'm not seeing it.

[USNA 72]

8 hours ago, patty1955 said:

Which reply number? I'm not seeing it.

#208 from the 25 March 2022, Regatta Polynesian Delights Roll Call.

[Leela]

Thanks for posting that email. I'm going to call the testing clinic I'm scheduled with and double-check that the test is done via nasal swab and not saliva.

It really bothers me that none of this is spelled out if you go to https://tahititourisme.com/en-us/covid-19/ 

Edited March 13, 2022 by Leela

[patty1955]

4 hours ago, USNA 72 said:

#208 from the 25 March 2022, Regatta Polynesian Delights Roll Call.

Your email from Tahiti says "A test for the detection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus genome at a medical center or screening center or medical analysis laboratory.

Or an antigen test allowing the detection of the SARSCoV2 "N" protein."

The BinaxNOW website says " The BinaxNOW™ COVID-19 Antigen Self Test is a lateral flow immunoassay intended for the qualitative detection of nucleocapsid protein antigen from SARS-CoV-2 from individuals with or without symptoms"

So BinaxNOW is a test for SARSCoV2 N Protein 

[gdlamberth]

1 hour ago, patty1955 said:

Your email from Tahiti says "A test for the detection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus genome at a medical center or screening center or medical analysis laboratory.

Or an antigen test allowing the detection of the SARSCoV2 "N" protein."

The BinaxNOW website says " The BinaxNOW™ COVID-19 Antigen Self Test is a lateral flow immunoassay intended for the qualitative detection of nucleocapsid protein antigen from SARS-CoV-2 from individuals with or without symptoms"

So BinaxNOW is a test for SARSCoV2 N Protein 

The emails also say:

 

Dear Passenger,

Thank you for your email.

Please note eMed test kits are not acceptable to enter French Polynesia.
 

AND from the tourist bureau (my emphasis)

 

 

‘Ia ora na,

 

Unfortunately, home collection and saliva tests are not accepted.

 

All that said there is antidotal evidence on Trip Advisor and other forums of folks successfully entering FP with eMed Test results.  At the end of the days its all who the gate agents let on the aircraft.  As British mathematician Josiah Stamp once said:

"The government is very keen on collecting numbers and adding them, subtracting them and taking them to the nth root.  BUT, we must always remember that in the first instance the village watchman writes down what he damn well pleases!"

 

 

[USNA 72]

2 hours ago, Leela said:

Thanks for posting that email. I'm going to call the testing clinic I'm scheduled with and double-check that the test is done via nasal swab and not saliva.

It really bothers me that none of this is spelled out if you go to https://tahititourisme.com/en-us/covid-19/ 

You're very welcome.  As we get ready for our cruise at the end of the month, I've spent many hours chasing this down.  Specificity as you cross languages is a challenge and in addition to new terminology, the rules change as entities try to relax their restrictions.  Hitting a moving target is tough.  Good luck as you go forward.

[patty1955]

2 hours ago, gdlamberth said:

The emails also say:

 

Dear Passenger,

Thank you for your email.

Please note eMed test kits are not acceptable to enter French Polynesia.
 

AND from the tourist bureau (my emphasis)

 

 

‘Ia ora na,

 

Unfortunately, home collection and saliva tests are not accepted.

 

All that said there is antidotal evidence on Trip Advisor and other forums of folks successfully entering FP with eMed Test results.  At the end of the days its all who the gate agents let on the aircraft.  As British mathematician Josiah Stamp once said:

"The government is very keen on collecting numbers and adding them, subtracting them and taking them to the nth root.  BUT, we must always remember that in the first instance the village watchman writes down what he damn well pleases!"

 

 

Thank you for the information. Unfortunately, it puts me in a quandary. We fly from Seattle to Honolulu on 4/1 and from Honolulu to Tahiti on 4/2. We'll be in Hawaii for around 20 hours and our hotel is nowhere near a testing site. 

I emailed Hawaiian Airlines and they referred me to the Tahiti website so no help there.

When we flew to Europe in October, no one looked at our covid test. I don't suppose we'll be that lucky this time.