EdV

Thank you MD. Do you know the airport codes for Moorea? Bora Bora is BOB right? So I can book Air Tahiti directly through expedia?

Famous last words methinks....

flying MD

Moorea--MOZ. R/T PPT-MOZ--$82. Bora Bora--BOB. You are right, anything can happen.

MD

EdV

If I'm taking the ferry to Moorea then I'd be looking at: MOZ-BOB-PPT (basically open jaw) for us then, right? That is pretty awesome that I can book on Expedia...just makes it easier.

So I'm seeing fares of $469/pp for both segments on Expedia (Jan 08)...that decent? Should I just book there now if I know what I want?

DCF

Flying MD, as I see it you have two choices.

You could leave your luggage at PPT airport (although they are a bit unreliable in manning the left luggage desk). You would then hop onto Le Truck, go to see the market in Papeete, and then go east to Point Venus, possibly by cab.

But I've done all that, and if you can't speak French and are unfamiliar with the island you might be somewhat nervous.

Personally I would take a cab to the Tahiti Intercontinental, and buy the lunch plus pool access deal at its gourmet overwater Le Lotus restaurant. You would have a lovely view of Moorea, food and wine, and could then doze by the pool for a couple of hours. Then, 2.5 hours before your flight departs for Auckland you could stroll up to reception and take a taxi to the airport, and you'd be there ready to check-in 2 hours before departure.

schofs

As I had an early flight out of PPT (07:30) I stayed the night at the IC Tahiti (as in my report) and checked out at 06:00 and took a car to the airport. All very easy and unrushed.

flying MD

I take NZ 40, arriving in PPT at 6:30A. The Air Tahiti booked me for 7A flight. I guess I will change it to 10:10A. Departure from PPT to AKL on NZ 41 is at 5:15P. AT booked me for 3:25P, arriving in PPT at 4:15P. I will take an earlier flight, departing at 11:10A. I do speak French and will definitely do some sightseeing between noon and 5PM. Thanks for your help.

MD

Hope to get 111 at IC Thalasso. :-) Which bungalow to ask for at IC Moana?

EdV

Hate quoting myself but are these good fares? Should I just book my flights now?

davidjdewey

Schof,

I just read your Bora Bora report. It is amazing. I think it's awesome that you share all the info that you don't see in travel books or on hotel websites. I am going to Bora Bora during Thanksgiving (Nov. 16-23) and staying at Le Moana 2 nights and Thalasso 5 nights. Your help made planning the trip much easier and has helped learn what to look out for. Thanks again for sharing your experiences with all of us here on FT!

tmcneill

.....

schofs

Thanks a lot - glad it helped

My wife thinks I'm mad writing all that lot up... but I think it's only fair given I had to read enough of them to work out my own itinerary!

schofs

My PPT-BOB-PPT flights cost about £200/person, and they were fully flexible. As Air Tahiti have the monopoly around there, their prices don't really change - they just stay high... so I'd book early if only to secure seats. You can change the dates for free if you need to.

EdV

Well seeing as you paid about 410 USD for your rountrips to BOB then only paying 462 (through expedia) USD for MOZ-BOB-PPT doesn't seem that bad for me. Are all of their fares fully flexible?

Thanks, I was looking for that. It seems as though they aren't significantly cheaper than pricing it out individually on Expedia and I kind of like that I don't have to deal with faxing, mailing, whatever with Air Tahiti. Plus, I'm not sure by the T&Cs but it looks as though the Airpass is a bit stricter of a fare than buying individually. Also, it says all itinteraries must originate in PPT.

Has anyone here used Expedia to purchase Air Tahiti tix?

davidjdewey

I just bought my PPT-BOB tickets on Expedia. I did it to avoid faxing to Tahiti and to save the foreign transaction fees on my credit card. You should know that Expedia does add $19.99 for delivery of paper tickets (No e-ticket option). They sent me the tickets right away but I was surprised to see that they were actually issued by Air Tahiti Nui. They are for the Air Tahiti flights though and the flight numbers and times check out. I would go with Expedia just because they are here in the US and you have better recourse should anything come up.

EdV

That's what we were thinking and we went with Expedia just in case anything comes up. We ended up getting two tickets MOZ-BOB-PPT for $937, all-in. Thanks for all the help people!

jlcchien

Anyone knows a travel agent/company that can get you discounted tahitinui airlines tickets from LAX to PPT? The price I have been getting from all the internet websites has been between $1200 to $1400 roundtrip per person.