Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

"YVR-TYO-HNL---PPT-IPC-SCL-MDZ-SCL-LAX-PDX"

That would not be a valid Explorer award routing: it has more than one open jaw, and AA does not fly LAX-PDX. In addition, it's been reported that it's difficult to find award seats on LAN's PPT-IPC flight, but YMMV.

I've heard that - bad and crazy expensive. It's probably the main reason I haven't been yet. I really like good food.

Is the Maldives any better in that respect? I know it's expensive for food, but is it better?

Crap meant DFW-PDX, then if only one open jaw, route

YVR-TYO-HNL---PPT-IPC-SCL-MDZ-SCL-DFW-YVR

and then avios to and from PDX-YVR for 9k total.

and of course all based on award availability.

Thanks for showing me that no AS on 1w EXP ticket. Makes my life a little more difficult, but thats ok.

Costco travel
 

Costco travel has some great package deals for accommodation in Papeete, Moorea and Bora Bora. Last year we saved about $2000 with Costco. We stay 4 night in Moorea at the Hilton and 4 night at the HIlton Nui in Bora Bora.
Breakfast was included in Moorea and breakfast and dinner was included in Bora Bora. You can pick the hotels you wanted to stay at and we were even able to request the specific over the water bungalow # we wanted in Bora Bora. We used miles to go from Denver to Papeete via LA; several of the Costco packages also include airfare.

How much did you spend?

I think the point is to do this luxurious vacation for under $3k .. if you can use miles for the airfare, you save about $3k, then points for the hotel, you save about $3200 per 4 days, maybe even more ...

that brings your expenses down to $1k for interisland airfare and whatever activities there are to do.

Forgive me if these seems hyperbolic and snide, but the best meal I ate was on the flight from LA

Tahiti
 

Presuming you are OK with churning (I guess we all are if we visit this site) and you have good credit and spend a decent amount on cards you can do 8 nights for less than $1,000 per person.

I am going in June and have business air from JFK with miles, 4 nights at the Hilton Moorea with points, and I used my Chase card to pay myself back for the cost of an iterisland flight to Rangiora. If I wanted to go Moorea and Bora Bora for 4 nights each I could easily do this for less than $500 each but would have to still pay for food and drink (not breakfast as that is included).

While I saved a lot I am coupling this with a Paul Gauguin cruise and 6 nights on Rangiora at the Kia Ora that I have to pay for.

I know we're getting OT here, but:

a) definitely forgiven. Encouraged, even.

b) on the way to the Maldives or Tahiti?

and

c) Please tell me this wasn't coach

This is a great thread and thank you for the detailed write ups and posts! I have distant plans to visit there with my family so I will hold onto this thread

:)MM

From what I have read on other threads and forums, the food at the hotels could be hit and miss. Many have suggested that eating in town would be a better deal, both taste and cost wise. Again it depends on one's pickiness, amount of disposable funds, and hotel location.

Some notes...
 

It may have been covered previously, but:

TN does not fly between HNL and PPT. TN currently flies from its hub, Papeete / PPT, in Faa'a (south of Paeete itself) to: AKL, LAX, NRT and CDG.


TN has been known to release two Poerava Business seats at one time (they are not easy to snag), and does not release Poerava First seats for redemption with AA miles at all.

The TN A340-300 Poerava Business has 2 x 2 x 2 angled-flat reclined seats; Poerava First has a small cabin with 2 x 2 x 2 of the same seats, but they recline fully. Those using either are allowed two 32 kg / 70 lb checked bags. admitted to the TN Lounge in PPT and various lounges - see here.

Moana Coach class seats 264 passengers in 2 x 4 x 2 configuration with 32" seat pitch and seatback IFE. Moana allows one 23 kg / 50 lb bag checked, infants to 23 months of age are allowed one 10 kg / 22 lb checked bag plus one stroller.

TN's seat chart is here.

We've used TN on awards and paid trips over the years; I'm speaking from experience (and seatguru is incorrect on Moana seat pitch). We're going again, Dec 2012. We have noticed some wear and tear on the A340s, which came online in 2002 (2), 2003 (2) and 2005 (1) and appear dated.

HA / Hawaiian flies HNL - PPT on Saturday afternoon and returns Sunday early at 00:30 hrs. This normally means arriving Saturday and overnighting near Faa'a / Papeete, or arriving on Tahiti Saturday from wherever for your departure to HNL - and securing a Saturday day room near Faa'a is not inexpensive. It works for departure after a Paul Gauguin cruise, but certainly not for arrival and connecting to the Paul Gauguin, which departs Papeete on Saturday afternoons normally. (I miss the Wind Song, which we took 4 or 5 times in P.F.)

Air Tahiti flies between PPT and the outlying islands and some other destinations - route map here. It is not affiliated with Air Tahiti Nui and other airlines' miles can not be used to secure award flights. It's not cheap - flying to Bora Bora / BOB can cost up to $600 return, and from the airport (on an island) one must secure further transportation.

The best way to travel between Tahiti (Papeete) and Moorea is using the high speed Aremiti catamaran (1/2 hour); they also offer a slower ro-ro and automobile ferry. Link. You can certainly fly, but: PPT-MOZ distance is 10.92 mi / 17.57 km! Small aircraft, restricted baggage.

Automobile rentals on Moorea from Albert (local, cheapest,) Avis affiliate Avis Pacificar and Europcar (comparable rates, small cars, both have desks at the Vaiare ferry terminal on Moorea). (I've added Albert's site link as it can be tricky to find, even using Google.)

You can see Tahiti (the island) in one day - there's not much "there" there, other than beautiful views of Moorea across the channel ("Sea of the Moon").

One may have to overnight in near Papeete if one arrives in the evening - my favourite (Tahiti Country Club in the hills above Punaauia near the airport) has apparently closed, but Fare Suisse and some others are still decent (see TripAdvisor). For cheaper meals, ask where the "roulottes"
(roo-LOTS) are - lots in Papeete near the quay, but also some at other islands, these are trucks and coaches that arrive late afternoon and turn into restaurants serving everything from poisson cru to pizza, steak (and) frites, etc.

Rainy season is highest Dec - Jan, and tapers to May - Nov, and it may rain at night, or you may "enjoy" heavy tropical downpours of 2 - 3 days; I have, one early January. See here.

flightmedic, if you are a diver, you have to dive Tiputa Pass in Rangiroa - start on the outside with lots of beautiful coral, fishes, begin to feel the incoming current, hang out with sometimes hundreds of gray whalers and blwo in on the bore, sometimes with dolphins, sharks, sailfish, who knows what you'll see (the bottom is scoured, but you can hide out behind a bommie / rock to duck out of the current a bit) an you end up in the lagoon with some motus / bommies and tropical denizens. A genuine "A" ticket ride! If you are really lucky, you might see a hammerhead in PF waters.

Moorea offers some good shark diving as well - the big lemons get to nearly five metres and are kind of like cranky old men (like me).

IMO and to summarize it: Bora Bora is nice (expensive) eye candy, Moorea is closer to PPT and cheaper and has more to offer unless you stay stashed in your resort, and scuba diving is best at Rangiroa and Fakarava in the Tuamotus. (Moorea does get crowded weekends as many civil servants etc. pop over form Pappete / Tahiti for the weekend.)

This is true except for TN 7 and TN 8 flights for LAX-PPT and vice versa. I have been tracking these for a while now on ExpertFlyer and they only release 1 business class seat at a time. Maybe this has to with the same flight number continuing on to or from CDG?

Not sure but every other TN LAX-PPT flight for Sept 2013 for example released 2 business class seats per flight.

You may well be correct - the only way to tell would be to see if they release more seats CDG-PPT than LAX-PPT.

New ferry company Terevau
 

August, 2012 Terevau started a new ferry service between Tahiti and Moorea with high-speed catamarans. When we took the ferry fares were 20% less than Aremiti's

http://www.facebook.com/Terevau

Is it worth the extra miles to do business (if available) on TN? (LAX-PPT)

Thanks for all the great info in this post! :)