Tahiti & Bora Bora
French Polynesia
Volcanic peaks straight out of a lagoon, halfway across the Pacific
Photos by Roméo A., Fresh Hibiscus, Fresh Hibiscus and Meg von Haartman on Unsplash
Best time to visit all of French Polynesia
May to October (dry season)
Climate month by month
The next sixteen daysOpen-Meteo
Average high and low · °C
Rainfall · mm per month
Best months to visit This month · wettest 325mm in Jan
Where it is
17.65°S, 149.43°W Open in Google Maps
Things to do
A week easily- Circle the Bora Bora lagoon by boat and snorkel the coral gardens
- Drive Moorea’s loop and climb to the Belvedere lookout
- Watch surfers at Teahupo’o from the shore
- Eat at the Papeete roulottes after dark
- Dive the Tiputa pass at Rangiroa for sharks and dolphins
Tahiti & Bora Bora travel tipsthe general rules
Currency budget French Polynesia
Very expensiveThe CFP franc is pegged to the euro at a fixed rate, so there is no rate risk for European visitors and mental arithmetic is easy — knock two zeros off and add a fifth. Cards work at hotels and restaurants, less so at roulottes and markets.
ATMs & cards
Banque de Tahiti, Banque Socredo and BNP machines on Tahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora. The smaller atolls have one machine or none. Withdraw on Tahiti before island-hopping, and expect fees on both sides.
Avoid these
- assuming the smaller atolls have a machine — most have one or none
Use these instead
- Banque de Tahiti
- Banque Socredo
- BNP Paribas
Withdraw on Tahiti before island-hopping. The CFP franc is fixed to the euro, so there is no rate to shop around for — only fees.
Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.
Safety all of French Polynesia
Very safeVery safe, with petty theft from cars and beaches as the main issue. The risks are the water and the cost of getting help: currents through the reef passes are strong, and a serious medical problem means an evacuation to Papeete or, for anything major, to New Zealand or Hawaii. This is one of the most expensive destinations in the world, which is its own kind of hazard for an unplanned trip.
Where to walk, and where to pay attention (6 areas)
Comfortable, including after dark
Worth more attention
- Papeete — the back streets late at night
- The passes between lagoon and ocean, where the current runs hard on an outgoing tide
- Stonefish on the reef flats, which is what reef shoes are for
Our own assessment, not a sourced index.
Entry & visa French Polynesia visa rules
No visa needed
French Polynesia is a French overseas collectivity, so EU and EEA citizens enter freely and may stay indefinitely.
Other passports
No visa neededup to 90 days
French Polynesia is outside the Schengen area, so time spent here does not count against a Schengen 90/180 allowance — and a Schengen visa does not automatically cover it.
Visa required in advance
A visa specifically valid for French overseas territories, which a standard Schengen visa is not.
Entry rules change often and depend on your passport, not where you live — the official page above is the authority, and the airline checks before you board.
Health & emergencies all of French Polynesia
Good but costlyRequired to enter
- Yellow fever certificate, but only if you are arriving from a country where yellow fever is present
Jabs worth having, and what happens if you need a doctor
Worth having
- Routine vaccinations up to date
- Hepatitis A
- Typhoid for longer stays on remote atolls
Getting treated
Tahiti has a modern French-standard hospital in Papeete and a recompression chamber. The outer islands have small clinics and little else, so anything serious means an evacuation flight to Papeete and, for the most severe cases, to New Zealand or Hawaii. That flight is the reason to hold real insurance.
Dengue, zika and chikungunya all occur in outbreaks. Ciguatera poisoning from reef fish is a genuine local risk — eat what the locals eat. Stonefish and sea urchins mean not walking barefoot on the reef.
Orientation, not medical advice — entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history. Check with a travel clinic four to six weeks before you go.
Food tip
GoodPoisson cru — raw tuna in lime and coconut milk — is the national dish and is everywhere. Eat at the roulottes, the food trucks that fill Papeete’s waterfront in the evening, for a fraction of restaurant prices.
Nightlife
Roulottes — food trucks that gather on the Papeete waterfront every evening — and not much else, which is the correct amount.
- Place Vaiete — the roulottes, and the whole evening
- Papeete waterfront — the handful of bars
- Bora Bora — hotel bars, and a sunset over the lagoon
Closing: 00:00 on weeknights, 03:00 Friday and Saturday.
Getting around
Limited- UberNot here
- BoltNot here
- From the airport
- Faa’a airport to Papeete 2,000–3,000 XPF by taxi
No ride-hailing, few taxis and all of them expensive. Hire a car on Tahiti and Moorea, or use Le Truck and the hotel shuttle.
Time zone and your working day
Pacific/Tahiti — 6 hours behind you
2 hours of overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are — 15:00–17:00 your time, 09:00–11:00 theirs.
No overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are. Working from here means one of you keeps odd hours — their day starts at 15:00 on your clock.
office hours both at once night
Their 09:00–17:00 is 15:00–23:00 on yours.
The difference from the UK, Europe, the US and ten more
Worked out against America/New York, which is where this request looks like it came from.
Must-see
Nearby day trips
Say a few words
Tahitian
- HelloIa ora naya o-RA na
- Thank youMāuruurumow-roo-ROO
- Thank you very muchMāuruuru roamow-roo-ROO ro-a
- Yes / NoE / Aitaeh / ah-EE-ta
4 more phrases
- WelcomeMaevama-EH-va
- How are you?Maita’i oe?my-TIE oh-eh
- Good / fineMaita’imy-TIE
- GoodbyeNanaNA-na
French is the working language and English is common in resorts, but ia ora na is used constantly by everyone and answering in kind is noticed.
Religion
Protestant and Catholic
Christianity arrived with missionaries in the nineteenth century and is now deeply woven into island life. Sunday church, with its singing, is a genuine event, and visitors are usually welcome if they dress properly.
Do's and don'ts
Do
- Say ia ora na — it is the greeting and it is used constantly
- Accept a tiare flower if offered; behind the right ear means available, the left means taken
- Ask before photographing people, marae sites or ceremonies
- Cover up away from the beach and resorts; islanders dress modestly in villages
Don't
- Do not walk on or take anything from a marae, the sacred stone platforms
- Do not touch or stand on coral, and never take shells or coral home
- Do not sunbathe topless outside a resort beach
- Do not haggle. Prices are what they are and bargaining is not part of the culture here
Where to stay in Tahiti & Bora Bora
No Holistay rentals in Tahiti & Bora Bora yet — the platform is just opening up. Every listing here will have a video tour and the option to negotiate the nightly price directly with the host.
In the meantime, here is Tahiti & Bora Bora on the sites that do have the inventory — each search is already filled in:
- Booking.com hotels, guesthouses and apartments — the widest coverage almost everywhere
- Airbnb whole homes and apartments, and the better option for a week or more
How to get there
Fly into Faa'a PPT
10 minfrom the airport, roughly
10 min to Papeete; Bora Bora is a 50-min flight on.
Google Flights · Rome2Rio for the trains, buses and ferries as well as the flights
