Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Tahiti StS - Travel Plans



Welcome Aboard,
You are receiving this because you have signed on to join Tahiti Share the Sail. Confirmation of deposit and balance due will come later. I know some of you are looking to make some travel plans so let's get to it ...

Travel:
Our friends at Tahiti Legends have offered to make travel arrangements for those who would like some help. They have our adventure details. Our contact is Tristan Boun. Her email is bount@tahitilegends.com and her phone is 800-200-1213 x227.

For those who like to book themselves, here is the lowdown:
We meet the boats at Marina Apooiti on the island of Raiatea, 11am on Monday, May 23, 2011. The boats should be back at the same dock by noon on May 30. There are interisland ferries for those who must get back earlier (or later, if we lose you to an island).

We all will be flying into Papeete on the big island of Tahiti – airport code PPT. From there it is a hopper flight or a ferry to Raiatea – RFP. The charter companies have offered to help with transfer shuttles from the airport on Raiatea to Marina Apooiti and the boats, 5 minutes away. Shuttle booking info in a future email.

I have done a quick check on fares: Los Angeles (LAX) to Papeete (PPT) is $1298 total with Air New Zealand (or Orbitz.com). It is an 8h 20m flight. Tahiti Nui does it for $1333 on Travelocity.com. It is $1063 on Air France but they don't fly that often (in May 21, out June 3).

Papeete (PPT) to Raiatea (RFP) is $292 total on Air Tahiti. It is a 45 minute flight. Air Tahiti's site: http://www.airtahiti.aero/home.php

Before and After:
I encourage people to come early or stay in the islands after the cruise. Papeete has a bunch of nice waterfront resorts to help you ease into island time on arrival. All the islands have cool places to stay. The sleep aboard the night before is no longer available. As I understand it, the island is pretty full before our adventure with our Shailors. You could try the travel agent above to see if she can find you a spot.

A hotel option on Bora Bora is the Hotel Matira: http://www.hotel-matira.com/ A friend stayed across the way and said Matira was just as nice and less expensive - $438 for 3 nights for the standard bungalow.

Travel Insurance: We do not provide it. If you are interested, there are lots of companies on the web.

Itinerary: Loose. Like in cruising, we'll let the wind and local events decide which order to hit the islands. The islands we intend to explore are Raiatea, Tahaa, Huahine and Bora Bora. Our friends at Bloody Mary's on Bora Bora have invited us over for an evening. Stay tuned to find out if we were able to coax the Eric Stone Band to come and play us some songs.

More info below. Questions? Email me: woody@seafaring.com. Otherwise, stand by for more emails in the coming months.

See you in Paradise!

Captain Woody


Details:
-Money is the French Pacific Franc – XPF (or CFP). The exchange is 1 to 94 (basically remove two zeros from the XPF)
-Tahiti time is GMT -10.
-Marina Apooiti was the first Marina developed on this island. Only five minutes from the airport, you’ll find shops, art, crafts, and restaurants.
-Passports required for international travel. It can take some time to get one. Visa's not required for US and Canadians. You can stay up to 30 days … hmmm.
-Ferry service between islands is mid page:
http://www.raiatea.com/gethere.html
-A list of island accommodations from Tahiti Legends:
http://www.tahitilegends.com/LEG/Process.jsp?page=Guide&lastbutton=products&pagename=polynesia_hotels.jsp
-Island websites: http://www.raiatea.com/, click the other island links for their information.
-Lats & Atts Share the Sail webpage: http://www.seafaring.com/magazine/shareTheSail.php



1 comment:

  1. I have a couple deliveries coming up. If you have questions please email me before Nov 3. I will be out sailing until Dec 19ish. In Jan/Feb you will be receiving our famous Questionaire for crew placement, our What to Bring suggestions and other information from the charter base and our other friends in the islands. Balances are due 60 days before event, before March 23. I'll send a reminder in March.
    Paradise on the horizon,

    Woody

    ReplyDelete