Travel
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
When to book a trip to FP?
We are going to Bora Bora and Moorea in May 2013. Being the over-zealous planner that I am, I've already started my research. My question is...what is the best time of year to book a trip to the FP?
I want to try to get a good deal and think this is possible this far out. Also, I've read a bit about using a travel agent for this type of trip. Does anyone recommend this?
I'm not completely decided on what resorts to stay at yet...I've got Moorea narrowed to two (Hilton and Sofitel) and am still working on narrowing Bora Bora down. Is a better deal possible by staying withint the same resort family on both islands?
Re: When to book a trip to FP?
I booked a French Polynesia trip for May 2012 in January of this year. At that time both the Hilton and Starwood hotels had good deals (prepay of course).
I hadn't been watching the airfare prior to January to see if it fluctuated much. But based on the price charts on the Air Tahiti Nui site it seems the day of the week you fly and duration of trip really make the most difference in price, and not how far out you purchase tickets.
We didn't use a travel agent so I can't comment on that. I'm not aware of any deals by booking only Hilton properties for both Moorea and Bora Bora.
Good luck planning!
Most rates for 2013 won't be available until Fall 2012. The airfare for May won't be available until around June 2012. From what I have found, most resorts do not publish their specials right when they release rates. For example, I booked a trip to Tikehau and Rangiroa back in 2006. I booked about a year in advance. If I had waited until October/November 2005 to book, I would have gotten a special for free breakfast and dinner daily in Tikehau. I was not able to rebook to get that special. Some resorts to offer specials if you stay at the properties on more than one island, but it's not always the case and it really depends on what other resort you are trying to match it up with. Another example: I think the garden bungalows at the Hilton in Moorea are equivalent to the beach bungalows at the Sofitel. The lagoonview bungalows at the Sofitel just have an awkard location. So, by staying in a garden bungalow at the Hilton, you are automatically saving more than staying in a similar room category at the Sofitel. that savings may be better than pairing up two Sofitels.
May is typically a good time of year to travel price and weather wise, but also because it typically does not sell out like July/august/Sept does. I haev found that our summer months sell out or have limited availability at around the 6 month point. May usually has decent availability until the 3-4 month point.
As for air, ATN will raise the rates if the travel dates are in the summer or around Xmas. Air typically will be higher to start off with during those dates. However, if you are going in May, the air will most likely stay the same up until just before the travel dates. I would always recommend securing air at least 2 months prior to going, though. Don't forget about Air Tahiti as well- the interisland flight!
If you don't plan international travel often, I recommend using an agent for Tahiti. It is a little more complicated than going to the Caribbean or even Europe. I can offer suggestions on the agents I've used in the past or have contacted for quotes. I booked my first two trips with an agent but the last three were on my own.
Our wedding on Wilson Island!
The Art of Living
1. Go to Tahiti-tourisme.com, click locate an agent, and enter your zip code
2. gotahiti.com- mainly online- used them twice
3. Caroline from Easy Escapes Travel. Used by many knotties and nesties, including myself! Caroline@easyescapestravel.com
4. Tahiti Legends- tahitilegends.com. Very knowledgeable on the islands.
Feel free to pick my brain about resorts as well. I've been to most of the properties on Bora Bora and Moorea (Hilton is my favorite on Moorea, but I would recommend the others depending on what you want in a hotel.) I've also been to most of the other islands as well. I'm DYING to go back, but I'm focusing on my wedding for now
Our wedding on Wilson Island!
Thank you! I'd love to hear your thoughts about resorts on Bora Bora. I'm already about 80% decided on the Hilton on Moorea based on what I've read, but I'm a little more stumped on Bora Bora--I don't necessarily want to spend the money for the Four Seasons, but I do want a great expereience. Thanks!
The Art of Living
I think each resort in Bora Bora offers something unique that the other ones don't, so it makes it really hard. At the same time, it actually fairly easy to line a resort up to your taste if you have specific wants in mind. For example, if you are adamant on having deeper water from your OWB, you'll like the Hilton. If you really want good snorkeling on the property, the Sofitel Private Island has great opportunities just off of the island. If you want killer views, Le Meridien, the Thalasso, Four Seasons, and St. Regis has the best. You'll have to get the premium OWB categories for the best view, though. Otherwise, you just have a partial. Resorts like the Thalasso, Le Meridien, and the Pearl have little to no OWB snorkeling, but Le Meridien has on property snorkeling with the turtles! Le Meridien and the Thalasso also have the best stretches of beach. The Nui also has a great stretch of beach, but the sand is not as soft (more coral). One thing to note about the Hilton Nui is that the property does not face the main island. So, no killer direct views. However, the property has views of the most amazing lagoon colors! The Pearl also has a great view, but it's not as modern as the other resorts. It has more of a traditional motif and one could even say it needs a little refurb. However, the Pearl is a great smaller hotel that allows you a motu experience without staying at a larger resort. The St. Regis is a HUGE property in comparison and more expensive in many ways. If you want easy main island access, I'd lean toward Le Moana. Le Moana is on the main island, is a smaller property, and is a great value. You also have a free shuttle to the Thalasso (and from the Thalasso to Le Moana, also making main island access easier.) Le Moana is not as modern or new as the Thalasso and does not have a spa, so it's less expensive. If you want something more budget friendly, Le MaiTai is also on the main island. It's a 4* at best though. The other main island property is the Sofitel Bora Bora Beach. It's probably the best value on Bora Bora- 4.5*, newly remodeled, modern yet simple, and has access to the Sofitel Private Island for snorkeling. You do not get a view of the main island, though. So, if looking at pricing for a standard OWB, I'd rank them:
Le MaiTai
Sofitel Bora Bora Beach
Le Moana
Pearl
Hilton Nui
Sofitel Private Island
Le Meridien
Thalasso
St. Regis
Four Seasons
That's also pretty close to how I'd rank them in terms of being new and modern (top being least modern.) I would place the Sofitel Bora Bora Beach below the Pearl or Le Moana though.
HTH!
Our wedding on Wilson Island!
Wow! Great info...thank you so much!!! This will be incredibly helpful.
The Art of Living