Archive for March, 2008
March 15th, 2008 at 09:25pm
Under Eco-Travel
If you like to daypack, backpack and volunteer for a good cause in the great outdoors, the 2008 American Hiking Society’s (AHS) Volunteer Vacations may be for you.
On these trail stewardship programs across America’s public lands, you’ll join anywhere from 4-16 volunteers to rebuild eroded trails, perform ecological restoration, “log out” fallen trees and perform other general trail maintenance duties. that year, AHS is offering 75 trips across 25 states. Trips cost a mere $275 and include food, but you will have to cover transportation to the starting line. Trips are rated from easy to very strenuous depending on length of backpacking or daypacking due to reach base camp. Accommodations range from cabins, bunkhouses and car camping to primitive camping.
As a past National Sierra Clubs Outing leader (backpacking and canoe trips), I can attest to the calories you’ll burn and the muscle you’ll build on outdoor work trips. You’ll additionally be surrounded by a fascinating group of society willing to give their instance to public lands enjoyed by all. I adore Sierra Club participants, we always had a lot of laughs, terrific campfire conversations and relative age didn’t matter. I suspect AHS attracts a similar brood.
I’m closely looking at AHS’s Flathead National Forest trail maintenance trip in Montana that July. Here’s a complete list of their 2008 trail stewardship projects. The AHS website additionally has a FAQs section which is fairly helpful to reply initial questions.
Original post by Bev Sklar
By admin
March 15th, 2008 at 08:17am
Under Travel Blog
Recently we started publishing photos over on the viator.com website. And not just any old travel photos. These are photos taken by actual Viator travelers, photos of themselves on elephant treks, helicopter tours, desert safaris, private tours of the Vatican — and on hundreds of the other 5,000+ tours and things to do available on Viator.
In honor of this new feature, Viator is giving props each month to an individual traveler who makes us laugh, makes us smile, or who inspires us to make that next trip.
Simply submit your travel photos (see below for how this works) and you are eligible to win Viator’s Traveler of the Month. What do you win? A $100 gift certificate (or the equivalent in pounds or euros) to use on Viator.com! Each month we will chose a new winner. It might be the prettiest traveler photo, or the funniest, or most inspirational, or just most plain weird. So get traveling, take photos and submit them to viator.com when you return.
Without further ado, here are Viator’s ‘Traveler of the Month’ winners. Happy Travels.
March Traveler of the Month - Alexandra S, Australia
Alexandra S and her family recently went on a trip to Fiji and based on her photos and captions, they had a blast. The photo above is from the South Sea Island Day Cruise where they snorkeled and relaxed by the pool. Alexandra submitted some great photos of the South Sea Island Day Cruise in Fiji. If you’re looking to relax and have a fun trip with the kids in Fiji, Alexandra recommends this tour.
Alexandra says: “Kris has given his thumbs up for this experience. This is definitely a trip to take especially if you have kids.”
February Traveler of the Month - James A, UK
Here’s a shot taken by James A in Rome, on the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St Peter’s Rome Walking Tour. James submitted some great photos of Rome and the inside of the Vatican. And, according to James’ review he’s glad he booked ahead because the line to get into the Vatican was over 2.5 hours long!
James says: “We were enjoying our tour within 15 minutes, and the guide brought the Vatican alive. There is so much to see you simply would not enjoy any other way as it would not mean much without being explained. The headsets you are given for the tour are fab, and you can hear loud and clear what your guide is saying. We normally do our own thing on holiday; however, this is one of the rare places which the tour works very well.”
January Traveler of the Month - Sumit B, USA
Sumit B seems to be having a good time at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in Las Vegas, which he visited after purchasing the Las Vegas Power Pass. Sumit, his wife and his two embarrassed children met Beyonce, the Terminator, Johnny Depp, George Bush and Jenna Jameson, among others. Hopefully his wife forgives him for all of the photos with other women.
–The Viator Travel Team
Editor’s Note: We’ve posted the photos submitted by our Travelers of the Month over on the Viator Flickr site. Hop on over for some inspiration for your next trip.
How can you submit photos to Viator’s Traveler of the Month contest? It’s simple: book a tour with Viator and, when you return, you will receive a “Welcome Back” email. This email will invite you to submit reviews and photos of the tours and things to do on your trip. Tell other travelers what you loved, what you hated and show them in a photo. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.
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By admin
March 15th, 2008 at 08:16am
Under Travel Blog
At Viator we’re constantly searching for new ways to experience destinations like a traveler, not just a tourist. Which is why we are pleased to offer the ground breaking, cutting edge, and profoundly yellow GPS-guided Storytelling GoCars for city touring over on the Viator website.
Huh? What’s that? What in the world are we talking about???
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| GPS GoCars in San Francisco |
Let’s start at the beginning. Once upon time a man named Nathan Withrington (along with his business partner Alasdair Clements) had a vision. What if visitors to a city could drive around in miniature cars with the latest GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) technology, with an audio tour that was “smart” like a local? Their idea was to allow visitors to leave their guidebooks behind and instead discover a city with clever talking cars that navigate and narrate as you drive. An on-board computer and a GPS-system do the thinking so travelers can sit back and explore the destination from a completely personalized perspective.
Fast-forward to 2004, and Nathan and Alasdair offer the first-ever GoCar GPS car rentals in San Francisco and San Diego. Since then their idea has really taken off. If you live on San Francisco or San Diego, you’ve probably seen these bright-yellow minicars navigating the streets, going places that most tourists never go.
We recently caught up with Nathan and asked him a few question about tourism, GPS technology and the growing popularity of GPS GoCars.
GPS GoCars: Interview with Nathan Withrington
Viator: So Nathan, what exactly is a GoCar?
Nathan: The GoCar is a new concept in tourism. We were the first company in the world that, through GPS technology, empowered sightseers to take themselves on a guided tour. Our little cars have a personality and are you tour guide. As you drive, they navigate like a traditional GPS, but that is not all. They will crack jokes with you, recommend restaurants and tell you the stories that bring the city to life. As you drive, the car give you options of places to go and things to see. The more options you take, the longer your tour. So for the first time in history, they can not only take themselves on a guided tour, they can choose when they leave, how long they go for, where they go, when to stop and the language the tour is given in.
Viator: I live in San Francisco, and I’ve been seeing more of these GPS-enabled cars on the streets. It sounds like your idea has really caught hold and taken off.
Nathan: It all started a few weeks after we opened our doors for business. The San Francisco Chronicle wrote a full-page article on us and put it on the front page of their technology section. Before you know it, Time magazine nominated us for “one of the most amazing inventions of the year.” From that point the press has just not stopped, from Today show, Travel Channel, BBC, New York Times, USA Today… and it just keeps coming.
Viator: OK, be straight with me here. Are GoCars safe? Has anybody ever driven one into the bay?
Nathan: Occasionally, some people are intimidated by the vehicle’s small size and the fact that they are driving on city streets. The vehicles are registered as mopeds but the fact that you have three wheels, not two, makes them much more stable. Thankfully to date, with over 65,000 happy customers, we have not had any serious incidents. We take safety very seriously and make sure everyone that drives a GoCar is given a thorough safety briefing on how to operate the vehicle. With regards to driving one in to the bay, you never know, maybe we will come out with an amphibious GoCar one day!
Viator: Do you need a special license? Special training?
Nathan: All you need is a standard drivers license. The vehicles are operated 100% with hand controls very similar to a bicycle. They are fully automatic, so there is no clutch or gears to worry about. After the safety briefing, most people take to it like a duck to water. The GPS will keep people of the busy streets for the most part and will even warn you when you are entering areas where you need to be cautious.
Viator: I’ve heard the GoCar audio tours as people drive by my house. Do you offer custom voices? Can I select John Wayne to give me a tour of SF?
 |
Yes, that really is Conan O’Brien
next to a GPS GoCar in San Francisco |
Nathan: We do offer custom themes. My favorite is the “MisterSF tour,” written and narrated by Mister San Francisco (of MisterSF.com) himself. This is a great tour for people that think they already know San Francisco. It does not take you to the obvious places like the Golden Gate Bridge and Lombard St, but rather it shows you the more notorious side of San Francisco, such as where a serial killer lived, where notorious murders happened and buildings that were destroyed in the 1989 earthquake.
Viator: Who’s the most famous person who’s rented a GoCar?
Nathan: You would be surprised at how many we have had. Just last week we had Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia, A Year of Wishful Drinking). We’ve also had the lead singer of Iron Maiden (Bruce Dickenson) rent one while he was here for OZ fest, Conan O’Brien and Tim Matheson to name a few. The most amazing person that rented from us may not be the most famous but I think it has to be Antonio “Tintín” Vizintín. If you don’t recognize his name, you have most likely heard his story as it was told in the 1993 movie Alive where the Uruguay rugby teams aircraft crashed in the Andes mountains. They were presumed dead but, some of them had actually survived and were forced to survive for 72 days without supplies by eating their expired team mates. Meeting someone with that amount of courage was just amazing.
Viator: Has anybody ever stolen a GoCar? Is it even possible to steal one?
Nathan: The great thing about the GoCar is that it is not exactly an inconspicuous vehicle! And it also has GPS tracking. We did have one incident where a couple stopped to have lunch and when they came out the car had gone. They called us to tell us the car had been stolen. All it took was one call to the police to say, “Yellow GoCar with the number 11 on it,” and 10 minutes later the car was recovered, given back to the customers and they were on their way!
Viator: OK, last question: What’s the fastest you’ve ever driven a GoCar?
Nathan: The fastest I’ve ever driven a GoCar? Well, firstly I need to say the cars are only designed to do 30 to 35mph. Having said that, being an engineer, I did modify one of the cars for my personal use to go faster. Much faster. I put an engine three times the size of a regular GoCar engine in it, and that particular GoCar would go over 60mph… for my personal enjoyment only.
Check it out for yourself. Rent a GPS GoCar in San Francisco or San Diego the next time you’re visiting. Or if you live in one of these cities, take your next out-of-town guests on a GPS GoCar tour.
–Scott McNeely
Planning a trip? Browse Viator’s tours and things to do in San Francisco, San Diego and coastal California.
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By admin
March 15th, 2008 at 08:14am
Under Travel Blog
Sydney is a truly magnificent city, blessed with friendly people, great restaurants and one of the most spectacular natural settings of any city in the world. But there’s one area that Sydney is well below par, and it’s even led the proud locals to admit – shock, horror – that they’re being beaten by rival city Melbourne.
Sydney is a terrible place for a drink.
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| Sydney: Sure it’s pretty, but can you find a bloody drink anywhere? |
Until now your choices for an after-work tipple or a lazy Sunday afternoon session have been the pub (big, noisy, packed beer barns) and the club (big, noisy, packed beer barns… with poker machines).
All that is soon to change with the introduction of legislation aimed at reducing the licence fee for small venues. Current fees (around $15,000) are set to plummet to as little as $500 for small-capacity licensed premises. The bill, introduced to Parliament by Sydney’s Lord Mayor Clover Moore, states that Sydney should boast “a night economy that is diverse and in line with other cities - Australian cities like Melbourne and Perth, and European, American and Asian cities, such as Paris, Florence, San Francisco and Shanghai.”
Supporters of the change are excitedly predicting a rebirth of Sydney nightlife. No longer will those wanting a quiet drink with friends be forced to run the raucous gauntlet of George Street on a Saturday night. Smaller European-style bars and wine bars (so successful in Melbourne since similar licensing deregulation in the mid-1980s) will soon grace the back lanes and third-storeys of CBD buildings.
Not everyone is welcoming the change. Predictably, the Australian Hotels Association is opposing the liberalisation of licensing laws, with the Association’s president stating, “We (people from Sydney) don’t want to sit in a hole and drink chardonnay and read a book.” It seems, though, that as with cultured cities the world over, some Sydneysiders want to do just that.
As usual in a bar fight in Australia, the last word goes to a Labor Party identity. This time it was former Prime Minister and withering orator Paul Keating, who weighed in on the issue late last year: “The pub culture in Sydney is stultifyingly bad. It’s raucous and it’s noisy in the Klondike-like saloons. All that’s missing is Lola Montez. The idea that you have to go into these swills to get a drink, and not in some more beguiling place, is a shame.”
Bring it on!
–John Ryan
Planning a trip? Browse Viator’s tours and things to do in Sydney, including Sydney food, bar & nightlife tours. Also read John’s previous post about finding a decent place to drink in Melbourne.
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By admin
March 15th, 2008 at 08:13am
Under Travel Blog
Since the mutinous days of Captain Bligh, Tahiti and French Polynesia have symbolized paradise for South Pacific travelers. The soaring volcanic peaks, white sand beaches, and emerald lagoons continue to feed escapist dreams. French Polynesia also caters to adventurers and sightseers, and the colorful histories of ancient Polynesia and French colonialism have produced many vestiges to explore. Culturally, the happy combination of Tahitian warmth and French style have engendered a milieu only enhanced by the natural beauty of the islands. French Polynesia is not an inexpensive destination but it seldom disappoints its visitors.
 |
| The top thing to do in Tahiti? Relax. |
Tahiti is French Polynesia’s biggest, most famous and historically interesting island. Most people arrive at Faaa International Airport on the outskirts of French Polynesia’s capital city, Papeete. Boulevard Pomare curves glamorously around Papeete Harbour, with yachts on one side and black-pearl boutiques on the other. The “Real Polynesia” is encountered at Papeete Market in the heart of downtown with flower and vegetable vendors downstairs and handicraft hawkers on the balconies above.
In the fashionable Vaima Center nearby are upscale shops, restaurants, cafes, and airline offices. Tahiti visitors can tour history museums, go hiking in the Faananu or Vaipoe valleys, or follow in Captain Cook’s footsteps at Point Venus. For a superb view of northern Tahiti and the silhouette of Moorea, the sunset dinner tour to the Belvedere Restaurant high above Papeete cannot be beat. The classic circle Tahiti tours include a stop at the Gauguin Museum in southern Tahiti where the painter’s final years in Polynesia are documented. Jeep safaris up and over Tahiti’s razer-sharp spine are also offered.
Tahiti’s neighboring island, Moorea, has it all, including sparkling coral beaches, clear lagoons, archaeological sites, swanky resorts, intimate pensions, and some of the most striking scenery in the world. A 60-kilometer road circles the island with a sideroad to the Belvedere View Point high up in the mountains. The ruins of old Polynesian temples and compounds are scattered among the chestnut trees just below the view point. Exciting four-wheel drive safaris take visitors up dirt tracks to other high points around the island.
Those with a taste for culture can enjoy a spectacular Tahitian feast and show at the Tiki Theater Village. Moorea is famous for its marinelife and there are snorkeling tours, shark and ray feeding expeditions, and dolphin watching trips. One can swim with huge manta rays in the wild or be photographed with captive dolphins in an enclosure. Picnic trips by motorized outrigger canoe and sunset sailing cruises are available. In addition there are half a dozen scuba diving shops on Moorea and all the resorts have large watersports departments.
 |
| Rooms with a view in Bora Bora |
After the island of Tahiti, Bora Bora is French Polynesia’s (and the South Pacific’s) most famous island. On its reef, a chain of narrow islands surround a lagoon large enough to shelter a whole naval fleet (which actually happened during World War II). Sheer volcanic peaks soar from the lagoon, creating what James Michener called the “most beautiful island in the world.”
Exploring Bora Bora is fun. Circle-island tours by “le truck”, Polynesia’s breezy public transportation, follow the road around the island in a couple of hours. Alternatively, you can join a 4WD safari and roar up rugged bush tracks to spectacular viewpoints over the lagoon. Yet the best experience of all awaits you out on the lagoon. Join a motorized outrigger canoe tour and you’ll soon be snorkeling with sharks and manta rays as the animals are fed by experienced guides. Those looking for tamer stuff can stare at huge schools of tropical fish from a glass bottom boat. The two dozen large international hotels on Bora Bora aren’t cheap, but there are also lots of small family-operated pensions for budget watchers.
Things to Do in Raiatea & Huahine
If you have the time, it’s well worth stopping on Raiatea and Huahine on the way back to Papeete. Raiatea is French Polynesia’s most sacred island, the site of Marae Taputapuatea, one of the largest Polynesian temples in the South Pacific. All of the island tours call here. For something different, take a four-wheel drive jeep safari to places the tour buses can’t reach, available on both Raiatea and Huahine.
On Raiatea, you can board a motorized outrigger canoe for a ride up the Faaroa River or out to a black pearl farm in stilts over the lagoon. Huahine is French Polynesia’s undiscovered gem, its single large international resort inaccessible by road. The Maeva archaeological area on Huahine contains dozens of restored Polynesian temples, some on the mountain and others by the lagoon. Huahine is actually two large volcanic islands connected by a bridge and the circle island tours do a figure eight around it all. If you missed the motorized outrigger tours on Bora Bora and Raiatea, take the Huahine picnic cruise to get an entirely different look at the island.
Things to Do in the Tuamotu Islands
The Tuamotu Group is a chain of 78 coral islands and atolls stretching 1,500 kilometers across the South Pacific Ocean. Rangiroa, one of the largest atolls in the world, is a scuba diving paradise with strong tidal flows through the two passes into its lagoon. Divers from afar come to drift with the current back into the lagoon through schools of sharks, dolphins, and other fish.
Manihi and Fakarava atolls offer similar experiences. Manihi is the most accessible of French Polynesia’s major pearl farming areas and there are tours which demonstrate the pearl farming process. Motorized outrigger tours to isolated reef islands called motus are possible on all of the atolls with tourist accommodations. When you’re not diving, snorkeling is the thing to do here. Be aware, however, that there are no mountains to climb in the Tuamotus and few shops to visit, and those uninterested in watersports should choose another destination.
Things to Do in the Austral Islands
Few travelers reach the volcanic islands of the Austral Group south of Tahiti where the climate is cooler than in the rest of French Polynesia. The best time to go is in June and July when pods of humpback whales swim to Rurutu and Tubuai from Antarctica to bear their young. Each island has a dive shop which organizes whalewatching tours. Tubuai and Raivavae each have rings of reef islets around the main island, which makes them ideal for those into watersports. Rurutu is great for hikers with tracks to many scenic seaside viewpoints and few inhabitants. Lonely little Rapa, the southernmost island in the South Pacific, has intriguing Polynesia fortresses on its hilltops but the island is only accessible by infrequent ships.
Things to Do in the Marquesas Islands
The legendary Marquesas Islands are among the most prized destinations in the South Pacific. This chain of high volcanic islands, 1,400 kilometers northeast of Papeete, is an expensive plane ride or long boat trip from Tahiti. The Marquesas has its own unique Polynesian culture exemplified by the large stone tikis standing at archaeological sites on Nuku Hiva and Hiva Oa.
Whenever cruiseships call, the Marquesans stage Polynesian dance shows and prepare island feasts. The best way to go is on the passenger-carrying freighter Aranui, which calls at all six inhabited islands once or twice a month on 16-day cruises from Papeete. On the island of Hiva Oa, shore excursions visit the graves of French painter Paul Gauguin and French chanson singer Jacques Brel.
–David Stanley
Planning a trip? Browse Viator’s tours & things to do in Tahiti, from Moorea tours to things to do in Bora Bora and Papetee.
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Tags: flights, new york city, florida, travel rates, disney, vacations, flights, europe, spain, guides, attractions, skiing, camping, travel insurance, beaches, hilton, air, cheap, cruises, las vegas
By admin
March 15th, 2008 at 07:39am
Under Travel Blog
Sydney is a truly magnificent city, blessed with friendly people, great restaurants and one of the most spectacular natural settings of any city in the world. But there’s one area that Sydney is well below par, and it’s even led the proud locals to admit – shock, horror – that they’re being beaten by rival city Melbourne.
Sydney is a terrible place for a drink.
 |
| Sydney: Sure it’s pretty, but can you find a bloody drink anywhere? |
Until now your choices for an after-work tipple or a lazy Sunday afternoon session have been the pub (big, noisy, packed beer barns) and the club (big, noisy, packed beer barns… with poker machines).
All that is soon to change with the introduction of legislation aimed at reducing the licence fee for small venues. Current fees (around $15,000) are set to plummet to as little as $500 for small-capacity licensed premises. The bill, introduced to Parliament by Sydney’s Lord Mayor Clover Moore, states that Sydney should boast “a night economy that is diverse and in line with other cities - Australian cities like Melbourne and Perth, and European, American and Asian cities, such as Paris, Florence, San Francisco and Shanghai.”
Supporters of the change are excitedly predicting a rebirth of Sydney nightlife. No longer will those wanting a quiet drink with friends be forced to run the raucous gauntlet of George Street on a Saturday night. Smaller European-style bars and wine bars (so successful in Melbourne since similar licensing deregulation in the mid-1980s) will soon grace the back lanes and third-storeys of CBD buildings.
Not everyone is welcoming the change. Predictably, the Australian Hotels Association is opposing the liberalisation of licensing laws, with the Association’s president stating, “We (people from Sydney) don’t want to sit in a hole and drink chardonnay and read a book.” It seems, though, that as with cultured cities the world over, some Sydneysiders want to do just that.
As usual in a bar fight in Australia, the last word goes to a Labor Party identity. This time it was former Prime Minister and withering orator Paul Keating, who weighed in on the issue late last year: “The pub culture in Sydney is stultifyingly bad. It’s raucous and it’s noisy in the Klondike-like saloons. All that’s missing is Lola Montez. The idea that you have to go into these swills to get a drink, and not in some more beguiling place, is a shame.”
Bring it on!
–John Ryan
Planning a trip? Browse Viator’s tours and things to do in Sydney, including Sydney food, bar & nightlife tours. Also read John’s previous post about finding a decent place to drink in Melbourne.
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Tags: hotel, ocean, florida, hawaii, air, flights, vacations, beaches, camping, skiing, cheap, tickets, motels, surfing, boating, greece, new york city, hilton, england, guides
By admin
March 15th, 2008 at 07:38am
Under Travel Blog
Since the mutinous days of Captain Bligh, Tahiti and French Polynesia have symbolized paradise for South Pacific travelers. The soaring volcanic peaks, white sand beaches, and emerald lagoons continue to feed escapist dreams. French Polynesia also caters to adventurers and sightseers, and the colorful histories of ancient Polynesia and French colonialism have produced many vestiges to explore. Culturally, the happy combination of Tahitian warmth and French style have engendered a milieu only enhanced by the natural beauty of the islands. French Polynesia is not an inexpensive destination but it seldom disappoints its visitors.
 |
| The top thing to do in Tahiti? Relax. |
Tahiti is French Polynesia’s biggest, most famous and historically interesting island. Most people arrive at Faaa International Airport on the outskirts of French Polynesia’s capital city, Papeete. Boulevard Pomare curves glamorously around Papeete Harbour, with yachts on one side and black-pearl boutiques on the other. The “Real Polynesia” is encountered at Papeete Market in the heart of downtown with flower and vegetable vendors downstairs and handicraft hawkers on the balconies above.
In the fashionable Vaima Center nearby are upscale shops, restaurants, cafes, and airline offices. Tahiti visitors can tour history museums, go hiking in the Faananu or Vaipoe valleys, or follow in Captain Cook’s footsteps at Point Venus. For a superb view of northern Tahiti and the silhouette of Moorea, the sunset dinner tour to the Belvedere Restaurant high above Papeete cannot be beat. The classic circle Tahiti tours include a stop at the Gauguin Museum in southern Tahiti where the painter’s final years in Polynesia are documented. Jeep safaris up and over Tahiti’s razer-sharp spine are also offered.
Tahiti’s neighboring island, Moorea, has it all, including sparkling coral beaches, clear lagoons, archaeological sites, swanky resorts, intimate pensions, and some of the most striking scenery in the world. A 60-kilometer road circles the island with a sideroad to the Belvedere View Point high up in the mountains. The ruins of old Polynesian temples and compounds are scattered among the chestnut trees just below the view point. Exciting four-wheel drive safaris take visitors up dirt tracks to other high points around the island.
Those with a taste for culture can enjoy a spectacular Tahitian feast and show at the Tiki Theater Village. Moorea is famous for its marinelife and there are snorkeling tours, shark and ray feeding expeditions, and dolphin watching trips. One can swim with huge manta rays in the wild or be photographed with captive dolphins in an enclosure. Picnic trips by motorized outrigger canoe and sunset sailing cruises are available. In addition there are half a dozen scuba diving shops on Moorea and all the resorts have large watersports departments.
 |
| Rooms with a view in Bora Bora |
After the island of Tahiti, Bora Bora is French Polynesia’s (and the South Pacific’s) most famous island. On its reef, a chain of narrow islands surround a lagoon large enough to shelter a whole naval fleet (which actually happened during World War II). Sheer volcanic peaks soar from the lagoon, creating what James Michener called the “most beautiful island in the world.”
Exploring Bora Bora is fun. Circle-island tours by “le truck”, Polynesia’s breezy public transportation, follow the road around the island in a couple of hours. Alternatively, you can join a 4WD safari and roar up rugged bush tracks to spectacular viewpoints over the lagoon. Yet the best experience of all awaits you out on the lagoon. Join a motorized outrigger canoe tour and you’ll soon be snorkeling with sharks and manta rays as the animals are fed by experienced guides. Those looking for tamer stuff can stare at huge schools of tropical fish from a glass bottom boat. The two dozen large international hotels on Bora Bora aren’t cheap, but there are also lots of small family-operated pensions for budget watchers.
Things to Do in Raiatea & Huahine
If you have the time, it’s well worth stopping on Raiatea and Huahine on the way back to Papeete. Raiatea is French Polynesia’s most sacred island, the site of Marae Taputapuatea, one of the largest Polynesian temples in the South Pacific. All of the island tours call here. For something different, take a four-wheel drive jeep safari to places the tour buses can’t reach, available on both Raiatea and Huahine.
On Raiatea, you can board a motorized outrigger canoe for a ride up the Faaroa River or out to a black pearl farm in stilts over the lagoon. Huahine is French Polynesia’s undiscovered gem, its single large international resort inaccessible by road. The Maeva archaeological area on Huahine contains dozens of restored Polynesian temples, some on the mountain and others by the lagoon. Huahine is actually two large volcanic islands connected by a bridge and the circle island tours do a figure eight around it all. If you missed the motorized outrigger tours on Bora Bora and Raiatea, take the Huahine picnic cruise to get an entirely different look at the island.
Things to Do in the Tuamotu Islands
The Tuamotu Group is a chain of 78 coral islands and atolls stretching 1,500 kilometers across the South Pacific Ocean. Rangiroa, one of the largest atolls in the world, is a scuba diving paradise with strong tidal flows through the two passes into its lagoon. Divers from afar come to drift with the current back into the lagoon through schools of sharks, dolphins, and other fish.
Manihi and Fakarava atolls offer similar experiences. Manihi is the most accessible of French Polynesia’s major pearl farming areas and there are tours which demonstrate the pearl farming process. Motorized outrigger tours to isolated reef islands called motus are possible on all of the atolls with tourist accommodations. When you’re not diving, snorkeling is the thing to do here. Be aware, however, that there are no mountains to climb in the Tuamotus and few shops to visit, and those uninterested in watersports should choose another destination.
Things to Do in the Austral Islands
Few travelers reach the volcanic islands of the Austral Group south of Tahiti where the climate is cooler than in the rest of French Polynesia. The best time to go is in June and July when pods of humpback whales swim to Rurutu and Tubuai from Antarctica to bear their young. Each island has a dive shop which organizes whalewatching tours. Tubuai and Raivavae each have rings of reef islets around the main island, which makes them ideal for those into watersports. Rurutu is great for hikers with tracks to many scenic seaside viewpoints and few inhabitants. Lonely little Rapa, the southernmost island in the South Pacific, has intriguing Polynesia fortresses on its hilltops but the island is only accessible by infrequent ships.
Things to Do in the Marquesas Islands
The legendary Marquesas Islands are among the most prized destinations in the South Pacific. This chain of high volcanic islands, 1,400 kilometers northeast of Papeete, is an expensive plane ride or long boat trip from Tahiti. The Marquesas has its own unique Polynesian culture exemplified by the large stone tikis standing at archaeological sites on Nuku Hiva and Hiva Oa.
Whenever cruiseships call, the Marquesans stage Polynesian dance shows and prepare island feasts. The best way to go is on the passenger-carrying freighter Aranui, which calls at all six inhabited islands once or twice a month on 16-day cruises from Papeete. On the island of Hiva Oa, shore excursions visit the graves of French painter Paul Gauguin and French chanson singer Jacques Brel.
–David Stanley
Planning a trip? Browse Viator’s tours & things to do in Tahiti, from Moorea tours to things to do in Bora Bora and Papetee.
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