Winter Escapes: How We Flew to Tahiti (French Polynesia) For Free
They say there is no such thing as a free lunch. And most of the time, when I say we flew somewhere for “free”, I mean on points and miles, which do require investment of time and monetary funds. Our flight to Tahiti was, in fact, completely free – though not without some sweat and tears in the process.
It was early January, 2020 – remember those blissful, carefree days? My husband’s family had planned a big trip to China that spring, and suddenly we found our trip was cancelled due to this thing called SARS-CoV2/COVID19. My sister in law still wanted to take a family trip, and we were feeling confident at the time that COVID19 was going to be limited to Asia and contained quickly, just as SARS-CoV1 had. She suggested somewhere remote, where this virus would never reach. Tahiti was it – and tickets were on sale! At the end of January 2020, with equal parts denial and naivety flowing through our veins, we booked round trip LAX-PPT on Air Tahiti Nui’s (ATN) Valentine’s Day sale for $600 each for that spring. Paradise awaited!
Fast forward 6 weeks – hello, COVID19! – Tahiti shut its borders, ATN cancelled all flights for the spring, and we were isolating at home thinking we were all going to die. I was not going to chance rebooking as who knew what the future held, and I had fears the airline could go bankrupt. Despite countless phone calls and emails, the airline refused to refund us despite my reciting of US DOT regulations regarding cancelled flights. We had booked the flight with our Chase Sapphire Reserve so we did have travel insurance covering cancellations, but rather than the hassle of filing a claim through trip insurance (it is a painful and slow process), I decided first I would dispute the charge on the card since we were still in the 60 day window to do that*. Our money was refunded by Chase within 48 hrs. Sweet. Thank you Chase!*Note: your ability to do this will depend on your credit card company, when you bought the tickets and how long after the purchase a chargeback is requested/charge is disputed.
Flash forward to March 2021, and I receive an email from ATN with my old confirmation number that they had again cancelled all flights for the spring, so they were allowing us to rebook by July 5 2021 for travel before May 2022. What? Surely, this must be a mistake – I assumed when I disputed the charge, that someone from Chase would call the airline, cancel the booking and get the refund on our behalf to recoup the money. Nope. I waited a bit until we could sort out work schedules, and finally called June 28 to rebook. The ATN rep I spoke with cheerfully rebooked us, informing us that all change fees and difference in fares would be waived, and we could fly any date we wanted (mind you, when we had booked the original sale fare, we had to fly on a Tuesday to get the deal). Our new tickets for February 2022 were $2004 total, more expensive than the sale fare we had purchased, and all we had to pay was ~$3 in taxes. Done and done!
Yes, it was still a gamble as to whether we would actually be able to travel to Tahiti given the pandemic, but I figured at least our ticket could be rescheduled again. We still wanted to take the trip, and we gained more in value by taking the free ticket than we would have from a refund of the original sale price which we were actually offered, although $1200 in free cash is in itself a pretty great deal and was hard to turn down! In the end, sitting in our over water bungalow, the calm waters restoring our mental health, we made the right choice.
Getting to French Polynesia (Tahiti) on Points & Miles
French Polynesia comprises 118 islands that cover roughly the size of Europe. When someone says they are flying to Tahiti, it is because Tahiti is the largest island and the location of the only international airport, hence all tourists will arrive to Papeete (PPT) airport on the island of Tahiti. Tahiti itself is not where you want to spend your vacation – that would be akin to flying to Honolulu and spending an entire week at an airport hotel.
There are currently 3 airlines that fly from the US to Tahiti/PPT: United, Air France, and Air Tahiti Nui, (Note: Air Tahiti is a separate airline that operates inter-island flights). Finding a way to cover your flights with points and miles is a great way to save costs, since it is not an inexpensive destination and options to use points for hotel stays are very limited. If good cash prices can be found for a ticket, you could certainly use a portal such as Chase Ultimate Rewards, or a credit card that allows you to use points to erase travel related charges such as Capital One Spark.
Air Tahiti Nui is a partner of American Airlines, so you can use American Airlines miles to book, but I believe award space is hard to find. Air France is also a transfer partner of Chase and American Express, so rewards from these programs can be transferred to the Flying Blue program to book Air France. Lastly, United operates a daily flight to PPT out of SFO and could be an option for 70,000 United miles round trip (with option transferring Chase UR miles to United).
Flying Air Tahiti Nui (ATN) meant we also had to book a positioning flight to get from our home airport to LAX to catch our ATN flight, so we used Southwest points and our companion pass to cover this leg of our trip. I recommend you allow for a generous layover at LAX as the airport is a chaotic mess (can we please install some signs??), check in lines for ATN were long and very slow, and it is a long walk through the LAX international terminal; we allowed 4 hours and it was tight.
Which Islands to Visit
You flight to French Polynesia will land on the main island of Tahiti in Papeete, which is also not where you will want to spend your vacation. Depending on when your flight to the US arrives or leaves, you may need to spend a night in Papeete, and one night is plenty. If you have 7-9 nights, you can easily visit at least 2 islands, and if your dream is to visit Bora Bora, save that for a couple of nights at the end of your trip and spend the bulk of your time on another island or two.
When most Americans picture French Polynesia or hear the word “Tahiti”, they are probably envisioning the overwater bungalows, crystal clear blue water, and iconic volcano of Bora Bora. Bora Bora is lovely (see our related post) and perfect if you want a luxury vacation where you don’t need to leave the resort. If you don’t have a generous amount of cash to blow, and/or you are the type of person who wants to explore outside of a resort, Bora Bora is not your best fit…or at least it should not comprise the bulk of your vacation days. And to be honest, there is plenty of beauty on other islands!
Most Americans visit the “Societal Islands” because of their close proximity to Papeete and the well-established resorts on these islands. Here are the Societal islands to consider when planning your trip.
- Moorea is where we spent the bulk of our time, and is easily accessible from Papeete by a 20 minute ferry. See our related blog post on Moorea. Here, you can experience the glamour of over-water bungalows and fantastic snorkeling, with hiking, ATV rides, and other activities to keep you plenty occupied. Moorea’s easy accessibility and plentiful activity options including whale watching make it a good choice for a first trip to French Polynesia. Moorea’s airport can easily connect travelers to other islands.
- Taha’a is a common add-on island to a Bora Bora vacation, and can be reached from Bora Bora by a short flight or 2 hour boat ride. Taha’a is home to 80% of the vanilla plantations in French Polynesia, as well as pearl farms and a rum distillery – not to mention amazing snorkeling. Le Taha’a Island Resort & Spa and Vahine Island both offer overwater bungalows. Taha’a is easily connected to Raiatia by a ferry that runs several times a day.
- Raiatia is a large island, home to the UNESCO World Heritage Site Marea Taputapuatea. It is just a quick boat ride from Taha’a (making a visit to both Taha’a and Raiatia very doable) or short flight from Papeete. There is hiking on Raiatia as well. Hotel Kia Ora is your option on Raiatia for overwater bungalows.
- Bora Bora gets all the hype, for good reason: the water is picture-perfect beautiful, and there are numerous luxury resorts with plenty of over water bungalows. This is a great splurge destination, best suited for those who wants to spend the majority of vacation days at a resort, enjoying all of the resort activities and amenities. There are no big towering mega-resorts, rather, small intimate resorts that offer peace, quiet, and privacy. Hence, the popularity with honeymooners.
- Mauipiti appears to be a well kept secret; a smaller version of Bora Bora without the major resorts or over water bungalows and it will be on our to-do list for the next trip. A great option to experience the beauty of the islands in a more remote setting. Only a few flights a week travel to Mauipiti, so keep this in mind.
- Huahine is another great Societal island to experience local life, small villages, and luscious Polynesian landscape, and is easy to reach via daily 30-minute flights from Papeete. While this island offers a glimpse into old Polynesia, there is still an overwater bungalow option at the Royal Huahine, as well as many affordable family-run pensions.
Want a more remote destination? An eco-tourism experience? Encounters with horses or more unique cultural experiences? Follow the path of Robert Lewis Stevenson, Darwin, or Paul Gaugin and visit some of the other archipelagos: the Marquesas islands, the Austral Islands, and Mangareva and Gambier islands. Just be sure to let me know where I need to visit next! Air Tahiti provides air service to a huge number of destinations outside of the Societal Islands; do know that flights are several hours long and fewer flights are available.
Good to know:
- Best time to visit: August to November is whale season in French Polynesia, particularly around Tahiti and Moorea. December to March is rainy season in the Societal Islands, with December and January being the rainiest. We came at the end of February and found the weather only limited one day of activities, not because of rain but due to a storm at sea that caused large waves which clouded the water, making snorkeling impossible. The few rainstorms we encountered were brief and did not interfere with our activities. Rain is more frequent in the mountains, so similar to Hawaii, hiking during rainy season may not be possible if the trails are extremely wet and muddy.
- Time zone: French Polynesia is on the same time zone as Hawaii.
- Currency: Pacific franc (xpf). There are ATMs at the PPT airport, so stock up when you land.
- Language: French is the official language, but you will commonly hear the local Polynesian language used for common phrases like hello (ia orana) and thank you (mauruuru). Most everyone spoke English on Tahiti, Bora Bora, and Moorea. If staying in small family-owned pensions or if traveling to more remote islands, some basic knowledge of French would be very handy.
- Hotels vary from high end 5-star resorts aplenty on Bora Bora, to small family run guest houses or pensions. Home rentals are also possible. I found it very hard to use points to cover the cost of hotels here.
- The people of the islands, a mix of Polynesian, French, and Chinese, are extremely friendly and welcoming. Hence, we can’t wait to come back!
For more on French Polynesia:
Books: A number of authors have lived in French Polynesia including Robert Louis Stevenson, Herman Melville, Jack London, and Zane Grey to name a few. A great book recently published that details the “discovery” and colonization of French Polynesia is Sea People: The Puzzle of Polynesia by Christina Thompson. I started reading this after our trip and it made me appreciate even more the incredible navigational skills of the Polynesian people. Other nonfiction oldies but goodies include The Lure of Tahiti by editor A. Grove Day, Tahiti: Island of Love by Robert Langdon, and Tahiti: A Paradise Lost by David Howarth.
Podcasts: