Arriving

All international flights arrive at Tahiti-Faaa International Airport, 7km (4 miles) west of downtown Papeete. With its runway built on a landfill over the reef, it is French Polynesia's only international airport.

Tahitian musicians are usually on hand to welcome international flights, and they'll keep you entertained while waiting in line to have your passport stamped at Immigration. Once you've cleared Customs, you will see a visitor information booth straight ahead. Start there for maps and other information. If you're on a tour or have made other prior arrangements, representatives of the local tour operators will be holding signs announcing their presence.

Pick up some pocket money at Banque de Polynésie, to the left as you exit Customs, or at Banque Socredo, to the right. Both have ATMs, and Banque Socredo has a machine that will change U.S. dollars and other major notes into French Pacific francs.

I have spent many hours waiting for flights at the open-air, 24-hour snack bar to the right. There's a McDonald's next to Air Tahiti's domestic departure lounge, also to the right.

Getting to Your Hotel -- Unless you're on a package tour or your hotel has arranged a transfer, your only choice of transportation to your hotel between 10pm and 6am will be a taxi. Official fares from 8pm to 6am are 1,500CFP (US$19/£9.50) to the hotels on the west coast, 2,500CFP (US$31/£16) to downtown. Add 100CFP (US$1.25/65p) for each bag.

If you arrive when the local buses are running and you're in reasonably good physical condition, you can haul your baggage across the parking lot in front of the terminal, climb the stairs to the main road, and flag down a bus.

If you're driving a rental car, take Route 1 W. to the InterContinental Resort Tahiti, the Sofitel Tahiti Maeva Beach Resort, or Le Meridien Tahiti. Route 1 E. passes the Sheraton Hotel Tahiti Resort & Spa on its way to downtown Papeete. If you're going to downtown, watch for the Route 5 signs directing you to the expressway connecting Papeete to the west coast.

Baggage Storage

Most hotels will store your baggage for free. The airport's baggage storage room is in the parking lot in front of the international departures gate. It's the small building behind the pavilion where Tahitian women often sell leis and flower crowns. It isn't cheap: Charges range from 640CFP (US$8/£4) per day for regular-size bags to 1,100CFP (US$14/£7) for surfboards, bicycles, and other large items. The room opens 2 hours before every international flight departs. Regular hours are Monday from 4am to 7pm, Tuesday through Thursday from 5am to 11pm, Saturday from 5am to 12:30am, and Sunday and holidays from 1pm to 12:30am. MasterCard and Visa are accepted.

Departing

Check-in time for departing international flights is 3 hours before flight time; for domestic flights, be there 2 hours in advance. All of your bags must be screened for both international and domestic flights leaving Papeete. (There are few security procedures at the outer-island airstrips.)

There is no airport departure tax for either international or domestic flights.

Note: There is no bank or currency exchange bureau in the international departure lounge, so change your money before clearing Immigration.

Fast Facts

American Express -- The American Express representative is Tahiti Tours, on rue Jeanne-d'Arc (tel. 54.02.50; fax 42.25.15), across from the Centre Vaima in downtown Papeete. The mailing address is B.P. 627, 98713 Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia.

Bookstores -- Librairie Vaima, on the second level of the Centre Vaima (tel. 45.57.57), has some English-language novels and a wide selection of books on French Polynesia, many of them in English and some of them rare editions. It also has maps of the islands. Le Kiosk in front of the Centre Vaima sells the International Herald Tribune, Time, and Newsweek, as does La Maison de la Presse, on boulevard Pomare at Quartier du Commerce (tel. 50.93.93).

Business Hours -- Although some shops stay open over the long lunch break, most businesses are open Monday to Friday from 8 to 11:30am and 2 to 5pm, give or take 30 minutes, since "flex hours" help alleviate Tahiti's traffic problem. Saturday hours are 8 to 11:30am, although some shops in the Centre Vaima stay open Saturday afternoon. The Papeete Municipal Market is a roaring beehive from 5 to 7am on Sunday, and many of the nearby general stores are open during those hours. Except for some small groceries, most other stores are closed on Sunday.

Camera & Film -- Film and 1-hour color print processing are available at several stores in downtown Papeete. One of the best is Tahiti Photo, in the Centre Vaima (tel. 42.97.34), where you can get help in English.

Currency Exchange -- Banque de Polynésie, Banque de Tahiti, and Banque Socredo have at least one branch each with ATMs on boulevard Pomare and in many suburban locations where you can cash traveler's checks.

Drugstores -- Pharmacie du Vaima, on rue du Général-de-Gaulle at rue Georges La Garde behind the Centre Vaima (tel. 42.97.73), is owned and operated by English-speaking Nguyen Ngoc-Tran, whose husband runs Pharmacie Tran on Moorea. Pharmacies rotate night duty, so ask your hotel staff to find out which one is open after dark.

Emergencies & Police -- Consult with your hotel staff. The emergency police telephone number is tel. 17 (but don't expect the person on the other end of the line to speak English). The central gendarmerie is at the inland terminus of avenue Bruat (tel. 42.02.02).

Eyeglasses -- Papeete has several opticians, including Optika (tel. 42.77.54) in the Centre Vaima.

Healthcare -- Both Clinque Cardella (tel. 42.80.10), on rue Anne-Marie-Javouhey, and Clinic Paofai (tel. 43.77.00), on boulevard Pomare, have highly trained specialists and some state-of-the-art equipment. They are open 24 hours.

Information -- Tahiti Tourisme's Fare Manihini visitors bureau (tel. 50.57.12; www.tahiti-manava.pf), on the waterfront on boulevard Pomare at the foot of rue Paul Gauguin, is open 7:30am to 5:30pm Monday to Friday, 8 to 4pm Saturday, 8am to 1pm on Sunday and holidays.

Internet Access -- Every hotel here has Internet access for its guests to use. Tahiti Tourisme has computers in its Fare Manihini visitor center (tel. 50.57.12; www.tahiti-manava.pf), on the waterfront on boulevard Pomare at the foot of rue Paul Gauguin. It charges 300CFP (US$3.75/£1.90) for 15 minutes of access time, 1,000CFP (US$13/£7) for 1 hour, open 7:30am to 5:30pm Monday to Friday, 8 to 4pm Saturday, 8am to 1pm on Sunday and holidays. Cybernesia Tahiti, on the second level of the Vaima Centre (tel. 85.43.67), has both dial-up and wireless access for 20CFP (US25¢/10p) per minute for the first 10 minutes, 15CFP (US20¢/10p) per minute thereafter. It has English keyboards and the Skype telephone program on some of its computers, and it will burn your digital photos to CD. Open Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm, Saturday 9am to 4pm. La Maison de la Presse, on boulevard Pomare at Quartier du Commerce (tel. 50.93.93) also has English keyboards. It charges 16CFP (US20¢/10p) per minute. The Tahiti-Faaa Business Center, next to McDonald's in the airport terminal (tel. 83.63.88), has access for 300CFP (US$3.75/£1.90) for 15 minutes or 1,000CFP (US$13/£7) for 1 hour. It's open Monday, Tuesday, and Friday 7am to 6pm and 8pm to midnight; Wednesday and Thursday 9am to 6pm and 8pm to midnight; and Saturday 7am to 1pm and 6pm to midnight. The Business Center has fax services and will burn your photos to CDs.

MANA (www.mana.pf), the local Internet service provider, has several wireless hotspots around town, including the main post office, Parc Bougainville, Place Toata, the Fare Tony building on boulevard Pomare, Brasserie des Remparts restaurant, and at Tahiti-Faaa International Airport.

Laundry -- Lavomatic du Pont du L'Est, Gauguin, 64 rue Paul Gauguin (tel. 43.71.59), at Pont de l'Est, has wash-dry-fold service for 1,400CFP (US$18/£9) a load. Open Monday to Friday 7am to 5:30pm, Saturday 7am to noon.

Libraries -- The Office Territorial D'Action Culturelle (Territorial Cultural Center) on boulevard Pomare, west of downtown Papeete (tel. 42.88.50), has a small library of mostly French books on the South Pacific and other topics. Hours are 8am to 5pm Monday to Friday, except on Wednesday when it closes at 4pm.

Mail -- The main post office is on boulevard Pomare a block west of the Centre Vaima. Open from 7am to 6pm Monday through Friday, 8 to 11am Saturday. The branch post office at the Tahiti-Faaa International Airport terminal is open from 6 to 10:30am and noon to 2pm Monday through Friday, and from 6 to 9am on Saturday, Sunday, and holidays.

Restrooms -- Both Tahua Vaite (the park by the cruise-ship terminal at rue Paul Gauguin) and Place Toata on the western end of downtown have free and clean public toilets.

Safety -- Papeete has seen increasing street crime in recent years. The busy parks on boulevard Pomare along the waterfront generally are safe, but be very careful if you wander onto the side streets after dark.

Telephone & Fax -- The main post office, the cruise-ship terminal, and Place Toata all have pay phones, where you can use a télécarte to make local and international calls.

Water -- You can drink the tap water in Papeete and its nearby suburbs, which includes all the hotels, but not out in the rural parts of Tahiti. Bottled water is available in all grocery stores.

When to Go

Climate

Tahiti is hot and humid. Temperatures range from 24°C–28°C (75°F–82°F) year-round, slightly cooler in the Gambiers and Australs, with pleasantly cooling sea breezes. Heavy but brief showers fall between November and April. Surfers make the most of the changing winds by hitting the north and east coasts from November to April and the west and south shores the rest of the year.

Calendar of Events

Not surprisingly, events in Tahiti revolve around the sea. In May the Tahiti Pearl Regatta annually sails between three Society Islands over five days, with a Tahitian feast each evening. In November traditional Polynesian six-man canoes race the 130km (81 miles) between three islands in the Hawaiki Nui Va’a. On dry land, the Moorea International Marathon is known as Tahiti’s ""Love Marathon"" as it always falls around St. Valentine’s Day in February. Tahitian crafts are celebrated in June and July’s Heiva Rima’i, a competitive jamboree of wood-working, cloth-printing and mother-of-pearl-carving. "

Getting Around

Except for the Route 5 expressway between Papeete and Punaauia, and the north-south cross-island road, the island's highway system consists primarily of Route 1, a paved road running for 114km (72 miles) around Tahiti Nui, plus roads halfway down each side of Tahiti Iti. From the isthmus, a road partially lined with trees wanders up to the high, cool Plateau of Taravao, with pastures and pines more like provincial France than the South Pacific.

By Bus

Although it might appear from the number of vehicles scurrying around Papeete that everyone owns a car or scooter, the average Tahitian gets around by local bus. Modern buses have replaced all but a few of Tahiti's famous le trucks, those colorful vehicles called "trucks" because the passenger compartments are gaily painted wooden cabins mounted on the rear of flatbed trucks. The last of them operate between downtown Papeete and Centre Moana Nui, a shopping complex south of the Sofitel Tahiti Maeva Beach Resort. Elsewhere, look for modern buses.

Once upon a time, le trucks would stop for you almost anywhere, but today you must catch them and the buses at official stops (called arrêt le bus in French).

The villages or districts served by each bus are written on the sides and front of the bus. Fares within Papeete are 130CFP (US$1.60/85p) until 6pm and 200CFP (US$2.50/£1.25) thereafter. A trip to the end of the line in either direction costs about 750CFP (US$9.40/£4.75).

Buses Going West -- The few remaining le trucks and all short-distance buses going west are painted red and white. They line up on rue du Maréchal-Foch behind the Municipal Market and travel along rue du Général-de-Gaulle, which becomes rue du Commandant-Destremeau and later route de-l'Ouest, the road that circles the island. Buses run along this route as far as the Centre Moana Nui (south of the Sofitel Tahiti Maeva Beach Resort) Monday through Friday at least every 30 minutes from 6am to 6pm, then once an hour between 6pm and midnight. Except for le trucks serving tourists at the hotels on the west coast, there is irregular service on Saturday, none on Sunday. Trucks and buses labeled Faaa, Maeva Beach, and Outuamaru will pass the airport and the Sheraton Hotel Tahiti Resort & Spa and InterContinental Resort Tahiti.

Buses Going East -- Short-distance buses going east are painted green and white. They line up in the block west of the Banque de Polynésie on boulevard Pomare, opposite the cruise-ship terminal and near the Municipal Market and rue Paul Gauguin. They proceed out of town via avenue du Prince-Hinoi, passing the cutoff for Hotel Le Royal Tahitien and the Radisson Plaza Resort Tahiti on their way to Pirae, Arue, and Mahina. They run frequently from 6am to 5pm as far as the Mahina. No buses run at night, so you must rent a car or take a taxi to and from the Radisson and Le Royal Tahitien after dark and on weekends.

Long-Distance Buses -- Buses going in either direction to Tahiti's south coast and Tahiti Iti are painted orange and white. They line up next to the Tahiti Manava visitor bureau on boulevard Pomare at rue Paul Gauguin. They run on the hour from 6am to noon Monday through Friday, but there is only one afternoon trip at 4:30pm back to the villages. They do not run at night or on weekends.

Around Tahiti by Bus -- Although you had to walk across the Taravao isthmus, it was once possible to circumnavigate Tahiti by le truck in a single day. Today, the long-distance buses run only from 6am to noon on weekdays, so it is virtually impossible to go all the way around the island in any reasonable amount of time. I recommend renting a vehicle or taking a guided circle island tour instead.

By Taxi

Papeete has a large number of taxis, although they can be hard to find during the morning and evening rush hours, especially if it's raining. You can flag one down on the street or find them gathered at one of several stations. The largest gathering points are on boulevard Pomare near the market (tel. 42.02.92) and at the Centre Vaima (tel. 42.60.77). Most taxi drivers understand some English.

Taxi fares are set by the government and are posted on a board at the Centre Vaima taxi stand on boulevard Pomare. Few cabs have meters, so be sure that you and the driver have agreed on a fare before you get in. Note that all fares are increased by at least 20% from 8pm to 6am. A trip anywhere within downtown Papeete during the day starts at 1,000CFP (US$13/£7) and goes up 120CFP (US$1.50/75p) for every kilometer after the first one during the day, 240CFP (US$3/£1.50) at night. As a rule of thumb, the fare from the Papeete hotels to the airport or vice versa is about 1,700CFP (US$21/£11) during the day; from the west coast hotels to the airport, about 1,000CFP (US$13/£7). A trip to the Gauguin Museum on the south coast costs 10,000CFP (US$125/£63) one-way. The fare for a 4-hour journey all the way around Tahiti is about 16,000CFP (US$200/£101). Drivers may charge an extra 50CFP to 100CFP (US65¢-US$1.25/35p-65p) per bag of luggage.

By Rental Car

Avis (tel. 800/331-1212 or 41.93.93; www.avis.com), Hertz (tel. 800/654-3131 or 42.04.72; www.hertz.com), and Europcar (tel. 800/227-7368 or 45.24.24; www.europcar-tahiti.com) all have agencies on Tahiti. The best local rental company is Daniel Location de Voitures, in the Faaa airport terminal (tel. 81.96.32; fax 85.62.64; daniel.location@mail.pf). All charge about 9,600CFP (US$120/£61) per day with unlimited kilometers.

Driving Hints -- In Papeete, priority is given to vehicles entering an intersection from the right side. This rule does not apply on the four-lane boulevard Pomare along the waterfront, but be careful everywhere else, as drivers on your right will expect you to yield the right of way at intersections where there are no stop signs or traffic signals. Be prepared to deal with numerous traffic circles in and near town. You must give way to traffic already in the circles.

Outside of Papeete, priority is given to vehicles that are already on the round-island road. The main round-island road is a divided highway east and west of Papeete, which means that to make a left turn, you will have to turn around at the next traffic circle and drive back to your destination.

Parking -- Parking spaces can be as scarce as chicken teeth in downtown Papeete during the day. You must pay to park in most on-street spaces from 8am to 5pm Monday to Saturday, which costs 100CFP (US$1.25/65p) per hour, payable by tickets sold at numerous shops and newsstands displaying signs saying Parc Chec. Put the parc chec ticket on the dashboard inside the vehicle, not outside under the windshield wiper, where it will be stolen. There are several municipal parking garages, including one under the Hotel de Ville (Town Hall); enter off rue Collette between rue Paul Gauguin and rue d'Ecole des Frères. Some large buildings, such as the Centre Vaima, have garages in their basements. Frankly, if I'm not staying downtown, I usually leave my car at the hotel and take a bus into the city during workdays.

Get Unlimited Kilometers if Driving Around Tahiti -- If you rent a car, consider the unlimited kilometer rate if you intend to drive around Tahiti, since the round-island road is 114km (72 miles) long, not counting Tahiti Iti.

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