Tahiti Travel Forum

Has anybody of you travelled around Tahiti by public bus and can tell me how long such a circle island tour takes? (Net travel time, please)

I have contacted Tahiti's Tourism Office but they have not reacted to my request of emailing me a timetable or at least answer the question I have posted above.

do you mean the whole cirle island without any stop? I do not know but it will take time, in Papeete there is also a lot of trafic between 6:30am till 6:30pm (everything closes early, they like to be at home for supper time), around the island not so much trafic, let's also say to have few hours because I believe they will stop on the way.
BTW do you know that public bus are not actually "buses"?
they call it "Le Truck” and basically it's a truck chassis with an open air sheltered cabin and wooden bench seats.. really "pittoresque" but they work fine and they are cheap.

no stops?

Yes, I know that it is "Le Truck". However, I read that they want to replace Les Trucks by normal buses at some point, what a pity!

Yes, I meant the whole circle tour without stop - just to calculate how many stops I can approximately make during the trip, based on the info given that there is a bus every half hour in both directions.

I would suggest to hire a scooter and travel around, btw, for me this is the best way to visit also Moorea, I did it more times.. Moorea is smaller then Tahiti and without any stops the circle it could be done in one hour.. you must not go fast, anyway I'm sure you would stop, not only for taking pics... wherever you like.

If you were early morning in Papeete I suggest to visit the Market, if you were hangry there are a lot roulottes anywhere, I remember there was one very close to FAA airport which is good, clean and cheap, i've been there last night before I come home...

I met very good and nice people in French Polynesia, I wish I could go there again, not for places but for meeting them again.

I forgot to write..
I found that tahiti periplus is about 120KM by road

I have hired a car for Moorea, just for 4 hours to get around. The company that hires scooters did not answer my THREE emails, so I will go with Avis, they gave me a special price.

I also got a special offer from Avis in Papeete, but it still is really expensive. That is why I would want to try to travel by bus.

Yes, the circle island tour in Tahiti is 121 kilometres. By bus it will surely take 2 to 3 hours, with all the stops along the way.

I also want to try food from the roulottes

do not worry about scooter, just close to pier where the ferry will stop, there are plenty of scooter waiting, it's not the cheapest place but it's affordable and it's very close to ferry. Also some "funny cars" are available (if I found a pic I will put a link) but I suggest the scooter for Moorea, 2 scooter are much cheaper then a car (or two "funny" cars)

When have you been in Tahiti/French Polynesia the last time?

When I look at the rates on the internet, and in the emails scooter and car rentals have sent me, I cannot share your optimism regarding the price. Since France have cut their subsidies, the prices have skyrocketed.

When I checked out the "funny cars" in Bora Bora, they were the most expensive cars - more expensive than all the other cars.

I will not make any reservation for Tahiti, so I can check out the scooters at the port, and if I think they are too expensive, I can still take the bus.

we've been there the whole August 2006 (1st-30th), btw anytime we asked for something we always spoke French, not always but sometimes helps.

what I meant for "funny car" is this (the only one I found on net as I do not have a pic of this)
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3001/2663407002_9953bf41e4.jpg

One thing I forgot, [till 2006] in many islands it is [was] safe to leave things on the beach, in Moorea it's not safe to leave anything also inside the car locked, hide everythng if you'll take a car there. Anyway I felt safe anywhere, the most danger in F.P. is walking under coconut trees.

I am fluent in French, so I should not have a problem.

We will only take small backpacks and camera with us when we tour the islands, so our belongings should be safe. We will leave nothing in the cars/on the scooters or bicycles, and nothing unattended on the beaches. What a pity that nowadays you cannot trust anybody anymore :-(

<<in many islands it is [was] safe to leave things on the beach, in Moorea...>>
Most of Polynesian people are very trustable, but like anywhere where there is a lot of money... you could never trust anyone, so this happens in Moorea and [fortunatelly just a] few other islands in Polynesia, what a case, it's where there are a lot of non Polynesian people you've to be careful.
I wrote I wish I could go back for meeting people more then for seeing places because I also lived with real Polynesians, true, they do not have much but it's not real like I read somewhere in an ONU report that Polynesian are very poor because most of them do not have television... I wish I were so poor like them [there]!!!
When I've been to F.P. I've choosen 'petite pension' unless in Moorea where I've been to a 'real hotel' which has been also the worst place where I slept in FP with very unfair people (Hôtel Les Tipaniers), there I had to be careful to close every thing and leave nothing outsinde and this it's been the last hotel before I come home, like a sort of 'back to civilation'!! In many islands we always left the window opened of the bungalow and nothing has been missing, in Fakarawa, the woman of the 'magazine' where we went to buy fruit, beer, coke... things... the second day she asked how long, where we were to sleep and then she said (she did it) why don't let me write everything you take and then you'll pay? Second day we met her!! I still remember her name, Cecile.
Speak french in F.P. is very useful, not only for asking something you need, also for conversations, I found the people there like to chat a lot if they could speak French, many of then do not speak english, like the TV, they do not need it.
I remeber in Tikeau the first dinner (btw in the petit pension often guests eat together with the owners) there were also an other couple who did not speak french so all conversation was in English, very boaring conversation, we went to bed early and my thought was it will have been boaring our staying there. The following morning the other coupple left and it came a family with children plus a another coupple, all from France, for the other two nights we stayed there we always talking till very late, actually mainly listen at the owner of the pension, Yves is french engineer who has married a local woman Nora, a great cooker [like her cousin Glorine who lives in Rangiroa, actually Glorine is better]. It's during chats like these I learnt a lot of thing about how they leave in the Tuamotu islands, about people there. Yves also talked also about Marquesas Islands where he lived when he was younger. The same in Maupiti, every night chatting... I learnt also a lot of people went there to visit ancient ruins which are actually Janine's family cimitery. Janine is Chez Janine, the pension where I've been in Maupiti.
Chatting is very common not only after dinner, also during the day at petit hotel in F.P. I never missed television, phone, computer... for all days I've been there, I have to say I was one who watched a lot of TV and now I watch tv once or twice a week, no more, only if there is something very interesting. How could be not having a television set and indicator of poverty I do not know!

In Moorea I met people that for their anniversary were at same hotel they have been 25 years before and they told me they have been asked to 'please' pay what they spent till that moment before it grows too much (this at Sheraton).
The best place I've been there it was Maupiti, no big or luxury resorts there, people say it's like bora-bora 40 years ago. I stayed there 4 nights but it's possible to do in a day from Bora-Bora o Raiatea.
have a look here if they days are suitable for you here
www.maupitiexpress.com
once in Maupiti hire a bike (bike) and go around the island, you can also stay here
http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/p/m/43f675/

p.s. sorry for the long post and because I've been out of topic, F.P. is always in my heart, one of the best whole month in my life

I visited Tahiti in 1992 en route to New Zealand and took an organised excursion round the island (there were stops en route including the Gaugin museum) with Tahiti Nui Travel, which was excellent.
Their website is http://tahitinuitravel.com/island/tahiti

Hope this helps.
Jeremy

I will not have time to visit neighbouring islands. But my plan is to check out where I like it most, and then go back to get the Petit Hotel experience. But I am sure I will already have some chats with the locals on this tour. I think it is easy to get in touch with them if you say hello and smile ;-)