Budget: French Polynesia

31 March to 20 April 2008 = 21 days

Total expenses for both of us in French Polynesia: about 180,000 CFP (1550 EUR). Average expenses per day in French Polynesia for both of us: about 74 EUR. We visited several of the Society Islands (apart from Tahiti, where we arrived, we went to Bora Bora, Maupiti, Raiatea and Moorea) but did not go to the other archipelagos.

 

Accommodation (41%, about 31 Euro per day): Accommodation was expensive, although we tried to camp wherever possible. We spent 2 nights on boats and one at the airport, and most nights in the tent for between 19 EUR  (just for the camp site) and 70 EUR (the latter for a campsite with compulsory half-pension). In Papeete and on Bora-Bora  we had to stay in rooms (up to 65 EUR for a double room on Bora Bora; in Papeete the cheapest option was the dorm for around 20 EUR per person). The rooms and camp sites were generally very pleasant and clean, with good kitchen facilities and cold water showers.

 

Transport (22%, about 17 Euro per day): Transport between the islands was either costly or difficult to arrange. Instead of buying an air pass (which would have cost about 300 EUR per person for the islands we visited) we travelled on cargo ships (cheap, but unreliable) and where possible on express boats (more expensive, but they run on a schedule) for shorter distances. On most islands, there is no public transport, so we had to rent bicycles, pay for transfers (around 5 EUR per person per ride) or to hitchhike, which was possible but not easy.

 

Food (17%, about 13 EUR per day): The French influence shows on the supermarket shelves: Coffee and cheese are very good, at reasonable prices, and authentic baguettes and croissants are genuinely cheap. Chinese food is also readily available. On the outlying islands, vegetables are scarce, but fruits such as bananas, grapefruits and pineapples are grown locally and almost always available. We cooked our own meals and ate a lot of coconuts (free!), too.

 

Internet (3%): The charges in Internet cafes range from about 5 to 15 EUR per hour, and not all islands have an Internet cafe. We bought a prepaid card to use the Manaspot hotspots in most post offices (some have only wifi, others offer computers as well), which turned out somewhat cheaper (about 45 Euro for 10 hours).

 

Tours and Guides (12%): We did a history tour to the Maraes on Raiatea (4500 CFP pp/ 4 hours) and a short lagoon tour to snorkel with grey rays on Moorea (3500 CFP pp/ 2 hours). Our camp sites on Maupiti and Raiatea offered free kayaks, so we could paddle to the snorkelling spots and motus instead of booking tours.

 

Back to Westwards from Japan