When most people think of Polynesia, they often think of Tahiti, but in reality, the Polynesian Triangle covers an huge expanse of the northern and southern Pacific Ocean. If you were to connect Hawaii in the north with New Zealand in the southwest and Easter Island in the East, you include over 1000 islands in 15 island groups. That is Polynesia.

French Polynesia is only one of these island groups.  Known as a French "collectivity" or loosely called a "territory," French Polynesia consists of 118 islands spanning over 1200 square miles in the south Pacific Ocean.  Its capital, Papeete, is located on the island of Tahiti which is largest in the archipelago and part of the Society Islands.

We decided to book our vacation for 30 days, the maximum amount of time a US citizen can stay in French Polynesia without a special visa. From late June to late July, the French Polynesians celebrate their Heiva,  a month of daily shows and competitions in music, dance, outrigger canoe racing, food, culture, everything Polynesian. You name the island, and there will be some kind of daily event. If you want to experience real Polynesian culture and see the people gather, laugh, eat, and become a community, this is it.  It is an amazing time to visit.

We had so many questions in planning our trip, heard over and over again that Tahiti was an expensive place to visit, and wondered many times if we were financially over our heads.  We were staying exactly one month, and I knew I had to watch every single expenditure.  I didn't know how much things would cost and we were moving around so much that I didn't know how accessible things were going to be in the different islands. I brought ALL my toiletries for one month, in travel size containers.  I put my travel clothes together knowing I would be purchasing a few only items there.  I also bought a few snacks such as turkey jerky, canned tuna with crackers, trail mix, etc.  You are also allowed to bring in 2 x 750 ml bottles of alcohol into the country tax-free.  If you need your wine or shot of liquor, you'll be happy you did this.  It can cost 5x more for a simple bottle of wine or a some liquor.

I know for the minimalist packer, packing everything may sound impractical. In retrospect, some of the basic things could have been bought there but most things I needed (contact lens solution, a first aid kit, feminine products, etc.)  were more abundant and way less expensive in the US.  If I were just there for a week or stayed at a resort for my entire stay, I would not have bothered bringing everything.  On the island of Tahiti, they have large grocery stores, like Carrefour, which had Walmart-like selection, Target-like organization, and mostly Whole Foods-like pricing. This is probably the best place to grab your toiletries and do regular grocery shopping. Other islands don't really have this convenience, and you have to rely on the smaller grocery stores which didn't have as great of a selection and were much more expensive.

We began in Los Angeles, and traveled a total of 22 hours, the least expensive, but probably not the most convenient, way to get there.  We booked our international flights on justfly.com and flew on Air New Zealand to Auckland where we had a 4 hour layover before boarding our flight to Tahiti. So essentially, yes, we flew over Tahiti, flew an additional 4 hours to New Zealand, had a 4 hour layover, and then spent an additional 4 hours coming back.  Again, NOT  the most ideal but definitely the least expensive.  The ticket costs just over $400 per person, a steal especially during this time of the year.

 We arrived at Fa'a International Airport in the mid-afternoon and picked up our pre-arranged car, a small silver hatchback. It's nearly impossible to tour the islands without some kind of vehicle.  The buses show up when they want and are usually for the locals only.  We suggest you reserve your car as soon as possible from any of the large companies like Hertz, Avis or in our case, Europcar. (Meryl is amazing and she will take car of you!) We also realized that most of the cars are manual drive, so reserving ahead of time is especially needed when you need an automatic, like I do.

If you plan to do any sort of adventuring, as in getting away from the resort and off the beaten trail, I recommend having some French under your belt.  Only people in the mainstream service and tourism industry speak English, but everyone speaks French and/or Tahitian, and you're likely to get what you want and know where you are going when you speak the official language.