Customer Reviews

Tahiti & French Polynesia Guide, 3rd Edition (Open Road's Tahiti & French Polynesia Guide)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

Out of the 4 books I got on French Polynesia, this rates #2. I like the format of the book, the way she puts things in bold (places to go, things to eat etc.) saves you a lot of time in searching. Her book is the most recent of the 4 and is good but very similar to Robert Kay's book "Hidden Tahiti". Not sure why but it seems they (the publisher) decided to use an unusually large print (rather than make a seemingly smaller book?). Nice descriptions of sights, places to stay and tour operators. I especially liked that she said how long the tours were for and what times they ran. Made it very helpful in planning the days.

Jan Prince does an amazing job depicting the islands we visited. I am so glad I picked her book up first. It is quite thorough (even though dated as the US dollar's value has changed). I have to agree with her suggestions of "The Best Hotels". We stayed in Hotel Bora Bora, Kia Ora Sauvage, and the Manihi Pearl Beach Resort and had experiences beyond compare. Ms. Prince also mentions several Polynesian residents (ie. boat owners and hotel managers, and a multitalented Patrick on Bora Bora) who we had the good fortune to meet. I also used Lonely Planet and Hidden Tahiti to research our vacation, both useful but I learned the most from Ms. Prince. I only regret it's size; I chose to bring Lonely Planet with me because it weighed less.

This wonderful book has been highly recommended by my Tahiti specialist Jean-Louis aka Meherio from FlyTahiti.com.
The suggestion to purchase this book was found on Polynesianislands.com Tahiti forum with many similar recommendations from long time Tahiti travelers.
According to our travel agent, this book could almost have been the only thing to pack prior to our trip with the children, great advice and suggestions that helped us to keep within our family budget and maximize the fun. We also loved the restaurant suggestions on Moorea like, Le Bateau restaurant or the children's favorite, the Aito restaurant near the Sheraton.
This book stays on my desk in the office as to keep our promise to return and try the Fare Hamara which we could only see from the road, as it appears to be the true flavor of life on Moorea by Bali Hai! This book is must for any traveler to read before and after visiting Tahiti and her islands!
DPK