Māuruuru Mo’orea

Honestly, I fell in love with Mo’orea so quickly! From their culture to the beautiful beaches and land. I fell in love with it all. While I’ve talked about island time before, really expect to slow things down. We loved waking up and eating fresh fruit and baked goods from stands throughout the villages (yes, they are called villages not towns). To the kindness of the people who live there. After my trip here, Mo’orea has ended up as one of the places I would most recommend that people see.  

All commercial flights to French Polynesia will fly into Papeete, Tahiti. We happened to find a random flight for around $850 dollars from MSP through Delta/Air France. This was significantly cheaper than what Google Flights declared as average. As far as the United States, I believe that all flights leave from either LAX or San Francisco. So if you reside in either of those towns, you will probably be able to find some really good deals! The airport in Papeete is extremely small, so everything went very quickly. Customs was quick. They only wanted to see our departure ticket (to make sure we were leaving) and to know what island we were going to be staying on.

After we grabbed (some of) our bags, we walked out the nearest exit. Outside there was a row of taxis, ready to take people to wherever they desired. The taxi costs us 2,200 XPF or roughly $22 USD. That ride brought us all the way to the ferry. We were able to buy a ticket right away, and waited maybe 15-20 minutes for the next ferry to leave. For two people it costs us 3,000 XPF or roughly $30 USD. I thought that $15 USD a person was very reasonable, for a ferry ride to another island. Once you get on the boat, there is a little “snack” bar, that sells a lot of baked goods and drinks. Since this is technically a French country, their baked items are AMAZING!! Make sure that you convert money prior to getting there, or even at the airport. Since you will need cash for rides and tips, right away. Personally I have never converted money at the airport, since I have always been able to convert money for free through my bank (Wells Fargo). While we choose to get to Moorea via the ferry, you can also fly. The flight is A LOT more expensive than the ferry. But would save you overall on time. From what I’ve read, the flight may be worth it if you are already going to multiple islands. Since you can get a island hopping deal of some sorts. Since we were not, we did really even look into it. The Ferry was extremely reasonable in price, and went a lot quicker than i was expecting.

Once you arrive to the port on Moorea, there is a few different shops right next to the dock. For anyone choosing to rent a car from AVIS, there is one literally steps from the ferry exit. This seemed to be the only rental service that I could find prior to arriving on the island. Once we got here we did find out that there is a cheaper company named Albert’s. You might quickly find out, that Albert’s has “monopolized” A lot of things on Moorea. They have anything from car and scooter rentals, to tours, to even a pearl jewelry business.

The lady who owned the AirBNB we stayed in set up our car rental. We were able to get a ride through the company as well, to head down to their main shop. I don’t think this would have been as easy if we didn’t have such an awesome host. If you are looking for easier, I would go with AVIS. If you want a cheaper experience, Albert’s is the way to go. We noticed a lot of people riding around on scooters, especially the locals. We thought about doing this as well, just remember that it rains A LOT here. It is a tropical island, so you need to be aware of that. Also if you plan on not renting at all, be aware of who you are using to drive you around. Our AirBNB host stated that a lot of people will try and rip people off, as far as pricing. She only has two “taxi” drivers that she allows her guests to use. Because she knows that they are fair and trustworthy. The last way that I noticed people have been getting around, is hitch hiking. I honestly have never seen this so prevalent anywhere I have traveled. It seemed to be mainly tourists that were doing it too. Not suggesting it by any means, but it is an option!

Accomodations in Mo’orea are going to be based on how much you want to spend. By that I mean, you are either going to be paying a lot or a little. Like always I’m always going to try and spend the least amount, while still not for going quality. We rented an AirBNB through Tamara. The stay was wonderful! She was extremely helpful, and went way out of her way to help us out with things around the island. Her Pension had multiples places available to rent, and was located right on one of the best bays for snorkeling. There are many AirBNBs available. And they all appear to vary depending on what you want to spend. The prices averaged around $60-70 USD a night. We paid close about $90 a night. Right down the beach from where we stayed, was the Sofitel resort. According to Tamara, some of those rooms ran for around a $1,000 a night. When you start looking at prices for Bora Bora, you may notice that that’s appears to be a minimum for a lot of places. Especially when you are looking for the over water bungalows. Personally I would love to get the chance to stay in one. But I also have to find a reason to justify spending that kind of money. As always, I like being able to have a kitchen and the extra room that usually comes with Air BNB’s.

While we stayed in an AirBNB, I reference “the other resorts.” I’m referring to these from word of mouth. I don’t want to seem like I’m bad mouthing somewhere that I’ve never been or stayed. From what I’ve seen, they all look amazingly gorgeous, and would be a wonderful time. Just a bit out of my current budget. So maybe I’m jealous?

So while some things on Mo’orea are very cheap in comparison. There are also many things that are extremely expensive. And groceries appeared to be one of those things! Think paying almost $6 USD for a small bag of Doritos and $7 dollars for a cheap box of granola bars. Expect to pay a lot more for things here, especially if they need to be imported in. After some failed trips to the grocery store, we seemed to have partially mastered shopping. A delicious Baguette of bread only cost 57 XPF, or less than .57 USD. Basically all of the fruit and veggies inside the store, are grown on the island. These are the things you want to be looking at. We got a bag of rice, and some wheat noodles. Which could be used with A LOT of different meals. We had fresh Mango and bananas most mornings. A bag of 6-8 mangos cost me about $2 dollars on the street. Fresh caught fish will also be hung and sold on the street, for much cheaper than beef and chicken. Start thinking like a local, and that’s when you can start finding some good deals on food. We talked with a couple staying at the intercontinental, and he claimed that he paid $28 for a crappy hamburger there. So again, think like a local.

One of the best views on the island, occurs once you get to the top of Belvedere lookout! This view is so iconic that they put it on some of Tahiti’s money. There is many ways to get to the top of the lookout, although we just drove. If you are looking for a great work out, you could hike or dare I say run to the top. Just be aware that the road up is constant switch backs and tight turns. I saw people biking, on scooters, 4-wheeling, 4 by 4’s and even walkers (which I don’t suggest with the sun). Once you get to the top, there are a few paths you can hike a long the way. Nearby there is even some historical sites along with some reading. We did two hikes while up by the look out. The first route we took was to the path on the right. There we were brought into the woods, before wrapping around the top of a hill. Up here you caught an even better glimpse of Belvedere as well as Cook and Opunohu bay. The path on the left will bring you back into the words, and then wrap down along a beautiful river. Along that path, you will end up coming out near the archeological sites at one point. I believe that you can continue along that trail all the way to the bottom. I’ve seen photos of Belvedere with a beautiful sunset in the background. Sadly, I never really saw any sort of sunset on the side of the island where I stayed.

Near the Belvedere lookout, is the famous juice factory. Years ago, Mo’orea had an overabundance of fruit, and started making juice. We did not stop in, since we were fairly tired after hiking. But we had the chance to try a few different Rotui juices throughout or stay and they were AMAZING. If you are looking for a tasty alcoholic drink. Mix your favorite with a bit of Rum!

Miti Tours was such a unique tour that we went on, especially for the cost. The tour guides speak multiples languages which makes it fun for everyone. They try and divide things up so each group has the best interpreter for their needs. We had Mana and Kakuh as our guides. Both the men were hilarious, and extremely knowledgable. They spent a lot of time joking about the French people, since the other tour group with was French. Mind you French Polynesia is French (Shocker). The tour consists of diving in a few different locations. One of those spots was even with Pacific Sting Rays and Black Tip Reef Sharks. I wish we would have gotten to that area in particular fairly sooner, because it was a bit more crowded for my liking. While we were out driving around on the boat, the guys would give us lessons on the history of the island. That also let us ask whatever questions we had about what to do, parts of the island, or their culture in general. Somehow they managed to do all this while playing traditional Polynesian songs.

After we finished up our diving, they had the guys of the group bring him some coconuts. We were then all instructed on how to open, crack, and harvest the coconut. I will say that my taste for coconuts has significantly changed since I was here. Prior, I honestly wasn’t the biggest fan. But after being here for a week! I find them delicious, especially if they are done right! After our coconut lessons, we had lunch right on the beach. Some of the ingredients were actually from parts of some of the things that we had done during the day. This meal included Tahitian Poisson Cru, and extremely traditional meal. The famous raw fish with coconut milk, is prepared with tuna (white/red) or bonito fish cute into cubes marinated in lemon juice, sliced onion, tomato, cucumber, garlic, spring onion and homemade coconut milk. Hence why we spent so long focusing on our coconuts.

After that we were shown instructions on how to make wide brimmed hats from palm leaves. I’ve seen people selling a lot of similar items made of palm leaves, even at the airport. I picked up a clutch sized item that I thought my sister Ciara could use on her upcoming trip to Bali. For what we got, the duration of the tour, the quality of the instructors, and the reefs. The tour could be charged a lot more than what they currently are. I happened to find them on Tripadvisor, and was able to book right through the app. I had never seen that before, so I thought that was fairly interesting. I usually try and stay away from a lot of tour companies, because personally I think they are usually “cheesy”. But this was really different.

Quickly, you’ll notice that Tattoo’s play a large role in the Polynesian Culture. While here, Erik decided that he wanted to add one to his already growing sleeves. From what I’ve heard, historically there was no writing in Polynesian culture so the Polynesian’s used tattoo art that was full of distinctive signs to express their identity and personality. This changed when missionaries arrived throughout the islands, in order to bring religion and “education” to the people. Nearly everyone in ancient Polynesian culture was tattoo’d. Tattoos would indicate status in a hierarchical society as well as sexual maturity, genealogy and ones rank within the society. Today, you will still notice the large amount of tattoo’d locals throughout the island. They will often state that the tattoo’s represent themselves and their families. During our tour with Miti Tours, they personally recommended that we go see Tommy at Tehuitua Tattoo’s. According to Erik, “While getting tattooed from Tommy in Moorea. It was one of the better tattoo experience expierences that I have had. I have gotten ink across the world and Tommy’s work rivals most places I have been. He is very detailed orientated and meticulous in his work. The tattoo healed extremely fast and still looks as vibrant as day one.”

Mo’orea had the best reefs and water that I’ve ever had the chance to see. I’ve never snorkeled anywhere that had this clear of water. The abundance of flora and fauna in those reefs was also something I have never seen before. I spent hours in the water every day, and I don’t think any of it ever got old. The area is known for some of their friendly Pacific Sting Rays and black tipped reef sharks. Even if you don’t like swimming and diving as much as I do. Just being here and seeing how blue this water is. Is a sight in itself! Otherwise spend the day on their many white sand beaches reading a book, looking out over to Tahiti.

Where to Eat

Mo’orea Beach café- We stumbled upon this place late at night since they had a pizza sign. We thought, “Wow something easy and cheap looking”. Nope, not at all. As soon as I walked around the corner, I knew it was a nicer establishment that we had walked into. I look around at all the females dressed up in cute dresses with their hair and makeup on point. And here come’s me…. In a stained over size’d grey sweatshirt and bright yellow Nike shorts. My hair was looking like shit, and I hadn’t put makeup on my face in probably a week at that time. Hopefully you get the point that this is a nicer restaurant. Once seated we both ordered our $10 dollar beers, and looked at the menu. We decided on the Octopus pizza (We love trying knew things when traveling). It was surprising a really good pizza. Although it was super good, it still didn’t believe that it was worth the $38 dollar price tag, for a medium sized pizza. It seemed like they were rushing people out as we were leaving. The place does pick up from the main resorts on the island. I believe that they had a big group coming in from one of these places, and that’s why. But look into that if you are staying at one of them, and don’t have or want to use personal transportation.

Allo Pizza– This place is one of the few places that are open past 7PM. The night life on Mo’orea is essentially non-existent. I believe that the nights we stopped here, they were open until about 10PM. Their pizza was very reasonable too. Every pizza we tried was extremely good and well made. They make the pizza right in front of you, and stick them in a wood fire stove. The pizza’s cost about $14 USD a piece, which was over under half the price of Mo’orea Beach Café. The place is right off the road, and has a walk up bar. The place had a fairly younger group of people eating. The was probably the closest place to like “a bar” that I saw on the island.

Golden Lake- I’m pretty sure that we ate here every single day. It happened to be just down the street from where we were staying. You drive up, and it looks like your average Chinese Restaurant. The place was recommended to us by the lady we were renting from. The first night we got shrimp lo-mien and this veggie and chicken dish. I’m not sure what they seasoned their chicken with, but it was AMAZING. I’ve never had chicken taste like that before, and my mouth is watering, just thinking about. The real reason we came here though, was their “snack bar”. I noticed that any food stand, or smaller restaurant they call a snack bar. Just about every morning we would stop in for their baked goods and freshly squeezed juices. Our favorite though, was the Coco Pain (coconut bread). It was only about $1.60 and you got this giant roll, stuffed with freshly shredded coconut. It was amazing! The snack bar had a little of everything though. I saw Sushi, sandwiches, desserts, and full meals. At night the snack bar closes, and just the Chinese restaurant part was open.