Tahiti & French Polynesia Guide, 3rd Edition

Rating:
Summary: This tells you all you need to know and MORE!!!!!
Review: This book is all you need to take a wonderful trip to French Polynesia! Jan Prince describes every hotel, restaurant and excursion in complete detail! We couldn't have taken our trip to Moorea without it...this book made everything so easy!!! It saved us tons of time and money just by reading this book & taking the suggestions given. I went to Moorea (with 5 other people) on less than $900 (including airfare). This was obviously written by someone who knows her stuff!! Jan is immersed in French Polynesia and she has all the knowledge of the natives & then some!! We saw Moorea in it's truest form thanks to Jan Prince's book. We had other travel guides with us...this book was the one we used the most!!!

Rating:
Summary: Tahiti & French Polynesia Guide. An A+.
Review: This book is THE visitor's guide to French Polynesia, whether you want to spend $1,500 a night for the best resorts, or $15 a night for a campsite. Are you trying to figure out which 5-star resort is the best place to stay? Wondering whether a pension offers hot or cold water showers? Need to know what days of the week an excursion operates and at what times of the day? It's right at your fingertips. I have been to French Polynesia twice. I can't imagine how I survived those trips without this book. You simply must not travel to French Polynesia without a copy in your luggage.

The author is an American ex-pat who has lived in French Polynesia for more than 30 years and has worked there as a tour guide. She has dedicated a chapter to each of the Society islands with highly detailed sections on: Transportation to get to/from the island; Intra-island transportation and rentals; Orientation; Places to stay (from deluxe to budget); Places to eat; Places to shop; Tours, excursions and self-guided drives/walks; Public parks; Entertainment; Scuba-diving and water sports; Banking; Safety; you name it. Additional chapters cover the Tuomotus, Marquesas, Australs and Gambiers. Contact information is provided for each business covered.


Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book - Can Not Wait For The New One
Review: This is an excellent book written by someone who lives in Tahiti. All the details of the hotels, activities and food. The other guide books are good but this one gives the most practical information. Read it before you go and use it to plan your island trip, but do not forget to take it with you. You do not want to miss a thing. Can not wait for the updated book coming soon. A lot of new hotel have opened since May 2000

Rating:
Summary: Great guide for restaurant reviews!
Review: This is one of three books we used on our trip in November of 1998. The best part of this book is the detailed reviews of all of the eating establishments. There are a ton of restaurant reviews, and they are very detailed. We found the recommendations to be pretty accurate. The do it yourself tours and adventures are not as detailed in this book as in the Lonely Planet book. We also found some useful stuff in the moon book that was in neither of these. If you're more of an adventurous type, I would recommend getting the Lonely Planet book as well. The combination of two or three of these books would make the perfect guide. You can read all about our trip and how we used these two books in my travel report on DiveAtlas.com. I Moon and Lonely Planet books came out with new editions after we returned.

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Summary: Tahiti first glimpse before travelling
Review: 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

Rating:
Summary: A local's knowledge who lives in Paradise
Review: We have been going to French Polynesia for some 15 years. We met Jan a few years ago and what she doesn't know about Paradise and it's best kept secrets will never be written. Why stay at a $500.oo a night hotel when the house next door is only $80.00. One could say if it's male Jan knows it.Highly Reccomended.

Rating:
Summary: Average Guidebook
Review: We purchased this book to plan our honeymoon mainly because of the 5 star reviews we read on this site. While the author does provide a lot of information on the different islands in the South Pacific, and some great food recommendations, nothing about this book sets it apart from the other guide books we brought along to Tahiti. In short, compared to other tour books we've fallen in love with, this book is average.