Dream Vacation

[brett]

I agree wholeheartedly about checking out the guidebooks.

What interests some people may not interest you.

Our experience in 12 plus years of frequent international travel is that researching the guide books yields significant benefits and will add to the enjoyment of your trip.

 

[SecondAttempt]

Thanks for your input. The three family members who have visited Bora Bora said it was their favorite vacation. I will definitely look at the other two Islands also as we would probably spend 10-14 days there.

Here is how I would characterize the Tahitian Islands I have been to:

Tahiti: Pretty but Papeete is kind of just an industrial port. There is not a huge amount to see and do. But you can visit Point Venus where Captain Cook made a voyage on behalf of the British admiralty to observe the Venus transit in 1769. This was a hugely important event akin to the development of GPS. But alas, if you have no interest in nautical or astronomical history it's just a nice park.

Haeva is also on Tahiti every year in July. It's kind of like the superbowl of Tahitian dance. Other islands have their own haevas in May or June. Definitely a highlight that few tourists experience! The Ministry of Culture will have information.

Moorea: A short ferry ride from Tahiti. A few fancy resorts but also extremely laid back and just absolutely beautiful. You will encounter mostly European tourists here with very few Americans. This is by far my favorite island!

Raiatea: This is also very historic. The island used to be called Hawaii and it is believed the first Hawaiians left here for their voyage to Hawaii. It has the marae (temple, heiau) known as Taputapuatea (most sacred place). But alas, there is not a whole lot to do there. The main town is popular with cruisers (as in people with their own boats) but the US TSA and US cruise lines really messed up the town/island 20 years ago with their ridiculous security requirements that seriously messed up the locals' lives.

Bora Bora: Definitely beautiful but I felt like I was in Disneyland. Lots of loud obnoxious Americans being pushy everywhere. I did not feel like I was experiencing any local culture or history.

Really, I'm not one to judge. But without knowing your interests it's really hard to make recommendations.

 

[SecondAttempt]

Thanks for the feedback. I never thought about it, but there could be non stop to Tahiti from Chicago. We will probably spend the time in Bora Bora, but my understanding is everything goes through Tahiti.

You can check out flightsfrom.com but it does not appear there are any direct flights from Chicago to Papeete on Air Tahiti Nui. It looks like they only fly to LAX, Paris, and maybe Auckland. Within Tahiti the airline is Air Tahiti. They are separate airlines. "Nui" means "big."

 

[jdnd9091]

We typically go in Feb/March when we have been snowbirding in Thailand/Malaysia etc.
It is one reason we fly into Coolangata (OOL) on the Gold Coast. A number of low cost airlines operate from those countries to OOL...Scoot, Jetstar. OOL is about 55 miles south of Brisbane.

Weather is fine. Not hot. But..we have not been inland. We are usually very close to the coast. Have you ever used this web site for weather:

Holiday Weather, Forecasts and Averages

At Holiday Weather we are devoted to providing as much information as possible about the weather in your holiday resorts as possible. From live weather, forecasts, weather averages and overviews of the weather in the top holiday destinations we strive to make our information as comprehensive and...

www.holiday-weather.com

One year we did a picked up a very last minue 21 day Australia/NZ cruise when we arrived in OZ. We bought it from RCI's Australian call center. It was considerably less (about 30percent) than the best price we could get from our US on line discount cruise agent.

If you are planning any domestic air in Australia sign up for Jetstar's sale. Friends of our gave us a heads up on Jetstar flights Tasmania. We booked great sale prices from Brisbane and then back a week later to Sydney.

Wow thank you for the great info. I will check out that website.

 

[brett]

Why only 6-7 weeks

Spend some time ont the web shopping travel products, air, etc and use any savings to elongate your trip.

Our first trip after early retirement was 7/8 months. Slow travel. Best thing we ever did.
Combo of our bucket list plus taking advantage of last minute specials whereever we went.

How about 3 months...or 4 months??

Spontaneous travel so that we could change our plans on a dime.

You could very easily spend 4-5 weeks in OZ or another week and include Tasmania. Then there is NZ! Plus the other places you want to visit.

Why rush about from one place to another?

We use all sorts of websites, often in other countries rather than NA websites. Prices can differ...sometimes signifiantly in our experience.

For flights we use google, skyscanner, itmatrix, sometimes expedia, and ✈ FlightConnections - All flights worldwide on a flight map!

 

[Koolau]

I just meant the back of the plane. It was actually coach class.

I call it "cattle car." We now do "premium cattle car." Much better - they even feed you (sort of.)

 

[Texas Proud]

We are booking our Galapagos and Machu Picchu trip for next year...

We tried to book a package but could not get close to what we wanted so DW planned it and then we got a travel agent to help... she had some great ideas so we are going with them... all flights and transferred paid in advance so we do not have to worry about getting anyplace... well, except for any excursions that we will buy when we are there...

 

[brett]

If your flight to OZ is long and tiring for you I would caution you not to make the mistake I made after a 10 hour or so flight from Malaysia.

I picked up a car at the airport. I was really too tired to be driving. I had not driven for the months prior, and as you know, they drive on the other side of the road in OZ. Fortunately no accidents but I was hardly on top driving form. Fortunately the roads in Gold Coast were not very busy.

Next time I made sure that I did not make the same mistake.

 

[SecondAttempt]

If your flight to OZ is long and tiring for you I would caution you not to make the mistake I made after a 10 hour or so flight from Malaysia.

I picked up a car at the airport. I was really too tired to be driving. I had not driven for the months prior, and as you know, they drive on the other side of the road in OZ. Fortunately no accidents but I was hardly on top driving form. Fortunately the roads in Gold Coast were not very busy.

Next time I made sure that I did not make the same mistake.

My first experience driving in OZ...all went well for a week with my colleague and I sharing a car except for the usual turning the windshield wipers on when I wanted to signal a turn...you've done it if you drove in Aus, UK, Japan, etc... so you know what I'm talking about!

Anyway, I dropped my colleague off at the Canberra airport for his evening flight toward home. As I pulled out of the airport I notice a car coming toward me in my lane. I'm thinking what is this idiot's problem. Then...holy crap... I swerved into the left as he honked at me as I went past.