Baguettes and Croissants in Moorea and the Sofitel Ia Ora
Written: Oct 13 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: beautiful lagoons and mountains, cool culture and french influence
Cons: high costs of food and products
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| smacnew's Full Review: Tahiti and French Polynesia |
Review Topic: Overview
I went with my girlfriend for a week to Moorea in July of 2000. We were trying to plan an inexpensive yet exotic weeklong vacation and stumbled upon French Polynesia based on a travel agent's suggestion. We'd always thought it would be too expensive for anything but a special trip (say honeymoon), but surprisingly we were able to get a great package deal from San Francisco for a reasonable price and stay at a very nice hotel! The flight was only 6 hours non-stop from Oakland, which makes it about as far away as going to Hawai.
Overview
Moorea is part of French Polynesia, which is a territory of South Pacific islands still owned by France with Tahiti as the regional capital and most well known island. Moorea is the closest major island to Tahiti, and its striking profile can be seen from Tahiti's capital city of Papeete. French is the official language of French Polynesia. Although English is really the third language (after Tahitian) nearly anyone in a resort area or tourist service related job seemed to speak English as well.
The Island
Moorea is a small island (population 12,000) with a magnificent physical appearance. It is heart shaped, with two striking deep bays cutting into the center of the island from the North, and completely ringed by coral reefs that create a gentle interior lagoon for snorkelling and swimming. The island itself is extremely mountainous, with limited plains on the interior and flat land around the sides. There are surprisingly few natural sand beaches, with the best one being at the Hotel Sofitel is Ora (where i stayed!). Public transportation is very infrequent, so to get anywhere you need to rent a car (expensive) or take a taxi (more expensive) or get a ride from a hotel/restaurant that will do pick-up/drop-offs.
The Ambience
The beautiful physical appearance, combined with the French cultural framework, create a truly exotic and unique combination of European and South Pacific culture that was great to experience. We loved eating baguettes and cheese every day and croissants every morning, in addition to great local seafood. It is a very sleepy island, however, with absolutely no night life! In fact, we went to bed every night by 9 and were up and at breakfast by 7am every morning after 9-10 hours sleep.
Highlights and Activities
Moorea is best enjoyed by people who love the beach and the ocean. There is little to do except lie on the beach, snorkel, dive, surf, and take outrigger canoe tours. There are a couple hiking trails, and we did a particularly strenuous hike from the ferry terminal over to Cook's Bay which rewarded us with one nice view at the summit. All in all, however, life revolves around the ocean.
Things to do:
+ Take a shark feeding/sting ray petting tour
- We thought "no way" when we first heard about this but after hearing enthusiastic feedback from other tourists took the plunge. There is no better cure for a shark phobia than snorkelling with 5 black tip reef sharks and petting poisonous sting rays. Although it probably is dangerous, it seemed surprisingly safe.
+ Go snorkelling
- Make sure you view the gorgeous coral reefs and sealife that abound in the gentle lagoons.
+ Swim with Dolphins
- The Parkroyal has captive dolphins that you can pay for 30 minute sessions to swim with, pet and feed. Though expensive, you get some great pictures and an experience to remember.
+ Take an outrigger canoe tour
- The beautiful bays and barrier coral reef are best viewed by boat, numerous tours are available that often include lunch on a tiny sand island called a "motu".
Meals, Costs and Other Logistics
The main negative on Moorea and all of French Polynesia is that because it is such a small island chain in the middle of nowhere, everything needs to get flown/shipped in and therefore is incredibly expensive. This includes food, restaurant meals, beverages, gas and anything else that isn't a service. We tried to buy food at the grocery store and make our own lunches, but still were overwhelmed with the costs! I highly recommend getting at least the breakfast plan at your hotel, as you can get a big breakfast that can tide you over until dinner time. We found a great "pizza" place that was very reasonable and located on the North end of the Sofitel Ia Ora beach.
+ Pizza place - Walk directly North from the Sofitel Ia Ora beach past the public beach (approximately 1/2 mile?). The pizza place is at the end of the beach where there is a little point. Delicious and cheap!
Our Hotel - the Sofitel Ia Ora
We were very happy overall with our hotel. It has by far the best beach on the island, sandy and beautiful with a gorgeous lagoon. It also has the only view of Tahiti for a hotel on the island, which provided a spectacular backdrop. The service was fairly uninspired including long waits for drinks, replacement towels, etc. This is supposedly common throughout French Polynesia. The facilities themselves were very nice, though the pool was a little small and therefore rarely used (we also had the ocean so who cares). The only consistent negative was the weather. I think the prevailing wind patterns are such that clouds often gather on our side of the island and we were constantly trying to find patches of sunlight to suntan in. We'd go to the other side of the island and find it completely sunny on days where they'd be a cloud settled over us. Also, a large mountain behind us starts to cut off the sunlight as it sets fairly early in the afternoon (3 or 4). It is extremely close to the ferry port and nearby to a grocery store. It is a little bit far away from the main tourist drags with lots of restaurants, but we always were able to finagle rides from the restaurants when we wanted dinner there.
Summary
Overall we had an amazing time in Moorea and really enjoyed the unique mix of French and Polynesian culture that French Polynesia has. It is best suited for couples looking for time alone, and people who love the beach and the ocean. Watch out for French tourists in speedos, and be prepared to forget about the rest of the world!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
smacnew
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Member: Sean Macnew
Location: San Francisco, CA
Reviews written: 37
Trusted by: 107 members
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