Tahiti/Fiji 2013

jessk486

I know there are plenty of posts on these two honeymoon spots but alot of them are over 2 years old. I'd love to hear RECENT trips to Tahiti or Fiji and all of the details. My fiance and I would like somewhere we can go hiking one day, have a spa day, snorkel, relax on the beautiful beach, and wind down at the end of the night with a cocktail at the tiki bar. Any suggestions would be awesome; we're trying to stay under $6g's... 

AllyG303

Tahiti was kind of eh...we were only there for a night.  We loved Bora Bora (went in July).  I'm not going to lie though, it probably can't be done under $6k.  I don't think I'd spend $6k on Tahiti alone.  I would suggest looking into one of the other islands over there or looking into Figi.  The flights alone will take up quite a bit of your budget, depending on when you go.  

If you do up the budget though, we loved Bora Bora because of the relaxation.  It was nice to lounge on the deck of our OWB.  Most resorts there have spas, there is great snorkeling at Coral Gardens, and you can hike on the main mountain in the middle of the island. (The tree from Avatar is there).  

FWIW:  We stayed at Le Meridien Bora Bora and Le Meridien Tahiti.  We loved our Bora Bora resort, but were less than impressed with the one in Tahiti.  The service didn't even compare.  

AllyG303

Also, I see that you're getting married in May.  Travelzoo has some AWESOME deals to the South Pacific going on right now, so it might be done on a more managable budget. http://www.travelzoo.com/vacations/asia/

SuMmErKuTiE

Ditto pp Tahiti probably can't be done for under $6k, however Fiji is more budget friendly than Moorea/Bora Bora. Most of the resorts are "mostly inclusive" which means meals are included but alcoholic drinks are extra where as in Bora Bora/Moorea nothing is included and food is very expensive.

We honeymooned in Fiji at Qamea Resort & Spa. Included in our honeymoon package was a couples massage at the spa, a bottle of champagne upon arrival, all our meals, and most activities. We hiked to the waterfalls at Bouma National Park, kayaked, snorkeled, and went to Honeymoon Beach where they drop you off by boat for the afternoon on your own private beach with a picnic lunch.

Fiji is a little bit longer of a flight than Tahiti, but it's more budget friendly. I also suggest resort hopping. We regret only staying at one resort the whole time we were there. We flew all the way out there, we wish we had stayed at more than one resort and saw more of the islands. Pictures in my married bio in my siggy. HTH!

Jells2dot0

I've been to both places. Agree with pps that Tahiti really can't be done for $6K, unless you limit your stay to 5-7 nights and do Tahiti, Moorea, and/or Huahine only and in more standard rooms. And I'm only saying that because I noticed someone mentioned May. If it was June-October, you'd be looking at only 5 nights and Tahiti or Moorea only. Fiji is definitely more budget friendly and just overall has a different vibe than Tahiti. Tahiti is the clearer blue water (well, the island of Tahiti itself really doesn't), only one resort in Fiji has OWBs and they are expensive, Fiji's warm and friendly people make it such a personal experience, and Fiij has many more private island resorts or resorts than only have at most 30 bures. The flights to Fiji always tend to be less expensive than Tahiti even though they are longer ($900pp compared to $1300pp) and the exchange rate in Fiji is much better than Tahiti, so its cheaper while you are there as well as cheaper to book upfront.  BTW- not sure if you were trying to combine the two, but you can't. It's either one or the other.

Jells2dot0

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_tahitifiji-2013?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:11Discussion:2157a5e1-a130-453d-85a1-2bc6b2bee7e9Post:a7bd315d-ae02-4826-9f2a-935216b7d868">Re: Tahiti/Fiji 2013</a>:
[QUOTE]We looked into Tahiti/Bora Bora for our HM.  Basically like others said, we found it couldn't be done for 6k.  We also were looking in July which is high season and the flight alone was 2500/person (so that was alreaady 5k on just the flights).  In that area, to island hop, the transfers really get up there in price - most islands you need a flight and can't take a ferry.  Depending on the time of year you're looking at, I was also looking into the Cook Islands.  They are part of New Zeeland.  Problem is that you have to fly through New Zeeland and we didn't want to be there in the winter (July).  Cooks are supposed to be much more reasonable than Tahiti/Bora Bora/Fiji once you get there, but again, the flight will cost you.
Posted by Jager1219[/QUOTE]

There is one flight a week from LAX direct to the Cooks. I believe it leaves on Saturday evenings. There is only one return flight as well, and I believe it's Sunday, but gets you back into LAX on Sunday. So, you can only really be in the Cooks 5 nights or 12 nights unless you connect through Auckland!

Jells2dot0

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_tahitifiji-2013?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:11Discussion:2157a5e1-a130-453d-85a1-2bc6b2bee7e9Post:8d0b69ba-3067-470c-b9b6-9b0e8560a702">Re: Tahiti/Fiji 2013</a>:
[QUOTE]I wish we figured that out!  We're from the east coast and was looking at going from NY through LAX there.  Oh well - we decided to do a European honeymoon instead.
Posted by Jager1219[/QUOTE]

Europe will be fantastic! Maybe the Cooks can be an anniversary trip! We almost got married in the Cooks. It was between there and Australia in the end after we had eliminated a bunch of other destinations.

[Deleted User]

I would love to do either of those, but our budget doesn't allow it. We are considering Costa Rica. You would be able to do the same things you've just mentioned and its more budget friendly.

jessk486

Thanks for all the info! We have a lot to think about now!