Whether you’re looking to plan a trip or looking for some great escape reading check out Hidden Tahiti, a guide book on Tahiti and French Polynesia. This series of guide books is being redesigned but the current edition of Tahiti and French Polynesia is filled with great information. There’s a section on Outdoor Adventures that includes activities for the more adventerous. Shark feeding, sailing, diving, camping, fishing and wind surfing are all included.

The book includes a small section on words and phrases you might use in French Polynesia, they also include a section on the history and geography of the islands. I loved that they choose accomodations in all price ranges, they have researched budget hotels as well as upscale hotels and spa accomodations. The same goes for restaurants, Hidden Tahiti offers a well rounded view of dining options throughout the islands.

There’s a section on each of the main islands, Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora as well as Huihine, Raiatea, Tahaa, Maupiti, The Tuamotu Islands and the Marquesas; as well as The Austral Islands and The Gambier Islands. Each section includes travel essentials such as interesting sights, internet access, outdoor activities, dining, accomodations and so much more. The book offers great maps and insight. The down side from my perspective, Hidden Tahiti lacks the glossy color pictures most of us enjoy perusing as we plan a trip. That being said, the guide books are being redesigned and the newest editions may well carry more of the photos I love! Definitely worth checking out!!

 Tahiti Papeete

If you follow my Hammock in Paradise blog you  know that the past few months I’ve been researching and planning for an upcoming trip to the islands of Tahiti, specifically Bora Bora and Moorea. What I have learned through my research is that resort style accomodations like I’m selecting are not really affordable for the average family or budget traveler. With that in mind I decided to do further research and find some bargains that most travelers could afford without breaking the travel bank!

First through google I found an article called Tahiti Unplugged ,since this article was published in 2004 I began checking links and prices to see what  a budget Tahiti accommodation costs today. For my currency converter I used www.xe.com/ucc On the main island of Tahiti  there were a couple of nice deals found by referring to the links provided by Tahiti Unplugged. One thing I did note was that when I visited Hiti Moana Villa the prices were not accurate according to the currency converter. I imagine that is due to the fluctuation in currencies from the time the site was updated. Using the local currency price I came up with a  conversion price of 130 to 189 dolllars a night for a bungalow that can sleep one to four people.  Another main island option was Punatea Village. Their prices were listed in the local currency of xpf and when converted a bungalow listed at 9,000 xpf came out to 117 dollars per night. Breakfast at 800 xpf was $10.44 Their site also includes a virtual tour of one of the bungalows. For much greater information and detail on accomodations and activities on a budget check out the link above for Tahiti Unplugged.

Flickr photo By Eetwyt