My trip to Tahiti, 2025
11-day cruise Tahiti and Tuamotu islands, Windstar, Star Breeze 7-31 to 8-11 2025
All in all, this was a perfect trip, and Windstar did a Perfect Job. My only wish is to repeat this trip, and I envy the ones who went 11 days and then tacked on another 7.
You do not need the local currency except for Fakarava. Every other island took Visa or Us dollars. We were in Cabin with great WiFi. Also, the cabs only want cash, and you will need your European adapters for any of the rooms. Most but not all cruisers want to snorkel or scuba dive, but this cruise is very enjoyable without doing those things. The water is colorful and stunning.
Dress: even tho we were in the “winter” with lowest precipitation in July and August, it was still “hot” during the day. Dress was always a sleeveless top and shorts whether on the ship or land. Nighttime was Capris and a nice top. We had most of our dinners in Amphora where they really liked a collared top and long pants for men. I have suggested they switch to nice shorts instead of long pants. Women were a resort dress or capris with a nice top. We had dinner once in Candles, but it was too warm for the fancy top I wore. We loved the food and wine in Amphora and even had a regular table and a fantastic waiter in Albert.
They will allow you to book excursions 9 months in advance, but the process is difficult. They say no refunds, but you can cancel up to a day in advance once on board the ship. People do book ahead, so it is better to book in advance. All islands now have nice docks, and the tenders are enclosed and run nicely on schedule. Any early morning excursion, I would wait in Amphora for the tenders to be ready. Any of the ship staff that passed by always said Good Morning or have a great day no matter what their station was. Most of the staff was Indonesian, Filipino or Indian. Everyone was pleasant and hard working. I even watched them handle a Medical Emergency for a passenger. You are in great hands with Windstar.
Our cabin was a suite and a French balcony. The sofas were right by the balcony doors which we would open and look at the latest Tahitian Island. Our cabin steward was Tony who was fantastic. He made sure we had chocolate and special Island gifts every night. I rose at 5am every morning and had hot tea delivered so I could enjoy the sunrise, read my e-paper and be ready for any 8:30am excursions. My favorite thing to do was watch the sun rise over Bora Bora. I also made sure I got my hot lattes from the Yacht club on deck 8.
I have wanted to go to Tahiti for over 10 years. The hardest part was having the amount of time to devote to the trip. I researched all the options, watched You tube videos and considered what I could and could not do based on Mobility. We decided to land two days ahead of the cruise to adjust to the time difference and stayed at the Hilton. Arrival was at 5:25AM on a Delta Air France flight. Due to weather problems in Atlanta, we were 2 hours delayed coming into Los Angeles. We made our Flight to Papeete with 6 minutes to go from Los Angeles. We only lost 1 piece of our luggage which the Airline located and delivered to our hotel on the 2nd day of our stay. So, it is important to pack and carry on a change of clothes. The hotel has a gift shop that sells clothes too. Upon landing, we collected our one bag and went to the front of the terminal. We found two coffee shops, and I opted to get the locally grown Tahitian vanilla bean ground coffee. Delicious! We got the $3.00 Croque Monsieur from MacDonalds and took our meds. The taxi was easy to hail, and we were off in a ten-minute drive to the hotel which was $40.00. At the Hilton, we opted to use their day lounge, and we could easily shower there too. The day room had WiFi, water, coffee, a place you could donate the book you just read on the plane and a view of the pool. We were expecting a 3pm check-in but knew how to keep checking with the staff. To my surprise, the room was ready at 1pm and we were placed in a handicap room right off the lobby with a view of the lagoon! I had fractured my leg 4 months before this trip and knew I would be walking, but, with a cane. The staff saw this and accommodated me. Tahitians are warm, hospitable and it does help if you can speak a little French. Once in our room, we took stock of what belongings we had and decided to take the beautiful, covered sidewalk to the Grocery Store/shopping mall. This store was busy, large and perfect. They were stocked with affordable French wines, local Tahitian beer, the best Sushi I have ever had and Panini’s they could toast for you. I also located their fresh beignets with Tahitian Chocolate. We purchased all our meals here and took them back to our room each day. The store sold hard liquor, but it was expensive. I did buy a bag of the local Tahitian coffee beans infused with Vanilla and some French mustard. This is where you should buy the local products as you will not have the opportunity elsewhere. The rest of the shops were shoe or phone shops or food courts. No souvenirs. The Hilton had a good coffee bar in the lobby which we utilized.
I did not hear good reports from InterContinental, so we were glad we were at the Hilton. We loved looking at the ferries going to and from Moorea and watching our return flights take off. The weather was beautiful and the water stunning.
Checking out: was a breeze, we arranged for a noon checkout, and the cab picked us up at 12:30. We got her card because our flight on the last day was at 7:40am. We arranged for her to pick us up at 4am to take us to the Airport. The fare was $42.00. We called Ingrid twice during our cruise to make sure she would be there. She certainly was and we were not the only ones getting off early. Windstar made sure they knew of our arrangements and that we had a cabin boy take us to the terminal. We tipped everyone that gave us a hand.
We boarded the port terminal at 1pm. Dinner, unpacking and getting used to our cabin took us to 6pm. The ship sailed at 4pm and everything was lovely.
Day 2 was at Sea and very rocky. If you have any fear of falling stay in your cabin and order room service. We purchased the all-inclusive drink package.
Day 3 was Fakarava and we did the Cultural tour. We saw what their lighthouse was and able to participate in the “spear throwing” which the natives did to kill any unfriendly visitors. We rode about halfway around the island, were given fresh coconuts to drink, saw Coconut throwing and visited a local church. Very small island
Day 4 was Rangiora and we chose the glass bottom boat tour. It was fantastic. The coral I saw was white, but the captain fed the fish and suddenly we were surrounded. Beautiful colorful Parrot fish and all you had to do was cast a net if you wanted to catch them.
Day 5 was at sea and less rocky.
Day 6 was Tahaa and our BBQ Beach Picnic lunch at the private Motu. Lots of people booked excursions that ended at noon when lunch was served. They even had functioning toilets and a bar set up. Wear a beach cover over a bathing suit so you can also take a swim. The motu’s here are all covered with foliage and so pleasant! I brought all this sunscreen and did not use 3/4ths of it. We enjoyed it and then we were all aboard back on the ship.
Day 7 Raiatea is a beautiful spot and no tours for me, but the ship docks by a shopping mall and they have these little huts selling shell necklaces. I bought two necklaces for some nieces at $10.00 each. We wandered down further to the gift shop in the building next door and this is where I find my gorgeous very reasonable Tahitian black pearl pendant. I was told to buy my pearls in the gift shop on the ship or in the market at Tahiti, however, I got very lucky with the shop owner on Raiatea. The shop on board has gorgeous necklaces but they are $$$$.
Day 8 Bora Bora, I book a 2pm Lagoon boat tour and we get a good view of the overwater bungalows, the Motu where we will have our Luah the next night and an explanation for the white sand. Others on the boat got to snorkel and we had a light snack of local fruit.
Day 9 Bora Bora we go into town where they have a large selection of souvenirs and some nice pearl shops on the street over. The women make all kinds of elaborate shell necklaces; however, it is nothing you would wear unless you are going to a Luah. That evening we have the Beach BBQ and the fire dancers. Albert greets us and finds a spot for us to sit and brings us a glass of wine. The food is spectacular of course; the Tahitian dancers are good, but the fire dancers (the men) are really good. At the end as we are lining up for the specially hired Catamaran’s to take us back to the ship, my ever-vigilant Albert shows up with a chair for me to sit on to rest. I wish I could take Albert home with me, he is so kind and considerate.
Day 10 Huahine I had to cancel the Safari excursion because they warned that it was a high step to get in and out of the jeep. We went ashore, but you must take a taxi to get to town, and it is not very busy. I would suggest doing a glass bottom boat tour or e bike tour.
Day 10 Moorea I booked a bus/walking tour. We saw the “Bali High” Mountain used in the film South Pacific even tho it was filmed in Kauai. Visited the lab that is growing Coral, saw the Belvedere Lookout which is stunning. We rode by the ancient walls where they used to practice sacrifices and encountered a lot of mosquitoes. Then it was back on the ship to enjoy our last day and dinner.
Day 11 we got up at 3:00am to disembark by 4:00am. Ingrid was waiting and the airport was full. Air France staff did not arrive till 4:30am, so we could have disembarked at 4:30am. With 3 different planes to change it took us 24 hours to get home.