Honeymooners

For our honeymoon we went to Tahiti!  We stayed at the Pearl Resort on the island of Moorea and it was amazing!!!  Tahiti is GORGEOUS and looks exactly like all the pictures we saw beforehand.  We learned a few things about traveling to this tropical paradise when we were there as well...

-There is no such thing as "all inclusive" in Tahiti.  It is very much a tourist locale and they inflate prices for everything individually.

-The food was one of the most expensive things there!  We got a meal plan at our hotel- basically got breakfast and dinner at our resort restaurant for the week for ~$300/person.  Quite a savings considering breakfast cost $40/person (for a buffet) and $80/person for dinner if you paid individually. 

-The food at our hotel restaurant wasn't that amazing so we ventured out to local restaurants on the 3rd night.  (we did eat breakfast there every day so that paid for our meal plan) It was a cool experience but still broke the bank.... we never spent less $150 for dinner.  Well, except for pizza night.  One night we rented a movie and ordered pizza to eat in our room.  $66 for 2 medium pizzas.  Ouch.

-Everything is negotiable.  Our travel agent told us not to barter with the locals over services or souvenirs.  She made it seem like it was offensive to their culture and that its just not what people do there (vs someplace like Mexico).  We learned by the end of the week that YES- you can barter... and we probably got ripped off on some things when others negotiated a better deal.

-If you are looking for nightlife... this is not the place.  There is nothing to do at night outside of your resort bar.  No bars, clubs, movie theaters, etc...  It really wasn't an issue for us since we were in bed by 8:30-9 every night.  But- just so you know.

-The official languages of Tahiti are French and Tahitian (the local language).... it is the French Polynesia afterall.  English is spoken and understood everywhere.... but it would definitely be helpful to know the French.

-We didn't think there would be very many children at the resorts.... it is very expensive to fly to and kids can probably get the same effect in Mexico, BUT- there were tons of kids at our resorts!!!  At least half of the guests were families who brought all their little ones (the other half honeymooners like us, obviously).

-The culture is very laid back and everyone is about relaxing!!  Perfect for a honeymoon!

Things we did:

-hung out by the pool

-lagoon tour (swam with manta rays and sharks, snorkeled, traditional Tahitian BBQ)

-scuba diving

-rented movies

-kayaked out to the lagoon and snorkeled

-hiked the mountain (and "rain forest")

-rented a scooter and explored the island

-RELAXED!!!!

Sorry for the delay- here are some much anticipated pictures!

Flying into Moorea

First day there!

Our Bungalow!

Swimming with the manta rays- a LITTLE creepy, but cool experience

Snorkeling in the lagoon

You can see where the bottom gets deeper

Out to dinner

Hiking the mountain- beautiful!

Scuba diving

We rented a scooter the last day and just explored the island

Our last night there