BudgetTravel

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Manhattan, NY: Hi Jason, I was wondering how Tahiti compares to the Hawaiian experience?

Jason Cochran: I prefer it. Hawaii, for all its palm trees and breathtaking mountains, is still America, and no matter how tan you get there, you're still aware that you're sort of at home. In French Polynesia, French is the mother tongue, and that gives visitors a real sense of having traveled. When you strip down and lay upon the sands of a Tahitian beach, you really feel like you're in a distant idyll, far from the mundane world you know, and that goes a long way toward helping you feel like you've escaped from it all. The food is French, too--not to say Hawaii's cuisine isn't marvelous, but how can you argue with fresh baguettes every morning? Lastly, the beaches in the two island chains are totally different. Hawaii is all about crashing surf. French Polynesia is a country of lagoons, which means most of the shoreline is protected by coral reefs in the distance, so the warm ocean water simply laps against the beach as calmly as the water might quiver in your bathtub at home. So in FP, snorkeling and swimming are much less taxing compared to Hawaii, and you can see a lot more interesting and colorful sea life without much effort. In the end, Hawaii makes me feel like a jungle explorer, and French Polynesia makes me feel like a castaway on a tranquil beach.
By the way, one addendum to my answer to the previous questions: Each island, most of which take less than an hour to drive around, has at least one ATM on it. Tahiti has many more, but most of them cluster around the city of Papeete. All the hotels and shopkeepers can tell you where the nearest ATM is located.

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Diamond Bar, CA: I do not have adventurous tastes, so can I get a steak or a cheeseburger?? Also, the wife likes topless beaches. Is this the standard there? Thanks.

Jason Cochran: You may not be adventurous, but it sounds like your wife is! Happily, you'll both be satisfied. Burgers and sandwiches are very easy to find throughout French Polynesia--they've become world cuisine. And French Polynesia shares France's taste for terrific bread. Getting an "all-over tan" is no trick, either, since there are miles of beaches that are pretty much empty. Not only is it considered acceptable to go topless in the islands--thank that European culture--it's easy to accomplish. Just find an empty beach and do your thing. Moorea's beaches are generally uncrowded once you get away from the resorts, but for empty beaches practically everywhere, Huahine's the place. There's barely a tourist in sight on most of them.

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Ann Arbor, MI: I'm looking to head out to Polynesia next spring and stay there on an extended vacation for at least a few months. Problem is, I really have no idea how the temporary/summer work scene is. I've worked summers in Lagos, Portugal and Barcelona, Spain, but I've never had the opportunity to travel to the islands of Polynesia. So, my questions are how easy is it to find decent work there, what time of the year is best for getting a job, and how easily could one simply live there for at least a few months. Im a young guy who just wants to experience the world before I get too caught up in the inevitable "real job" scene. Thanks in advance.

Jason Cochran: I don't know much about the ins and outs of the job scene, but I do know that it's fairly saturated. Because French nationals can move there and work there legally, Tahiti has plenty of itinerant visitors who will beat you to the drudge work. Just about every job is already taken by a local or by a French national. And because tourism isn't doing gangbuster business right now, there isn't that much call for temporary help. Better to find a cheap place to stay (Huahine has bunches) and sack out with your savings. You're probably not going to find work.

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Smyrna, GA: You addressed getting to Papeete. How do you get from Papeete to Huahine?

Jason Cochran: From Papeete, flights go to all the tourist's islands, including Huahine, Moorea, and Bora Bora. (There's a half-hour ferry that goes to Moorea from Papeete, too, because the two islands are so close.) Inter-island flights generally cost about $100 each way; Air Tahiti is the dominant player.