A Tahiti Sampler

I have been fortunate to visit many places, but never had an overwhelming desire to go to Tahiti. So, when our good friend Sandy Stevens, vice president of sales for Paul Gauguin Cruises, invited my wife and me to join her and other travel advisors on a cruise in January, I was less than enthusiastic at first. Then I remembered that Tahiti receives roughly the same number of visitors in a year that Hawaii gets in a week!

The Moorea Experience

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We flew into Papeete a few days early and took the 45-minute ferry ride to Moorea. We were booked at the Intercontinental, but due to a work strike, we moved to the Sofitel at no extra cost.

Moorea was beautiful, but the people were even more so. They were the warmest and most generous I have ever encountered. Our over-the-water bungalow was far enough away from the main building that we had no Internet and only French television, so my wife and I had to do the unthinkable—we talked to each other. We had not felt this disconnected in years. It was wonderful.

Boarding Paul Gauguin

After the ferry ride back to Papeete, we boarded Paul Gauguin. I have been on hundreds of ships, but this vessel looked as if she had just come out of the shipyard. She is in spectacular condition.

We paid for a butler suite. (Hey, if you’re gonna go big—go big!) The suites are not large by contemporary standards but are very well-appointed, and the staff was just incredible. In my opinion, the best way to experience the islands, at least the first time, is by ship. They are served year-round by Paul Gauguin and Windstar, both of which provide extraordinary experiences. They are also served seasonally by other lines, typically as a segment of a world cruise.

Land Versus Sea

So why visit Tahiti by ship versus spending a week in Bora Bora or at the Brando resort? I am a fan of sampling a destination before committing to a week or more someplace that I may not end up enjoying—but that’s me. Paul Gauguin spends two full days in both Moorea and Bora Bora.

For the other islands we visited, there was plenty of time to do and see everything we wanted. The Tahiti you will experience is everything you imagine from the photographs and more. As a once-reluctant traveler, I cannot wait to return.

Dan Chappelle is a sales performance coach and professional business advisor. His training and consulting firm develops sales-focused business leaders and entrepreneurs in the travel industry.