Traveling To Tahiti On A Budget

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Check out our Tahiti VLOG experience HERE!

When the opportunity presented itself to travel to Tahiti - we took it. When I say the “opportunity” I really meant, one of the only warm destinations that was allowing travelers during the pandemic. We knew Tahiti was the honeymoon destination around the world, some of the most beautiful water and basically in the middle of the ocean surrounded by nothing (our dream).

We had 7 days to plan our trip to Tahiti, meaning it was a quick plan, quick research and then just winging it and booking things right and left. Although people spend tens of thousands to go to Tahiti, we managed to do it in under $2,000 USD for 2 people for 4 days - and here’s how we did it.

All of these financials are what we truthfully spent and I’m in no way guaranteeing that it would be this way for everyone and time of travel obviously has a lot to do with what you’ll spend.

Hotels - We decided to stay on the island of Tahiti and also travel to Moorea. We only had 4 days and weren’t wanting to book an additional flight (and expense) to Bora Bora, looking back we do wish we just did Bora Bora too but as we both say, next time!

Intercontinental in Tahiti - $300/Night
Hilton Moorea - 1 Night in overwater bungalow - $195 + 30,000 Chase Points
Hilton Moorea - 2 Nights on King Garden Suite - $602 + 2 Chase Points
- Upon arrival we were upgraded to the overwater bungalow for the full 3 night stay on no charge - likely due to increase in availability.
Total Accommodation: $1,097

Food - This is where we SAVED the most, and it’s not easy but to go to Tahiti with 7 day notice, it’s where you have to sacrifice. Being vegetarian does help when traveling because you’re not splurging on meat which is usually pricey. We brought a checked bag worth of $100 groceries (oats, granola, pb&j, dried fruit, wine, etc), bringing the suitcase of checked food SAVED us, both our stomachs and our wallets. This will likely be a must when traveling for us, especially when you’re unsure of the food options.

Food varied from $15 for 3 sides (what we ordered most nights) to $37 for the single person buffet plate. In Tahiti, food and drinks will likely be your most costly thing so plan ahead!

Total Food - $200 at Hilton Moorea & $10 McDonalds at Tahiti Airport

Cash Withdraw - We were shocked at the lack of money we ended up spending. We both brought $500 cash expecting having cash on hand is the most beneficial, we both ended up converting $100 in Tahiti’s currency and ended up being all we spent. Most of this money was spent on cabs, which vary from $20-30 basically anywhere you go (from .5 mile to 30 min drive).

Activities - We LOVE biking and decided to rent e-bikes for a day for 4 hours. This totaled to $70 total for both of us and was WELL worth it! We also decided to stay on Moorea island which is a ferry or flight from Tahiti. We took the ferry which was 30 minutes one-way and costed a total of $46 for 2 people round trip.

Flights - This will likely be the biggest expense when going this far to Tahiti. Although I’ve seen people buy flights from $600 all the way up to thousands. We traveled from PHX > SFO > PPT - all flights can vary depending on departures, airlines and time of year.

Traveling during a pandemic internationally:
- Tahiti government isn’t being too strict with covid and quarantining which is why we picked Tahiti. We had to present a 72H covid test at customs proving we were negative, this was also necessary to get on the flight. After 4 days of being on the island we then submitted a self-test (given for free at customs) and you are only contacted by the government to quarantine if you test positive for this, you aren’t contacted if it’s negative.

Overall, we are very fortunate for the experience to travel to Tahiti and do it so safely. We are already looking forward to going back and had the BEST time! If Tahiti or the French Polynesia isn’t on your bucket list then it needs to be added!