5 things about french polynesia.

We’ve been invited by one of our luxury yacht cruise partners — Windstar Cruises — to sail with the President of the cruise line through French Polynesia. We’re embarking today, so check out our social media feeds for all of the excitement. But in the meantime, since it’s our first visit to this part of the world, we thought we’d share stuff about French Polynesia — some of it practical, some of it interesting, some of it trivial — that we’ve learned.

It’s not as far away as you think.

From the west coast of the US, it’s only about an 8 hour flight from San Francisco or Los Angeles to Tahiti. Sure, that’s not exactly a puddle-jump, but it’s about the same as if someone from the mid-west flew to Europe. Very do-able. And flights can be surprisingly affordable, as well. So, if you’re longing for a stay at an overwater bungalow, but you think that Bora Bora is just too much time on a plane — it really isn’t that bad. Trust us — we did it from New York, and even with the added cross-country flight to connect on the West Coast, we were just fine.

How to pronounce the capital city.

It’s spelled Papeete, but it’s not pronounced puh-PEE-TEE. Or puh-PEETE. It’s pa-puh-AY-UH-tay., but the AY-UH part is really close together, with, like a little glottal stop almost.

It is its own country.

Unlike neighboring New Caledonia, which voted to remain a French Overseas Territory, French Polynesia is not an Overseas Territory of France — it’s an Overseas Country. There’s a whole thing about what the difference is between an Overseas Country and and Overseas Territory, but the upshot is that French Polynesia has more autonomy. Why is it so complicated? Because, France!

It’s an hour closer on the clock to the Mainland US than Hawai’i.

From where we live in New York, there’s a six hour time difference to Hawai'i. But only a five hour time difference to Tahiti! We don’t know why that is, considering that on the globe, Tahiti is about as far south of the equator as Hawai’i is north, and both, appear to be at about the same longitude. Maybe it’s a map projection? Maybe it’s daylight savings time? Maybe that’s only for part of the year? Anyone who wants to ‘splain this to us, we will gladly let you educate us — preferably while we’re booking your next trip, here. Also, the remarkably poor nation of Kiribati (pronounced ki-ri-BASS, because -TI is pronouced -ASS in their language —that’s a bonus factoid), is in between Hawaii and Tahiti, but it’s on the other side of the International date line, which makes a hard dog-leg in the Pacific, just so that Kiribati can be a day ahead of everyone else in the Pacific.

Huckleberry Travel can send you there.

Like we said — it’s not that hard to visit French Polynesia, and once you get here — it’s magical. Whether you’d like to sail on a luxury yacht (like we’ll be doing), or staying on an overwater bungalow, Whether you’ll be exploring the incredible culture of this part of the world, or enjoying the spectacular beaches and scenery, we’ve got some great options from our trusted travel partners. And we can help you navigate the COVID entry protocols, so that you’re able to travel safely, and with peace of mind!

Ready to go? Drop us a line!