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25.01.2025 - 17:29 / lonelyplanet.com
Jan 25, 2025 • 6 min read
No, there's no need to remortgage the house to visit Tahiti and French Polynesia. Despite a reputation for opulence and exclusivity, it's perfectly possible to visit these dreamy South Pacific islands on a limited budget – if you make the right decisions. Check out these tips to plan your trip to the islands without breaking the bank.
Hostel room: 3000–5000 CFP (US$30-50)
Basic room for two: 5000-8000 CFP (US$50-80)
Basic self-catering apartment (including Airbnb): 10,000-35,000 CFP (US$100-350)
Overwater bungalow: 90,000-200 000+ CFP (US$900-2000+)
Public transport ticket: 200-600 CFP (US$2-5)
Local style baguette sandwich: 300-600 CFP (US$3-6)
Dinner for two at a food truck: 4000 CFP (US$40)
Book your flights to Pape’ete early with budget airlines, and keep an eye out for special offers and discounts. FrenchBee and United often have great deals from the USA. Travellers from Australia or New Zealand, should check Air NewZealand or Air Calin for the best fares.
When in the country, there are two local airlines that fly between Tahiti and other islands. The new kid on the block, Air Moana, offers cheaper airfares than rival Air Tahiti, though it services fewer destinations. If you’re looking to visit multiple islands, it's worth checking out Air Tahiti’s special multi-islands passes, with discounts on domestic flights to two or more islands. Note also that flight prices increase every school holiday and during the high season (between May and October).
Glossy brochures focus on ultra-swish resorts but French Polynesia actually has a pretty wide range of accommodation options. You can keep lodging costs down by staying in pensions (small local guesthouses) that are sprinkled around the islands. (To book, visit tahititourisme.com for a list of accommodation options and contact details.) They're nothing glam or ostentatious, just modest operations that blend perfectly into the tropical surroundings.
At the cheaper end of the scale (around US$100 a double), they consist of simple, local-style bungalows with cold showers and thin walls. Upmarket versions (plan on US$150 to US$250) have lots of amenities and are more comfortable.
These options are generally excellent value, and they offer good opportunities for cultural immersion; they're mostly family-run operations (which ensures your money goes straight into local pockets) and provide much more personal, idiosyncratic experiences than hotels – the perfect island experience.
Many pensions are in scenic locations, tucked away in greenery-cloaked hills or near the ocean. In the Tuamotu archipelago, they feature a fab lagoon frontage – at US$100 a double, how does a bungalow facing the turquoise waters of the lagoon sound?
Good news, too,
Feb 5, 2025 • 11 min read
It just got easier to visit Iceland and the rest of Europe from the Sunshine State. Icelandair recently announced new service between Miami, FL, and Reykjavík, Iceland that will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The inaugural flight will takeoff on October 25, 2025, and the service will run seasonally through March 2026. Best of all, Miami travelers can connect in Reykjavík to another Icelandair flight for access throughout Europe, including Berlin, Paris, Rome, and Zurich.
This is part of Why I Moved, a recurring series about Americans building a life abroad.
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When a member of the hotel team showed me around my sleep-optimized room at Switzerland's Chenot Palace Weggis, I got the sense I would not sleep very well at all. “You set the alarm for the morning and it will play for 20 minutes,” she explained, pointing to a panel on the wall. “Then you put on the eye mask and play this for another 20 minutes.” She gestured toward a smartphone on the other side of the bed that contained the app I would need. There was also a smart thermostat, which had to be set between 66 and 68 degrees, bedsheets coated with infrared-emitting minerals, and temperature-regulating pajamas. I was tired, jet-lagged, and in no shape to comprehend the complicated contraptions that were meant to help me do what's supposed to be the most natural thing in the world.
New Zealand is making it easier to plan an extended stay by relaxing visa requirements to allow digital nomads to work from the country remotely.
Working from home has become quite the privilege in the post-pandemic era. While some companies are rolling back working-from-home rules, others have enshrined them in their culture, actively encouraging workers to stay home and avoid the commute.
From skiing and surfing to hiking and stargazing, there’s no limit of things to do in the adventurer’s paradise that is New Zealand. And if we needed another reason to break free from the chains of our desks, New Zealand has just loosened its visa restrictions for remote workers.
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