The over the water bungalow, Moorea Pearl Resort

Watching the sunsets, the storms, the rainbows, and enjoying the view and listening to the ocean. It was nice to not have to leave your bungalow. And relaxing!!!!!!

Quick Tips:

Staying in an over-the-water bungalow is expensive, but it’s worth the price. This type of vacation you might only take once, but I would recommend staying in one. The cost, including all of our transfers from LAX to Moorea, was about ,000 for two people. You can stay at more economical places, but they are not air-conditioned. They run about to a night for a beach bungalow. The more economical hotels are Moorea Village Hotel, Les Tipaniers Hotel, and the Hibiscus Hotel. Just check out Moorea's website. UPDATE - Good news for people living in the Northeast. AIR TAHITI NUI is starting nonstop service from JFK to Papeete July 4, 2005. The flight is about 12 to 13 hours long. Fairs are starting at ,000.

Best Way To Get Around:

Renting a car is expensive. It runs about per day. The Pearl is within walking distance to restaurants, plus the restaurants do provide pick-up. I would only rent a car for 1 day to tour the island and do your shopping.

Moorea Pearl Beach Resort was much more than we expected. Our accommodations were fantastic. The hotel blends in with the landscape. It is refreshing not to see a long row of high-rises along the beach.

We stayed in a deluxe over the water bungalow. The decor was all in teak wood with a king size bed, a sofa and a very large bathroom with a large tub. Flowers were on our glass coffee table through which we could see the fish swimming under our bungalow. The view off of our lanai was unobstructed, just blue water for miles and miles. We enjoyed relaxing on our lanai, snorkeling off of our deck and enjoying the view. There is no need to take an expensive snorkeling trip because the snorkeling at the Pearl is excellent. It was like being in a fish aquarium. The hotel does provide free snorkeling gear and kayaks.

The staff at the hotel was very helpful. The hotel provides an activity director who will arrange any excursion you plan to take.

The infinity pool is beautiful. It looks like it is part of the ocean. The pool area usually is not very crowded, especially in the afternoon. Sometimes we were the only ones sitting there. They do offer water aerobics every morning around 9am.

The hotel restaurant is good but the menu is limited. We usually ate our meals out. I would recommend eating out especially for breakfast and lunch. There is a cafe within walking distance from the hotel that serves breakfast and lunch daily for a reasonable price ($10 each) and is very good. The name of the restaurant is Caramieline and their menu is local Tahitian. They do serve an American breakfast and hamburgers for lunch. Most restaurants for dinner do provide free pick up. Just call the front desk and they will make your reservations and arrange for your pick up.

Some of our highlights staying in our bungalow included fantastic sunsets, watching the storms come in and looking for a rainbow, listening to the ocean, relaxing on our lanai, taking an afternoon nap, room service, a different flower on our bed every evening, and enjoying the fabulous view.

Moorea is not for the party seekers. The nightlife is limited and the alcoholic drinks are very expensive. They run about $10 each.

After all the rich food of French Polynesia, it was great to just have a pizza. Allo Pizza is cooked in a wood fire and thin crust. You have a wide variety of toppings, almost anything you could imagine. This pizza was some of the best pizza we ever had. We were recently in Italy, and Allo Pizza was as good or even better than what we had in Italy.

My husband and I ordered one plain pizza. We ate the whole thing within minutes and ordered another with different toppings. The crust is outstanding, the cheese and sauce are bursting with flavor. They are opened for lunch and dinner until 9pm. Allo's does deliver, but it is better to eat it there because it is good and hot. They will pick you up to eat it there. So if you are tired of expensive, rich meals, go to Allo's for some of the best pizza.

Highlights (i.e. best things to do, memorable moments, etc.):
Meeting a couple we later had drinks and dinner with.

Quick tips/suggestions:
They do deliver, but the pizza might be cold by the time it is delivered to you. They do pick-up, depending on what hotel you are staying at or if they are delivering in that area. They are located near Cooks Bay.

Maria’s Tapas Cyber Cafe was a great place to have a reasonable dinner. She offers a wide variety of food, including salads, panini, hamburgers, and fondue. We had the fondue. The total bill came to $40. This was the only place on the island where we could not finish our food. The fondue is for two or more people. It was the two of us and we had plenty. The fondue included salad, french fries, rice, baked potato, steak, vegetables, and dipping sauces. The food covered the entire table. Maria is trying to expand her menu to Mexican, but she is having problems finding someone who cooks Mexican food. She would like to cater to the American tourist. The service is great and the fondue was outstanding. Her cafe is unique. If you are on the island, I would try this place out.

Highlights (i.e. best things to do, memorable moments, etc.)
Friendly atmosphere. Good quantity and quality of the food. The chef and owner was willing to please.

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Quick tips/suggestions
This is one of the few places that does not require reservations. It's open daily except Sunday. Tele: 55 01 70. It's listed in the Moorea Guide.

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Best Way to Get Around (i.e. walking, driving, taxis, public transportation etc.)
Free pick-up for lunch and dinner. It's only 15 minutes of walking from the Pearl Resort and Bali Hai.

Carameline's is a great place to eat breakfast and lunch. They open at 7am and usually close around 5pm. Their menu for breakfast consists of omelets, croissants, crepes, eggs, quiches, and an American breakfast. Also, pastries and bread are made fresh every day. For lunch, they have excellent panini, hamburgers and fries, sandwiches made with French bread, and pizza. Everything we had there was very good. I would recommend eating here if you are staying at the Pearl Resort.

Quick tips/suggestions
This place is the most economical way to eat breakfast and lunch. Hotel food is very expensive and they only serve a buffet for breakfast, which runs $25 per person. You can have a hamburger and fries at Carameline's for $10 and the same thing at the hotel runs $19.

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Best Way to Get Around (i.e. walking, driving, taxis, public transportation etc.)
Carmeline's is within walking distance of the Moorea Pearl Resort. It takes about 5 to 10 minutes to walk.

Moorea is one of the most exotic, lush islands in the South Pacific. With its high mountain peaks, crystal-clear water, green plant life, and excellent snorkeling, we felt we were truly in paradise. The island is undeveloped. It probably looked about the same when Captain Cook arrived in Moorea. The French and French Polynesians are friendly. They welcomed us to their island. This is a once-in-a-lifetime vacation.

We decided to take a safari tour with a company called Moorea Explorer to see this magnificent island. Early in the morning, Romeo, our tour guide, picked us up at our hotel. We loaded into the four-wheel-drive vehicle and we were on our way to a great and exciting adventure. Our first destination was on the other side of the island. We pass through Cooks Bay and Opunohu Bay, this was our first glance of them. The water so blue with the mountains in the background - it was more beautiful than we could imagine.

We reached the dirt road to the mountain peak we will go up. Romeo told us to stand on our seats and hold on. This was a very, very bumpy ride. We were bounced around like a basketball. The ride was worth it. We got out of the Jeep and we stood on top of Magic Mountain, having an unbelievable view of the island. After taking pictures, we got back into the jeep to head down this dirt road. This was even more exciting because we had to back down. We held on tight and we were on our way to our next destination.

The next stop was Belvedere Point. Here you have a magnificent view of both bays, Cooks and Opunohu. This was truly of Kodak moment. If you rent a car, you can take this road to the top because it is paved. We then headed down the mountain and about midway down you have a great view of Mouaroa Peak, this is the famous peak you see in the movie South Pacific. It is one of the most photographed and famous areas on the entire island.

We then went off road into a pineapple field. Here we saw how pineapples grow on the island. Moorea is one of the leading producers of pineapple. It is different from Hawaii’s because you can eat the center. Romeo set up snacks of fresh pineapple and coconut. It was refreshing after the heat of the sun.

Our last stop was a distillery. Here you get free samples of their alcohol. Your first shot is a low proof alcohol and you work your way up to 100 proof. In all you have about 12 to 16 shots. After that bumpy ride, we were not up for too many shots.

The safari tour is a great and exciting way to see some of the island. You go to most of the major scenic areas on Moorea. I would take this trip again the next time I visit.