Lonely Planet Tahiti & French Polynesia

Average customer rating:

Good, but needed more
Outdated!!!
Excellant Guide book
Good Field Guide
Was it really only a bad dream?

Lonely Planet Tahiti & French Polynesia (Lonely Planet Tahiti and French Polynesia)
Becca Blond , Celeste Brash , and Hilary Rogers
Manufacturer: Lonely Planet Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Guidebooks | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books

Lonely Planet | Guidebook Series | Travel | Subjects | Books

Tahiti | Australia & South Pacific | Travel | Subjects | Books

General | Australia & South Pacific | Travel | Subjects | Books

General | Travel | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Travel Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Tahiti & French Polynesia Guide, 4th Ed. (Open Road Travel Guides Tahiti and French Polynesia Guide)
Moon Handbooks Tahiti: Including the Cook Islands
Hidden Tahiti and French Polynesia: Including Moorea, Bora Bora, and the Society, Austral, Gambier, Tuamotu, and Marquesas Islands (Hidden Travel)
Lonely Planet Fiji
Insight Compact Guide Tahiti & French Polynesia (Insight Compact Guides)

ASIN: 1740599985

Amazon.com

From Antarctica to Zimbabwe, if you're going there, chances are Lonely Planet has been there first. With a pithy and matter-of-fact writing style, these guides are guaranteed to calm the nerves of first-time world travelers, while still listing off-the-beaten-path finds sure to thrill even the most jaded globetrotters. Lonely Planet has been perfecting its guidebooks for nearly 30 years and as a result, has the experience and know-how similar to an older sibling's "been there" advice. The original backpacker's bible, the LP series has recently widened its reach. While still giving insights for the low-budget traveler, the books now list a wide range of accommodations and itineraries for those with less time than money.

If the magical islands of French Polynesia are on your itinerary, here is the perfect traveling companion. Its 29 maps highlight 4WD vehicle tracks, walking routes, and dive sites. The guide features a thorough history section, food section, accommodations for any budget, and useful Tahitian and French language sections. This book also includes all the archipelagos: the Societies, Tuamotus, Marquesas, Australs, and Gambiers--with extensive information in inter-island travel. The authors have personally tested all of the dive sites. --Kathryn True

Book Description

Bonjour and welcome to Tahiti! On your left you'll find great French cooking and fresh seafood; on your right there are ancient Polynesian ruins and brilliant Tahitian dancing. Just offshore there are islands with golden beaches, world-class diving plus endless opportunities to just kick back and relax. We love Tahiti, and know these islands like our own backyard, so let us show you around. BEFORE YOU BOOK, read what our authors thought about your resort - get the honest scoop RELAX beachside with us and read up on Tahitian history, culture and mythology, then let us spin you inspiring tales of the mysterious outer islands SAVE a few bucks here and there - from planning your trip, to booking accommodation, we'll show you how to make sure your trip costs don't blow out of control. TRUST US - We've dived the dives and walked the walks, we've visited every resort, hostel and café between the remote Tuamotus and the backstreets of Pape'ete. We know what we're talking about

Customer Reviews:

Good, but needed more.......2004-05-23

I've used many Lonely Planet (LP) guides and found this one to be lacking their usual detail. I got the sense much hotel information was pilfered from Web surfing the basic info, rather than first-person investigation. While still a good book to take, next time (and there will be a next time because Tahiti is wonderful) I'll be sure take another guide along with it, and to thoroughly read actual travelers' online reviews. I'll also know the questions I need to ask before booking. My sense was that the reviewers weren't seeing things through the fresh-eyes of a first time traveler. The details, such as directions accommodation features were often lacking.

One thing I've always liked about LP is that they will list small locally owned budget places - that are occasionally hidden gems - whereas many other guides only list "approved" chain-type accommodations. However, in this book key information about lodging was missing. For example, it's very uncommon to find window screens in Polynesia despite a lot of mosquitoes, yet it is not standard for the book to say if there are screens or mosquito netting at each location (sometimes there are neither). Screens would be a big selling point for me. In Lonely Planet's India guide - which I was quite happy with - they deliberately note whether hotels have air-conditioning or not; in this guide this rather important information (for the tropics) is randomly added. Sometimes we'd get there and they'd have AC and sometimes they wouldn't. A more specific example is a pension primarily described as "friendly" - which it was in spades - with no mention that there's one bathroom shared with 8 people and that doesn't have hot water. With what prices are in Tahiti, poor information is very costly. One "resort" (our over-water bungalow splurge) was merely described as "competitive with other luxury resorts." Come to find out it had bedbugs and no air-conditioning.

If level of detail can be evidenced by pages numbers, note that LP's Hawaii guide (five main islands) is 615 pages, while their Tahiti guide (50+ islands/atolls, with ten commonly traveled) is a only 287 pages.

Outdated!!!.......2003-02-13

I was expecting more from lonely planet but aside from the maps, the book is obsolete. It also reads like a text book, no passion, no flavor, very boring. The sections on each area are not very big at all. ...

Excellant Guide book.......2002-06-02

This book did a wonderful job of not only preparing us for the journey, but help us get around. We have now been there three times to three difference islands, and each time it preformed well. Although with all travel books they get out to date in a year or two, you should always call a head to verify critical information.

Good Field Guide.......2000-09-28

This book is very comprehensive. It will help you find all of the places you want to go, and will give you an overview of what to expect. Some of the items could have been a little more detailed though. Directions were OK. Luckily the islands are easy to get around. We found the combination of this book, Jan Prince's book, and the Moon book to be the perfect combination for our trip in November of 1998. Read more about our trip and how we used these books at DiveAtlas.com.

This review replaces the out of date one that already exists.

Was it really only a bad dream?.......2000-09-25

I was flabbergasted to find out that one of the most popular guidebooks in the world was not able to accurately describe our accomodation (The Blue Lagoon in Vaitape, BoraBora) as it later turned out to be ... namely, a disaster! In the guide we could not find any details about the REAL condition of the bathroom or the rest of the pension. We also had to share our room with a mouse (rat?) of undefined size (we met him only through his "leavings" and scurryings) and the traffic of wasps coming and going from their nests in our room. The shower was black and crusty, as was the toilet. Walls and floors were peeling, the air was filled with an overpowering stink of decaying fish and dirt, and we were afraid to get into our beds. The exterior of the building looked like a Tijuana flophouse. We traveled all over the South Pacific, staying in many different hotels and pensions, and never did we encounter such a horrible variance from the description in the guidebook. I mean, this is Bora Bora, an expensive, upscale resort area, and it seems incredible that such lodgings could even exist there. They would have to be more accurate in their evaluations of accomodations and be prepared to warn travelers of nightmarish places like this one!

Diving & Snorkeling Tahiti & French Polynesia (Lonely Planet Diving and Snorkeling Tahiti and French Polynesia)

Average customer rating:

OK book for snorkeling advice
Required reading
Useful Book!

Diving & Snorkeling Tahiti & French Polynesia (Lonely Planet Diving and Snorkeling Tahiti and French Polynesia)
Jean-Bernard Carillet , and Tony Wheeler
Manufacturer: Lonely Planet Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Water Sports | Sports | Subjects | Books

General | Sports | Subjects | Books

Guidebooks | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books

Tahiti | Australia & South Pacific | Travel | Subjects | Books

General | Australia & South Pacific | Travel | Subjects | Books

General | Travel | Subjects | Books

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Look Inside Sports Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Travel Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Other Diving Equipment | Diving | Categories | Sports & Outdoors
Similar Items:

The French Polynesian Dive Guide
Lonely Planet Tahiti & French Polynesia (Lonely Planet Tahiti and French Polynesia)
Hidden Tahiti and French Polynesia: Including Moorea, Bora Bora, and the Society, Austral, Gambier, Tuamotu, and Marquesas Islands (Hidden Travel)
Tahiti & French Polynesia Guide, 4th Ed. (Open Road Travel Guides Tahiti and French Polynesia Guide)
Insight Compact Guide Tahiti & French Polynesia (Insight Compact Guides)

Product Features:

Dive site topography and conditions
Diving services and live-aboards
Common and hazardous marine life
Topside attractions from Polynesian dancing to pearl farms
14 easy-to-read maps

ASIN: 1864500719

Product Description

Tahiti, Morea, Bora Bora - names that evoke warm South Pacific fantasies. French Polynesia boasts legendary topside beauty and a variety of diving adventures. Join a shark feed, swim with manta rays or snorkel alongside humpback whales. Pelagic encounters top a list of underwater highlights, including dramatic topography, prolific marine life and even a few shipwrecks. From the ripping passes at Rangiroa to the sheltered lagoon of the Society Islands, this book details nearly 50 of French Polynesia's best sites, with full-colour photos throughout.

Customer Reviews:

OK book for snorkeling advice.......2002-07-25

This book is ok for snorkeling advice. Mostly geared to diving. A lot of the descriptions of the locations for snorkeling where not accurate. I would recommend since you really do not have a choice.

Required reading.......2002-02-16

An excellent guide with supurb photos, invaluable to anyone planning to dive these islands. The layout is intelligent and very easy to follow, and the practical advice is well up to the standards I expect of LP.

Buy it well before you go to plan out that dream vacation

Useful Book!.......2001-03-12

This met my expectations quite well. A good overview of the area, followed by a review of the key dive spots in French Polynesia. Excellent phtography, including a good critter guide at the end.

The only downside I can find is that there's no real overview of good snorkeling sites . . . they're lumped in with diving sites.

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