Tahiti Frequently Asked Questions

The local currency in Tahiti is the French Pacific Franc (XPF). Most hotels, restaurants, and tourist services accept major credit cards like Visa and Mastercard. It’s recommended to carry some cash for smaller shops, local markets, or rural areas.

No, U.S. and European Union citizens do not need a visa to visit Tahiti for stays up to 90 days. However, you do need a passport that is valid for at least six months beyond your travel dates. For other nationalities, it is recommended to check with the nearest French Consulate for visa requirements.

Yes, if you plan to fish in certain areas of Tahiti, especially for sport fishing, you will need a fishing license. There are specific regulations for deep-sea fishing and certain protected areas where fishing is restricted or prohibited.

While snorkeling, you can expect to see a variety of colorful coral reefs, tropical fish, sea turtles, rays (such as manta rays and eagle rays), and reef sharks. In some areas, you may also encounter dolphins and, depending on the season, humpback whales.

Tahiti offers excellent sailing conditions, especially during the dry season from May to October, when the winds are more consistent. The trade winds provide smooth sailing, making it ideal for both experienced sailors and those new to chartering. Waters are generally calm within the lagoons, but there can be stronger currents and waves when navigating between islands or in open ocean areas.

Tahiti's cuisine is a fusion of French and Polynesian flavors. Popular dishes include poisson cru (raw fish marinated in coconut milk and lime), tropical fruits, and French pastries. Seafood is a staple, and you can find a variety of fresh fish, lobster, and shrimp on most menus.

We typically recommend ten days. The Society Islands run roughly 100 nautical miles end to end, and ten days gives you time to thread all five Leeward Islands — Raiatea, Huahine, Taha'a, Bora Bora, and weather-permitting Maupiti — at an unhurried pace. The route is deliberate: one upwind leg early to Huahine, then easy downwind and reaching sails the rest of the trip. A week is the minimum that does these islands justice. The 7-day version drops Huahine and Maupiti and focuses on the classic Raiatea / Taha'a / Bora Bora three-island loop. Tuamotus charters typically run a similar 7-to-10-day window, with the yacht relocated from the Societies in advance and guests flying direct to the chosen atoll. Anything shorter than 7 days isn't worth the long-haul flight.

Included: a professional crew (typically captain, chef, and stewardess), all meals and a standard bar (beer, wine, and spirits), water sports equipment, fuel for normal cruising, customary mooring fees inside the standard cruising ground, linens, and towels. Not included: long-haul airfare to Pape'ete and the Air Tahiti inter-island flight to Raiatea (or to a Tuamotus airstrip), crew gratuities (15 to 20 percent of the base charter rate), any yacht relocation fee if the boat is repositioning to or from the Tuamotus, premium drinks or specialty provisions, onshore dining, and transfers to and from the yacht. French Polynesia has higher operating costs than most Caribbean grounds — the territory imports almost everything — and that is reflected in the base rate.

APA stands for Advance Provisioning Allowance — a pre-paid fund (typically 25 to 35 percent of the base charter rate) that covers food, beverages, fuel, mooring and marina fees, and other running costs during your trip. Your captain keeps an itemized account, and any unused funds are refunded at the end of your charter. In French Polynesia, APA is more common than in the Caribbean — most larger motor yachts and a portion of the sailing yachts charter on plus-expenses rather than all-inclusive. APA in this region also covers any one-way relocation cost if the yacht is repositioning between the Society Islands and the Tuamotus, dockage at marinas like Apooiti or Taina, and the higher cost of imported provisioning that comes with the territory.

For peak season (May through October), book 6 to 12 months ahead. The crewed fleet in French Polynesia is small relative to the Caribbean — most weeks have a handful of suitable yachts available, not a hundred — and the strongest weeks (the August school break, the late-May European wave, Christmas and New Year) book early. For shoulder months (April and November), 4 to 6 months is typically enough. Tuamotus charters require longer lead time because the yacht has to be relocated from the Societies; we usually want 4+ months of notice to coordinate the repositioning.

Yes. Your chef can accommodate virtually any dietary need — vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, kosher, allergies, kids menus, and more. Before your charter, you will complete a preference sheet detailing every guest's dietary requirements, favorite foods, and anything to avoid. Your chef builds the menu around it. In French Polynesia specifically, expect plenty of fresh tuna, mahi-mahi, and the makings of poisson cru (raw tuna in coconut milk and lime, the signature dish of the islands) alongside your preferences. Provisioning happens out of Pape'ete or Uturoa before the trip; the chef has access to French and Polynesian ingredients but works in a more remote supply chain than the Caribbean — exotic dietary requests are best flagged early.

Both are extraordinary; they are different trips for different guests. The Society Islands are what most guests picture when they imagine French Polynesia — basalt peaks rising from turquoise lagoons, Mt. Otemanu in every photograph, sheltered anchorages, vanilla and black-pearl economies on the small islands, and the UNESCO marae of Taputapuātea on Raiatea. Sailing distances are short (15 to 30 nautical miles between most stops), the cruising ground is forgiving, and the inventory of crewed yachts is the largest in French Polynesia. This is the right call for first-time guests, mixed-experience groups, and anyone who wants the iconic French Polynesian week. The Tuamotus are a different cruising ground entirely — 78 low coral atolls running fifteen hundred kilometers across the South Pacific east of the Societies, the rings of barrier reef left behind when the original volcanic islands subsided. There are no peaks. The scenery is flat, vast, and unique to the region. The pull is the marine life: the Tetamanu shark wall at Fakarava's south pass, the resident bottlenose dolphins drifting Rangiroa's Tiputa, the manta cleaning station at Tikehau, the working pearl farms at Apataki. A typical Tuamotus charter is a 10-day one-way passage Rangiroa to Fakarava covering ~250 nautical miles, with the captain timing every atoll-pass entry at slack water. The Tuamotus are off the beaten path, more rustic than the Societies, and a fundamentally water-focused trip — the right call for groups whose center of gravity is diving, snorkeling, and big-marine-life encounters. Crewed inventory in the Tuamotus is thinner and most charters require a yacht relocation. We walk through which yachts are positioned where before booking.