Air Tahiti is a life-saver when it comes to travelling around French Polynesia on a budget. It is hard enough to make up your mind which islands to visit in French Polynesia, let alone trying to find how to get there on a budget. That is where Air Tahiti comes to rescue.
Should you just visit the main island Tahiti? Should you travel to Moorea or discover the most amazing lagoon of Bora Bora? Or should you go off the beaten path and visit the further archipelagos? There are so many options and flights, as you guess, are quite expensive. Thankfully, Air Tahiti makes our lives a little bit easier and allows us to explore more islands for cheaper prices. So if you plan to visit French Polynesia, don´t forget to check Air Tahiti Pass. Because that is the secret of travelling cheaper around Tahiti islands.
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Let’s get obvious out of the window. Travelling around French Polynesia islands will never be as cheap as in Southeast Asia. With just one national carrier, there is no need to compete with competitive prices. There are no budget carriers to supply backpackers, that seek cheap fares. However, despite everything, Air Tahiti Pass will save you some serious bucks.
Why use Air Tahiti Pass?
Besides your own yacht, Air Tahiti Pass is the best option how to explore multiple islands of Tahiti. Air Tahiti is the only regional carrier, that besides serving Tahiti islands flies to Cook islands once a week.
In the base, Air Tahiti Pass comes in seven versions. At the top of that, Air Tahiti also offers two extensions. In combination with general passes, it allows you to explore Austral Islands and the Marquesas Islands as well.
Air Tahiti provides a very extensive route map that allows you to visit even the tiniest and furthest islands and archipelagos. With Air Tahiti Pass your inner adventurous side of you can wake up. From the buzzing main island of Tahiti, off to a beautiful green island of Moorea, to a stunning and most pristine lagoon of Bora Bora, to the lost world of Marquesas islands. You can have it all. With Air Tahiti Pass you experience a little bit of everything that Tahiti has to offer.
Air Tahiti general tips
Tip #1: There is a short supply of flight fares. Hence book your flights in advance. Despite being quite expensive, French Polynesia is a very popular holiday and honeymoon destination. To all this, the aircrafts are small with limited seating. So secure your seats well ahead.
Tip #2: Rumors say that you can purchase much cheaper airfares directly from the airports of Tahiti or Moorea. However. Flights got packed, so you can wait for a couple of days and still not be able to get on a plane. French Polynesia is a destination where it is difficult to organise a transport on a whim. Especially, if you travel in the group. That’s why we recommend this strategy just in case you have a lot of time without any time schedule to follow. If someone has an experience with purchasing tickets directly from the airport, let share your experience with us in the comments down below.
Here is a map of Air Tahiti routes from their official site:
Air Tahiti Pass costs
Air Tahiti distinguishes two seasons when it comes to the price of the air tickets. The low season runs from 11 January to 31 May and from 1 November to 10 December. The high season occurs between 1 January to 10 January, 1 June to 31 October and between 11 December to 31 December. As you imagine, higher fares are typical for high season.
Therefore, as always it is good to consider the weather season in which you travel. If you want to save some bucks, travel during the low season.
| Pass | Islands | Low season 2018 | High season 2018 | Price per ticket |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Discovery Pass | Moore, Huahine, Raiatea | $380 | $413 | $126 |
| Bora Bora Pass | Moorea, Huahine, Raiatea, Bora Bora, Maupiti | $500 | $542 | $100 |
| Lagoon Pas | Moorea, Rangiroa, Tikehau, Fakarava | $532 | $577 | $133 |
| Corail Pass | Ahe, Manihi | $468 | $480 | $234 |
| Bora Bora-Tuamotu Pass | Moorea, Huahine, Raiatea, Bora Bora, Maupiti, Rangiroa, Tikehau, Fakarava | $655 | $710 | $82 |
| Australes Pass | Rurutu, Tubuai, Raivavae, Rimatara | $696 | $755 | $174 |
| Marquesas Pass | Nuku Hiva, Hiva Oa, Ua Huka, Ua Pou | $933 | $1 020 | $233 |
| Australes Extension | Rurutu, Tubuai, Raivavae, Rimatara | $423 | $458 | $105 |
| Marquesas Extension | Nuku Hiva, Hiva Oa | $693 | $755 | $346 |
Of course, further you travel, more expensive it gets. Also, if your time schedule allows it, it is wise to visit as many islands on the given pass as you can. That way the return value per ticket will increase. The price for the pass does not get lower by visiting just some islands. So if you wish to visit Moorea and Bora Bora, the Bora Bora pass costs $542. Which means, that one ticket cost you approximately $180. But if you add flights to Maupiti, Raiatea and Huahine too, suddenly one ticket costs you just $90. Which considering the place we are talking about is pretty affordable.
Don´t you believe me? Air Tahiti pass pays off with visiting only two islands. For example, the return ticket from Tahiti to Bora Bora costs $400, so approximately $200 per flight. With Bora Bora pass you fly under $100 per flight.
Air Tahiti Pass basics
The Passes and extensions only work for adults and kids from 2 years old. Unfortunately, the passes are not available for infants.
Like with any other pass, you have to choose your beginning and the end destination. Air Tahiti Pass allows you to start your journey from Tahiti and Moorea. Not any other island. You have to finish at Tahiti or Moorea as well. While using your pass, it is not required to visit all the islands included in the given pass. It is required to visit at least two islands though.
Using a pass requires a little bit of planning ahead because you are allowed to visit each island only once. Returning to Tahiti while using the pass is not permitted. So make sure you plan your hopping between islands accordingly.
There are two exceptions, though. The 24 hours transit, stop over, in Tahiti is permitted while using your Pass:
- For the Lagoons Pass, between Moorea and the islands of the Tuamotu Archipelago
- For a pass with Extension, between pass and Extension
Also, the length of your trip may not exceed 28 days.
Air Tahiti Pass stopovers
While using the Pass, just a single stopover is permitted per island. There is a difference between stopover and transit though. A transit is considered to be lasting less than 24 hours. Transit with a change of flight number is considered a stopover though. There is one exception. For flights from Bora Bora to Tikehau, Manihi and Fakarava through Rangiroa, flight number change with a stopover lasting less than 2 hours in Rangiroa is considered transit rather than a stopover.
Multiple passes
If you seek to purchase a pass including more than one group of islands, it is important to know, that you are required to visit every island from a given archipelago, before moving on to the next group of islands. So for example, if you purchase the Bora Bora-Tuamotu pass, you must visit every island from Society islands before moving on to the Tuamotu islands. Additionally, it does not matter in which order the islands may be visited in the particular archipelago.
Air Tahiti pass allows you to visit even the furthest archipelagos in French Polynesia. So if you wish to jump onto off beaten path and explore less crowded places, consider purchasing one of the two extensions. The extension cannot be purchased on its own, it has to be combined with at least on Pass.
In the world of no budget carrier and no discount fares, Air Tahiti Pass is your best bet when it comes to flying around French Polynesia on a budget. Have you travelled around Tahiti and have a different experience or tips? Share it with others in the comments down below. We are always happy to hear from other travellers.
