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Direct from Seattle to Tahiti
Direct from Seattle to Tahiti
On November 3rd, the van received a major upgrade. Owl Offroad in Portland, OR installed a bumper and winch to our rig. It looks great and it's nice to have additional safety and recovery gear.
One of the benefits of being around family and friends is having a safe place to park the van and also having trusted people who can watch Lucky while we go abroad for an adventure. Several months ago Josh mentioned there were direct flights from Seattle to Papeete, Tahiti. Using our miles we were able to purchase two roundtrip, direct flights from Seattle to Papeete. We were even able to upgrade to premium. Since we saved so much on airfare (the total cost of our tickets was under $200), we splurged on an overwater bungalow at the Sofitel Kia Ora Moorea Beach Resort.
The flight to get to Tahiti is about 8.5 hours. It was an evening flight that departed Seattle around 8pm. Since the seats were roomier and reclined more than standard seats, we were able to get more rest than if we had flown coach. However, we arrived in Tahiti at 4am! After getting through customs and getting our rental car, it was around 5am. We weren't able to check into our room until 2pm. We caught the 7:30am ferry to Moorea, and once we got to the island we drove around. Once it hit noon we parked at the resort and had lunch there. We received keys to our room and took a quick dip in the water since our overwater bungalow had direct access to the water!
Most of our time in the South Pacific was spent on the island of Moorea. We enjoyed the local restaurants and relaxing in our room. The snorkeling at the resort and under our room was fantastic. We spent two nights in Tahiti where explored the Papeete Market (where there were lots of trinkets and souvenirs), and we learned a lot at the Robert Wan Pearl Museum and the Museum of Tahiti and The Islands. We also drove around the west side of the island and checked out some of the local beaches.
The flight back to Seattle wasn't bad, but had to get up at 4am to get to the airport to return the rental car and check in. After landing, we had to pick up our car and drive to pick up Lucky. We didn't get to bed until almost midnight. It was a very long travel day, and the next day was Thanksgiving! It was great spending Thanksgiving with the family and sharing stories about our travel. We were sad to learn that the direct flights from Seattle to Papeete will be discontinued in January 2026. Even though we weren't able to take the van to Tahiti we wanted to share some info and photos from the trip. Māuruuru (thank you in Tahitian)!
The van with the new bumper and winch.
Side view of the bumper.
Lucky after getting a professional bath and brushing.
A photo of the overwater bungalows we stayed in at Sofitel Moorea.
The interior of our overwater bungalow.
The patio of our overwater bungalow.
We saw a spotted stingray from the boardwalk of the bungalows.
One of the smoothie stands we enjoyed stopping at on the island of Moorea.
The sunset behind the overwater bungalows.
The Papeete Market in Tahiti.
The view from our AirBnb outside of Papeete.
Cook's Anchor from the ship the Adventure.
A display of various types of oysters at the Robert Wan Pearl Museum in Tahiti.
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