TAHITI – Day One,
Feb. 19, 2005
This is one of
my very favorite tropical vacations!!! I
want to go back, and will go back someday!!!
Way back in
February 2005, we took a two week vacation (no kids) with our neighbors and
best travel friends, Wad and Trina Woodard.
We had booked our cruise through www.kimskruises.com
and got a great deal on Princess. We had
to book our own airfare and hotel for our pre-cruise stay in Papeete,
Tahiti. At the time, we found a good
deal on Expedia. We were able to book
our flight, and book our hotel as a package deal, saving us some money!
 |
Our Cruise Critic friend took this great picture of our plane flying
into Papeete. You can see Moorea in the background! |
Our flight to
Papeete, Tahiti started in Seattle, leaving on Feb. 18 at 5:30pm. We flew to Los Angeles and boarded Air France
for the almost 9 hour flight. We left LA just after midnight, so we tried to
sleep the best we could, since we were arriving in Papeete in the morning!
Tahiti is an
island in French Polynesia, middle of the South Pacific. French Polynesia is composed of over 150
islands and islets. Tahiti is the
largest of the islands with over 402 sq. miles of surface area. The highest peak reaches 7,353 feet into the
clouds.
 |
| The views around the Intercontinental Tahiti Resort! Amazing! |
We arrived in
Papeete early in the morning and taxied over to the InterContinental
Beachcomber (ICB). Toni and Trina were
in the pool by 10am! We had a 3rd floor
panoramic room with a view of the lotus pool and Moorea at the ICB. The food at
the hotel was very expensive – or so we heard. In the afternoon, went to the
large shopping market (15 minute walk, right out of the ICB) and bought
croissants, bread, cheese, water, juice and a few other snacks to get us by.
 |
| An aerial view of the ICB - see the lagoonarium and the water bungalow rooms! |
The ICB was amazing
top rated resort! It looked right out
over the South Pacific to Moorea. It had
a private beach, two pools (with swim up bars), two restaurants, spa, tennis
courts, and a unique Lagoonarium. The
Lagoonarium houses sea life of all species, including parrot fish, sting rays
and angel fish. You can snorkel in the lagoon
or view the sea life from the bridges that cross over.
 |
| Le Belvedere |
 |
| Le Truck |
For dinner that
first night, we had made reservations at Le Belvedere through ICB.
Transportation from ICB was included in the cost of the meal and was via a Le Truck.
It was a wonderful choice, and I highly recommend it. For two people, we paid
$123 US. That included transportation, salad, beef fondue (a large portion),
really good French fries, a large carafe of wine, and ice cream for dessert. We
had great company (also joined by our Cruise Critic friends) and a great view
of the city below! It was well worth it!
 |
| The amazing view from Le Belvedere |
No comments:
Post a Comment