Hidden Tahiti

Excellent book to have with you as you tour the islands of the South Seas.

My husband and I travelled to Moorea, Huahine, Raiatea and Bora Bora. This book was fantastic! I usually only use Lonely Planet tour books when we travel - but I have to say this book was 5 times better than the Lonely Planet Tahiti book! Every island we went to this book directed us to little travelled - non touristy places and we feel we really got to know the islands! I highly reccommend it!

I chose this book sight unseen because it included the Marquesas which weren't mentioned in the descriptions of most other guides. I cruised the islands on the Tahitian Princess. For each island stop this book was accurate. I followed several tips that maximized the onshore experience. Most of the islands in French Polynesia are not heavily developed or populated. If you are thinking about a land based vacation I recommend this book because the description of each island and its facilities should give you a feeling of whether you will enjoy your vacation.

My wife and I took the first edition of this book on our honeymoon in 1997. Let's just say that another couple we hooked up with wound up not doing a thing without consulting "the book". We are not adventure travellers per say, but we don't like exquisite resorts that cater to you hand and foot. We like to explore, meet/see the people, etc. Well, this book got us to a waterfall on Moorea, the lagoon passes of Rangiroa, the village on Manihi, and nothing it recommended led us astray.

As the author of Moon Handbooks Tahiti and one of Rob Kay's competitors, I'd like to say that his book has class and I recommend it to the traveler who carries two guides. Rob's coverage of top end food and lodging is unrivaled, and his cultural and historical vignettes convey the full flavor of Polynesia. It's great pre-trip reading and very useful in deciding when and where to splurge. It complements well the web and email addresses, tour and transportation listings, budget tips, and detailed maps in my book. After checking accommodations prices (which Rob doesn't provide) in Moon Handbooks Tahiti, you can get a well thought out second opinion about conditions on the ground from Hidden Tahiti. I hope this helps bring our 'rival' titles into focus.