13 Ways to Travel to Tahiti on a Budget in 2024
When most people think of traveling to Tahiti, they usually picture thousand-dollar nights in luxurious over-water bungalows. While this is certainly an option if you have the means to pay for it, it’s also possible to travel to Tahiti and her islands without sending your bank account off a financial cliff. In this post, I explain exactly how I traveled to Tahiti on a budget and how you can too.
Traveling Soon? Here Are the Travel Resources I Use!
๐ก Accommodations: I use Expedia or Booking for hotels and Hostelworld for hostels
โ๏ธ Flights: I find the best deals on StudentUniverse & Skyscanner
๐บ๏ธ Travel Insurance: I suggest Safetywing as an affordable option
๐คฟ Tours & Experiences: I love to use Viator and Get Your Guide
๐ Car Rentals: I recommend DiscoverCars for all your rental car needs!
๐ฑ E-Sim: The company I’ve had the most positive experiences with is Airalo
Use code ‘KRISTI7012’ for an extra $3 off your ESIM from Airalo!
Is Tahiti Expensive to Vacation?
The short answer is more often than not, YES. In comparison to the other 30+ countries around the world that I have visited, Tahiti is definitely on the more expensive side. To give you a point of reference, a vacation in Tahiti is comparable to a vacation in Paris or London. You likely won’t be able to walk into a random eatery or restaurant and find something filling for $10 or less like you would in Spain or Eastern Europe.
Meals at mid-restaurants range from $30-60 USD, exotic adventure tours can cost anywhere from $200-600, and a freaking 16 oz smoothie was $12. There’s no denying that Tahiti is often an expensive place for a vacation.
However, a vacation to French Polynesia is even more expensive if you choose to stay in Moorea or Bora Bora. These two sister islands are hot spots for recent newlyweds, anniversary getaways, or social media influencers.
As a result, the goods and services on those islands can be especially expensive because local businesses know their target market and what tourists are willing to dole out. Therefore, in comparison to other global destinations, Tahiti is generally more expensive, but it can be cheaper relative to other French Polynesian islands.
Can You Do Tahiti on a Budget?
If you just read the previous section, you may be thinking, “Welp, there goes my island getaway trip to Tahiti.” Let me be the first to tell you that despite what I just said, it’s still possible to vacation to visit Tahiti on a budget.
When I took my trip to Tahiti, my friends and I literally had graduated from university the day before. We had no jobs (thanks pandemic) and were your stereotypical broke college students. All we knew for sure was that we were set on going to Tahiti and would find a way to have a memorable and fun time without significantly increasing our debt.
In the end, we found that vacationing in Tahiti on a budget just takes a bit more effort in planning, self-discipline when it comes to splurging, and possibly stepping out of your comfort zone. Don’t worry — we didn’t do anything crazy, and I wouldn’t expect you to either. And while we had to make certain sacrifices, our time in Tahiti was so worth it!
How Much Does a Trip to Tahiti Cost?
One of the most common questions and mysteries when planning for any trip is how much will it cost. The unfortunate yet honest truth is that it depends on what you fill your itinerary with. There is a wide gamut of housing options, activities to do around Tahiti as well as places to eat. Depending on what you choose to do, a week-long vacation in Tahiti can cost $1500 or $10,000+.
However, since you are reading this post, I am going to assume you are looking to travel to Tahiti on a tight budget and want to know what my version of Tahiti on a budget looks like. To be transparent and hopefully help you get a better idea, here is my exact expense breakdown.
My Tahiti Budget Breakdown
Keep in mind that I traveled with 3 other friends. Housing and transportation costs were split four-way, so the prices you see are exactly what I paid.
| Round Trip Flight from LAX – PPT | $772 |
| Housing Accommodations (split four ways) | $160.5 |
| Rental Car for 8 days (split four ways) | $150 |
| Gas for the Car (split four ways) | $5 |
| Portable Wifi Device | $20 |
| Day trip to Moorea with Rental Car | $46 |
| Food | $225 |
| Souvenirs | $8 |
| Excursions | $62 |
| Mandatory COVID-19 tests | $182 |
| Total Cost of Trip for me | $1630.50 |
I know a total of $1630.50 may seem like a lot, but for 8 days, this averages out to about $204 per day. By French Polynesia standards, this is certainly on the cheaper side. Furthermore, you won’t have to spend as much or any additional money at all on COVID-19 tests. We visited in June 2021 and at the time, PCR tests were both hard to come by and very expensive.
Traveling to Tahiti on a Budget: 13 Ways to Save in Tahiti
Hopefully, now that you know how much I spent on everything for my vacation, you feel slightly more assured that traveling to Tahiti on a tighter budget is possible. To break things down even further here is exactly how I did it, and how you can too.
1. Travel During the Shoulder Season
As you would expect, Tahiti and her islands are jam-packed with tourists during the summer. With larger crowds comes increasing demand and surging prices as supply dwindles. To avoid paying even higher fees than you have to, try and go during the shoulder season. The shoulder season is considered to be April – June, and September – November. Within the shoulder season, you’ll want to consider Tahiti’s dry and wet seasons. The dry season spans from May to October, while the wet season is from November – April.
If you aren’t sure what the difference between the dry and wet seasons is, the dry season is known to have cooler temperatures and more sunny days. Keep in mind that it still rains a fair bit during the dry season, so you’ll want to come prepared for rain regardless.
Based on all of this, the best time to visit Tahiti is May – June or September – October. This way you can beat the summer prices and have better weather conditions. We visited during June and the weather was almost perfect, only a few hours of rain some of the days.
2. Be Flexible on Dates
As you book your flights, try to be flexible with your dates and see which dates are the cheapest within the shoulder season. Nowadays there is an abundance of flight search engines that offer a calendar view that can help you source the best flight prices out there. I know it can be a hassle, and it certainly takes a good chunk of extra time, but you can save yourself a couple of hundred dollars.
๐จ PRO TIP: We booked through StudentUniverse, since they had the cheapest flights! If you haven’t heard of the company, check them out! I’ve had a pretty positive experience with them, but feel free to read my in-depth review of StudentUniverse and decide for yourself. Or, I recommend searching with Skyscanner. ๐ค
My friends and I had to change our travel dates two times because of COVID regulations and restrictions. Despite how annoying it was to go through the process of rebooking, the flight prices for our final dates ended up being $240 cheaper than our original dates. This was made possible by the fact we changed our dates to the off-season and selected the cheapest dates we could find during June.
3. Skip the Overwater Bungalow
A fun tidbit about French Polynesia is that the concept of overwater bungalows was born on these islands! Unfortunately though, if want to have a budget vacation in Tahiti, you are likely going to need to skip the overwater bungalow. While they’re beautiful, they’ll probably add an extra $1000+ per night to your total cost for the trip. If I spent that much money on housing, I would feel obligated to spend my entire vacation in the bungalow.
As a compromise, I recommend admiring the bungalows from afar. You can see some from Plage de Vaiava (PK18) beach on Tahiti Nui’s west coast. Or, if you have a solid travel credit card and are into points hacking like I am, save up points and transfer them to hotel partners to earn practically free stays at these overwater bungalows!
๐จ Recommendation: The travel credit cards I have in my wallet and highly recommend using to earn free luxury hotel stays are this one and this one! I know — helpful. But, I’m not allowed to say the actual names because of company rules. Both cards have a low annual fee, easy-to-hit sign-up bonuses, and amazing transfer partners.
4. Tahiti Budget Accommodations
One of the best ways to save money on your vacation is to opt for low-cost housing accommodations. Around the island, there are two options that I would pick over staying in a hotel: Airbnb or a Pension.
Airbnb
The first option is to book an Airbnb. There are plenty of Airbnb options with prices ranging as low as $30 a night. My friends and I opted for an Airbnb because it gave us more freedom in selecting our location. We purposely wanted to be located in the middle of all the activities we planned on doing, so it would help us save money on gas. In addition, an Airbnb will likely provide you with access to a kitchen. This gives you the freedom to prepare your own cheaper meals and save leftovers.
๐ NOTE: If you book an Airbnb for a week or longer, the host will typically offer you a discount!
Pensions
Another option outside of Airbnb is to stay in a pension, also known as a guest house. These are more modest homestays typically run by local families around the islands. As such, this is a surefire way to ensure you’re helping provide income for local Tahitian people instead of massive hotel corporations.
The one downside is that you probably won’t have access to as many amenities as you would a hotel. However, staying on a pension allows you to have a more authentic experience and better immerse yourself in the local culture. You can chat with local families, ask them for hidden gem recommendations, and maybe even share meals with them. I know language barriers are daunting, but try and put yourself out there!
The locals are incredibly friendly and a simple Bonjour (hello in French) or Ia Orana (hello in Tahitian, pronounced yo-rah-nah) goes a long way. You would be surprised how many hidden spots my friends and I found by making small talk with the locals!
Other Housing Options
But, if you want to stay in a hotel or are protesting Airbnb like I currently am…you can use the interactive map below to view additional housing options as well as current prices across different booking platforms!
5. Get a Rental Car
In terms of transportation, I highly recommend opting to get a rental car, if you can. Public transportation around the island isn’t reliable, and ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft haven’t made their way to the island.
Outside of a rental car, your main alternative is a taxi, but taxis are ridiculously expensive. A trip even a mile away can cost you $25 USD. Unless you plan on taking a taxi to only a few nearby locations, relying on taxi services will eat away at your travel funds.
The good news is that you don’t have to get an international driver’s license, and the rental process is fairly easy! My friends and I booked through Hertz, and our car was waiting for us in the airport parking lot upon arrival. One piece of advice about rental cars is to book a car reservation as far in advance as you can. There are a limited number of cars, and if you don’t reserve a car, you’ll have to rely on taxi services.
๐ NOTE: If you are feeling adventurous, you can try hitchhiking. It’s fairly common around the island, and my friends who have traveled to Tahiti multiple times rely on hitchhiking to save money and get around the island!
6. Hire a Driver
I know rental cars can be expensive, especially if you are traveling solo or don’t have friends to split the costs with. Therefore, if you’re staying in Tahiti for a short period and don’t want to go through the hassle of renting a car, I’d recommend hiring a private driver. This private driver is good for driving you from the airport to your hotel. The only downside is that they might not be up for driving you to your Airbnb. But, I’ve found that private drivers are usually flexible as long as you ask beforehand.
โ ๐Check rates and availability for a private airport transfer
7. Affordable Island Excursion
Similarly, if you’re only in Tahiti for a day or two before heading to other islands, I’d recommend spending one day doing an all-inclusive guided tour of the island. A guided island tour of Tahiti ensures you see all the major tourist attractions without having to worry about navigating. My friends and I got lost so many times trying to find certain landmarks simply because we would make one wrong turn and then boom! We would be off on a lengthy detour.
You might even befriend some other guests on the tour. My friends and I befriended a super chill guy also from California on our boat tour out to Teahupo’o! So if you maximize your time and learn the island’s history directly from the locals, consider a budget-friendly island tour.
โ ๐คฉ Check rates & availability for this affordable and highly-rated tour of Tahiti It shows you lots of little hidden gems as well as some of the more popular spots!
8. Take the Ferry
A popular excursion for people staying on Tahiti is to day trip to Moorea, a nearby island. If this interests you, I highly suggest taking the ferry out of French Polynesia’s capital, Papeete. There are two companies that allow for ferry transport: Aremiti and Terevau. For both companies, the ferry costs about $10-15 USD for an adult one-way ticket, and transport across takes approximately 45 minutes. Additionally, both ferry companies can accommodate the transportation of motor vehicles.
The only other option is to fly to the other islands. While flying is worth it if you’re going to Bora Bora or the other smaller islands, it isn’t worth it going to Moorea. Flying to Moorea is both more expensive and significantly more time-consuming due to the regular airport process.
โด๏ธ For more details on how to transit across via ferry, check out my comprehensive post on how to day trip from Tahiti to Moorea.
9. Create a Budget
One of my top travel tips for vacationing in Tahiti on a tight budget is to create a budget! I cannot emphasize the importance of financial awareness when traveling. In the age of credit cards and cashless transactions, it’s all too easy to spend exorbitant amounts of money. We often don’t even realize we are spending a lot until we get our bank statements. More often than not, it’s the abundance of small transactions that get us in trouble.
To avoid accidentally spending more than you want to, I recommend making a budget. Allot how much you are willing to pay for housing, food, transportation, souvenirs, and excursions. Afterward, divide the category amounts by the number of days your vacation is. This will make it easier to evaluate your travel options when you are booking flights and accommodations. Plus, you’ll also be cognizant of how much you should be approximately spending on food, excursions, and souvenirs each day.
10. Eat Smart
Of course, creating a budget is only half the battle. Sticking to it and having some self-discipline is the other half. One way that’s easy to save some money is by eating smart. What this means is not dining at restaurants and eateries for every meal. Instead, I suggest having only one nicer meal a day. At this designated meal, you can order a large portion and feast on something worth your money.
For the other meals, shop at the local markets and food stands. One of the first things I do at every new place I travel to is a grocery run. Buy some little food items that you can snack on throughout the day to hold you over until your fancy meal. There are also lots of little food stands and food trucks on the side of the road where you can grab a delicious meal for $10 or less. In contrast, a restaurant meal can cost you $30+.
One place I recommend getting food from is the Papeete Roulettes located in Place Via’ete. Every day at 6 pm, the square transforms into a lively night market with lots of food trucks serving all kinds of cuisines. There are lots of tables, games, and occasionally live music. As a bonus, the food is not only tasty but also comes at a great price! We paid $12 for a massive heaping of food that we couldn’t even finish. Shout out to Chez Dominguez for their kind hospitality and generous food amounts!
11. Bring Your Own Gear
If you want to snorkel, surf, or hike around the island, save money by bringing your own gear. During my vacation, my friends and I snorkeled twice a day and went surfing every other day. If we hadn’t brought our snorkel gear and surfboards from home, we would’ve had to rely on rentals and that would’ve been quite expensive.
๐คฟ Consider looking at my useful packing list for Tahiti to find out everything that you should bring.
Especially if you plan on doing these activities often, I can guarantee it’s worth the effort and luggage space. As a little travel tip, if you fly Air Tahiti Nui, they include a free checked bag in all but one of their classes!
๐โโ๏ธ NOTE: If you need help figuring out how to transport and travel with your surfboard, read this post I wrote that details everything about surfing in Tahiti.
12. Limit the Number of Expensive Tours
To travel to Tahiti on a limited budget, it’s important to be selective with the tours you choose to do. I know it’s tempting to do lots of excursions, but if you have a rental car, there are lots of gorgeous places you can visit for essentially the price of gas. My friends and I only paid for a few excursions and tourist attractions that we felt were absolute must-dos, such as hiking to the famous Fautaua Waterfall and a boat taxi ride to the world-renowned Teahupoo Wave.
13. Travel with Friends
As I hinted at before, a great way to travel to Tahiti on a cheap budget is by traveling with friends! Traveling with another person will not only help lower the costs but also allow you to share an awesome experience with someone. I’m someone who has done her fair share of solo traveling, and I know you can’t always find someone to travel with you. Despite this, it doesn’t mean it’s impossible to find someone to travel with.
One way I find friends to travel with is by joining free walking tours or joining Facebook travel groups. These are super easy ways to meet other tourists, with a common interest. Afterward, I normally invite them to grab a snack or meal together and see if they want to plan other activities together. I know putting yourself out there can be intimidating, but it usually pays off, often in more ways than one!
How Much Money Should I Take to Tahiti?
Now that you have read a few of my top travel tips for how to vacation in Tahiti on a budget, you may be wondering how much money you need to bring. Understandably, this number is going to fluctuate based on your personalized budget. However, my general rule is to bring $200 USD worth of foreign currency per week of travel. This is assuming you will also have a good travel credit card to complement your cash funds.
I recommend requesting the foreign currency from your bank a couple of weeks before your departure date. This will give the bank enough time to mail the money to you.
If $200 seems like a lot of cash, the small fees add up and lots of smaller local businesses don’t accept credit cards. It’s better to bring too much cash than to have to pay foreign transaction fees withdrawing cash from an ATM!
๐ต PRO TIP: Carry only some of your cash on you. Leave the rest in your housing accommodations to avoid losing all your money at once if something accidentally happens.
Wrap-Up: Tahiti on a Budget
Although Tahiti and her islands are often perceived as being a distant island dream, it’s more than possible to comfortably vacation in Tahiti on a budget. Furthermore, contrary to what many may believe, you don’t have to sacrifice all the best parts about traveling just because you have a tight budget. Tahiti has so many free things to do and places to explore, it’s just a matter of you making the effort!
Hopefully, this post with 13 ways to save in Tahiti has convinced you to finally take that leap and plan your vacation to French Polynesia. And with that, I wish you the best of luck and hope you have a marvelous time!
๐ธ Appreciation Note: You’ll notice that a few of the pictures in this post were taken by my friend good friend Sol! You can see more of his amazing photography here!
