I once had a honeymoon couple who were sure they could only afford Hawaii. They’d always dreamed of Tahiti, but they’d crossed it off their list before we ever started planning because they assumed it was out of reach. Once I got into their trip, I told them that if they were willing to fly about 90 minutes farther, I could get them to Tahiti! They had no idea it was only that much farther, and they got so much more excited (and honestly, they trusted me even more after that). A while later, I got a photo of the 2 of them on the beach with a text that said “WE MADE IT!” and it made my whole day. I start with that story because most couples come to me with the wrong number in their heads for Tahiti. Sometimes it’s too high, and sometimes it’s too low because the prices you see online skip things like interisland flights. Pretty pictures tell a story that may not be accurate, so here’s what a Tahiti honeymoon really looks like from my side of the desk!
Most Tahiti honeymoons I plan start around $17k
That’s the real starting point for a couple going to French Polynesia with me. My favorite trips land somewhere between $17,000 and $35,000, and some go higher! The range is wide on purpose, because every trip I build is tailored to the 2 of you, so the price follows your choices: how many nights, which islands, which rooms, and how you fly. It’s also why I never send sample itineraries with a price tag attached. Everything I plan is built around one couple, so a number I put together before I really know you would just be a guess.
Getting there: the 2 flights that surprise people
Your international flight will usually leave from LAX or San Francisco, and the price difference between economy, premium economy, and business class catches a lot of couples off guard! When I’m planning your trip, I’ll lay the cabins out side by side so you can see exactly what you’re trading, and then help you decide where that money makes the most sense for you. Then there’s the second flight. Once you land on Tahiti, you still need to get to the other islands, and Air Tahiti flights between Tahiti and Bora Bora usually run about $500 round trip per person. That one surprises a lot of people, because it never shows up when they price the big flight online!
Breakfast is almost always included
This is the part couples are happiest to see! About 95% of the properties I book include breakfast, and I’ll tell you up front if yours is one of the exceptions. Sitting down to breakfast every morning without a bill for 2 at the end might sound small, but by day 7, you’ll love me for it!
The overwater bungalow math
Overwater bungalow prices can be a little shocking the first time you see them, and I totally get it! The detail that really throws people is where the bungalow sits. At a lot of resorts, the farther out on the water it is, the more it costs, even when it’s the exact same bungalow as the one closest to the beach, so you’re really paying for the spot. Is the farther spot worth it? Sometimes! I’ll tell you honestly which upgrade makes sense for the 2 of you and which one is money you’d rather spend somewhere else. My clients trust me on rooms, so I skip the long menu of room categories and just tell them: THIS is the room you want, don’t even bother digging. And because we’re a Virtuoso agency, my clients get VIP treatment at the hotels I book them into.
What moves the number from $17k toward $35k+
Mostly 2 things: more nights and bigger rooms! Adding The Brando moves it a lot, too. (If The Brando is on your trip, it’s your finale, which is the one exception to my Bora Bora rule.) I build every trip from the bottom to the top, so each property tops the last one, and right when you think nothing could beat where you are, you move and it does! That’s why Bora Bora always goes last when it’s on the itinerary, with fewer nights than the other islands. You do the action and adventure on islands like Moorea, then unwind in Bora Bora so you fly home relaxed instead of exhausted, and you save the overwater bungalow for the end so you finish with a bang. It’s also the smartest way to spend, because your biggest room rates land on the nights you’ll remember most. On my own honeymoon, one of those nights was on the deck at the bar at The St. Regis Bora Bora. My husband had a cocktail, I had a mocktail, and we watched the sunset and talked about everything we were excited for before we had to go home. That’s what those last nights are for!
The costs people forget to count
Your first night on Tahiti. I’ll never send you from the airport at PPT straight to a 4am ferry! I book a night at a hotel on Tahiti so you can get off the plane, go straight to bed, and catch your ferry or interisland flight the next day well rested.
Transfers. Airport to dock, dock to resort, resort to the next island. I book every single one, and they’re built into your quote from the start.
Excursions. Book them through me! They tend to cost less than booking the same thing at the resort, which surprises a lot of couples. And please do the shark and stingray snorkel. I did it on my first trip, then again on my honeymoon with my husband, who took over our waterproof camera and kept swimming off to film, to the point where I couldn’t even find him!
Travel protection. I quote it up front on every trip. Credit card coverage tends to leave gaps on a trip this big and this far from home, and I’d rather you never find that out the hard way. I know what could go wrong so that it doesn’t.
So what will your honeymoon cost?
Honestly, I can’t give you a real number until I know the 2 of you and get to work on your trip! Here’s how it works. First, we’ll have a complimentary consultation call, and there’s no such thing as an email consultation, so bring your partner, because the best calls are the ones where you both get a say! We’ll get to know each other, and I’ll walk you through how Susan’s Travel Services works and what being a Virtuoso agency means for you. From there, once you’ve signed our travel design agreement and paid the travel design fee, I dig in. I’ll ask each of you what you do and don’t want, find where you overlap, and build up from there, then walk you through everything I did and why, so you know your trip as well as I do.
If you’ve been dreaming about Tahiti (even if you’ve already crossed it off your list, like that Hawaii couple almost did!), that’s where I come in! Book a complimentary consultation with me! We’ll get to know each other, I’ll walk you through how Susan’s Travel Services works (including what being a Virtuoso agency means for you), and we’ll talk about next steps.