This article is reposted from the WeChat public account of a reader from our WeChat group, 懒人 33 的吃喝玩乐. Original article link. The original article was published in 2021, so some pandemic-related information may still be included.

Background

This year I had an extra month of vacation, and when I saw the pandemic situation easing somewhat, I started planning a trip. An island getaway had always been high on my wish list, so after comparing the Maldives, Fiji, Guam, and Easter Island against the following criteria, I ultimately chose Tahiti:

  • Low pandemic risk, with vaccine requirements and PCR testing before and after entry;
  • Minimal time-zone disruption;
  • No long layovers required.

Because of the uncertainty during the pandemic, I ran into quite a few twists and turns while handling the paperwork, but I’ll skip those details and go straight to the useful info.

Visa Questions

How do you know whether you need a visa? (https://tahititourisme.com/en-us/travel-planner/tahiti-visa-requirements/)

  • Are you a US or Canadian citizen (green card holders do not count)?
    • US citizens can stay in Tahiti visa-free for 90 days
  • Are you a Chinese citizen? Chinese citizens have the following three options:
    • If you already hold a multiple-entry Schengen visa issued by a French consulate and valid for more than six months, you can use that visa to enter Tahiti
    • Book your itinerary through one of 15 designated Tahiti travel agencies and you can stay visa-free for 15 days. List of designated travel agencies: https://cn.ambafrance.org/article31742
    • Apply for a Tahiti visa (not recommended, for reasons explained below)
  • Others
    • Check the French government’s Visa Wizard (https://france-visas.gouv.fr/en_US/web/france-visas/ai-je-besoin-d-un-visa)

Below I’ll focus on the second and third options for Chinese citizens. As mentioned earlier, because of pandemic uncertainty, Tahiti was not yet open when I first started planning, and visas were only reopened one month before departure. In the end, I booked most of the trip through a travel agency, while booking my Bora Bora hotel and mainland US flights separately.

When people hear “booking through a travel agency,” they often assume it means a group tour. In reality, Tahiti only requires you to book your international round-trip ticket and all hotels through a designated agency; the trip itself is still independent travel. There are plenty of advantages to booking through an agency: the designated agencies are all local and can give very authentic advice; you don’t have to worry about inter-island transportation in Tahiti, which is complicated and can take a lot of time and energy to arrange yourself; and the hotel rates agencies get are often lower than public rates.

There are downsides too: Tahiti is not exactly a high-pressure, highly competitive place. I contacted all 15 officially designated agencies, and during the pandemic half of them didn’t really want to take business anymore. Of the rest, about 1/4 only replied to emails once a week, so going back and forth was very slow. The initial quotes from agencies were also much higher than what I could book on my own, so I sent my agent all the prices I had found to make them compete. In the end, I got the price down to slightly below what I could book myself. Also, designated agencies charge a 3% fee for credit card payments.

I’d like to recommend my agent Maeva (). She replied about once per day on average—which was already much faster than other agents—and she matched the price I found myself. Her company, yestahiti, is part of Tahiti Nui Travel, one of the 15 certified agencies, and they can help Chinese citizens qualify for visa-free entry.

I still chose to apply for a Tahiti visa mainly because I wanted to use my hotel points for a Bora Bora hotel stay. Since that part of the itinerary was missing from the agency booking, I couldn’t use the visa-free agency option. The visa process is as follows:

  1. Fill out the Visa Application: https://france-visas.gouv.fr/en_US/web/france-visas/ma-demande-en-ligne
  2. Book an appointment: https://france-visas.gouv.fr/en_US/web/us/a-qui-sadresser. This appointment is not a visa interview; it is only for submitting materials in person, fingerprinting, and taking a photo. You can choose any location you want; it is not tied to your place of residence. (Hard-earned tip: once you choose the location, it cannot be changed, though the appointment time can be rescheduled. If you want to change the location, add a 0 after your passport number when making the appointment.)
  3. Prepare the required documents according to the Visa Application checklist. Married couples should ideally also bring their marriage certificate and a copy. You can either take the photo at the VFS center or bring your own.
  4. Bring all materials and arrive at the appointment on time. (Hard-earned tip: you can ask the staff to scan your fingerprints one extra time just in case.)
  5. If all goes smoothly, you should receive the visa in about one to two weeks.

As mentioned above, I do not recommend applying for a Tahiti visa because this visa only allows travel to TOM (French overseas territories), not mainland France, and it is not a Schengen visa. If you have enough time, it is better to apply directly for a multiple-entry Schengen visa and then use that to enter Tahiti.

Covid 19 Info (No Vaccine or Testing Required)

Requirements related to vaccination, testing, and quarantine can all be found on Tahiti’s English-language official website:

Air Tahiti Nui’s website also has some relevant information:

The latest information at this time is that there are no restrictions at all, and no proof of vaccination is required. Unvaccinated travelers also no longer need testing.

When we traveled in July 2021, Tahiti required travelers under 11 years old to be fully vaccined, otherwise quarantine was required. In addition, within 3 days before departure, travelers needed a FDA authorized negative RT-PCT test. (Hard-earned tip: in reality, many PCR tests are not FDA Authorized—for example, the testing site at Bellevue College in Seattle used a UW kit, which had a high chance of not being FDA authorized.) You can ask the testing site and also check on the FDA website. If you live near LA/SF, you can test at one of the designated providers listed on Tahiti’s English-language website.

We ultimately chose Atlas genomics in Seattle, which provided same-day results. At the time we traveled, my child, who was under 3 years old, did not need either a vaccine or a test. However, Tahiti’s Covid-related policies changed very frequently, so I strongly recommend checking the official website for the latest information.

Once the outbound requirements were handled, where could we get the Covid Test needed to return to the US? As of the time the article was published, the most convenient option was to do it on-site at the Tahiti airport before departure, with results available within an hour (link)

You can perform your test faster if you have pre-registered and validated the pre-payment of your file.For this, you must send at least two days before your return to the United States, by email to the address [email protected], your last name, first name, date of birth and if possible, your file number obtained on your arrival in French Polynesia（written on the label affixed to the back of your passport）。

You can also skip the email and simply line up to pay at the airport.

That’s all for the paperwork section for now. Next I’ll be sharing more about flights, hotels, food, and activities, so stay tuned!

Tahiti Series Articles

The original article was published in 2021, so some pandemic-related content remains. I hope this series gives anyone planning a trip to Tahiti a helpful overview.

About the Author

This article is reposted from the WeChat public account of a reader from our WeChat group, 懒人 33 的吃喝玩乐. The account features original and well-written articles, and if you’re interested, feel free to follow it.