Although you'll find that getting to Tahiti isn't the cheapest, the adventure over tends to be both easy and straightforward. This is because there are only a few airlines that fly into Papeete's Faa'a International Airport, which serves as a hub for the entire South Pacific. Regardless of which direction you are coming from, you'll be arriving on a huge wide-body jet such as a 747, so even the coach seats tend to be roomy and comfortable, which is a nice thing to look forward to.

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Coming from North America

Specifically from the United States there are only two airports with flights to Tahiti. Los Angeles serves as the more popular and used one, but Honolulu also provides options for those who might stopover in Hawaii along the way.


Los Angeles to Tahiti

8 hours 15 minutes each way

 

Tahiti is south of the equator, but in the Western Hemisphere, it sits in the UTC-10 time zone. Because of this, you’ll find that from November through mid March there’s only a 3-hour time difference from Los Angeles, and the rest of the year (during Daylight Saving’s Time, which isn’t in affect in Tahiti) there’s only a 2-hour time difference.


Air Tahiti Nui

The national airline of Tahiti operates a few different flights per day between Los Angeles and Papeete, which makes it so that you can select which one works the best with your travel plans, especially if you are flying from the east coast.

 

The airline has codeshare agreements with American Airlines and Delta Airlines, so if you live somewhere in the US or Canada other than Los Angeles, you can book one ticket starting on either of those airlines and then on to Tahiti on Air Tahiti Nui. This helps to simplify the planning process by a good deal.

 

The portion between Los Angeles and Tahiti usually runs around $700 to $900 round trip by itself, and you can add between US$100 and US$300 if you are starting other than in Los Angeles. The high season runs from June through October, and there are frequent fare sales during the rest of the year, so keep on the lookout for those.


Air France

Air France has one flight per day between Los Angeles to Tahiti, also on a very large plane.

 

The airline is part of the SkyTeam Alliance so you can fly to Los Angeles on Delta Airlines, or through a codeshare agreement on Alaska Airlines, before changing planes for the flight to Tahiti itself.


Hawaiian Airlines

Those who are stopping in Oahu, Hawaii on the way will be happy to know that Hawaiian Airlines flies from Honolulu to Tahiti, and also connects Honolulu with all the major cities in the western states of the United States. With this said, the bad news is that the Tahiti flights only run a few days per week, and this is strongly dependent on season, so you’d be lucky if they fit your schedule perfectly.


Coming from Europe

Tahiti and the rest of French Polynesia are very popular with Europeans, and particularly so with the French. Air Tahiti Nui flies daily from Paris to Los Angeles, and then of course on to Tahiti from there. This will often be the best deal if you are leaving from Paris, but for anyone else you’ll probably find better deals starting from London, Frankfurt, or Amsterdam to Los Angeles, and then continuing on according to the flights mentioned above.


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10 thoughts on "All-inclusive overwater bungalow and water villa resorts and where to find them"

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  1. I’m wanting book a overwater (for a couple) from Honolulu for 2 nights in November 2022.
    What is the instruction ? Could I contact you privately ?

    1. Martine,

      We are simply an online guide to overwater resorts around the world and we don’t do bookings. We have links to the best source to book each resort on each of the pages. Best of luck! -Roger

  2. I’m wanting to take my family to a vacation in a bungalow..over water.
    Swimming pool..I have 6 adults and 2 kids. Can u help?…send name of place or pics

    1. Hank,

      Unfortunately there are no overwater bungalows that can accommodate 8 people. Most of them are built for 2 or 3 people and even the rare resorts with 2-bedroom units charge a fortune for those. You are best off looking for 3 separate normal overwater bungalows for your group. -Roger

    1. Katherine,

      I cover most of this in my article on when to go to the Maldives. The short version is that there are pros and cons to any time of the year. It’s really only late May through early July when you might get hours of rain at a time. The rest of the year the rain tends to come quickly and usually end in 20 minutes or less. I think most people actually prefer to go to the Maldives when the weather is worst where they live, because it’s always warm and pleasant in the Maldives. -Roger

  3. I’m just in the beginning stages of planning an anniversary vacation for around Sept if next year so I know it’s to early to book but wanted to know where I should be looking for the best rates on fights from atlanta Georgia. We want an over water bungalow all inclusive or mostly all inclusive lunch and dinner with drinks/alcohol included. And a few activities. If you know of 2 or 3 options that would be greatly appreciated. Thank you..

    1. April,

      There are a few very expensive all-inclusive overwater bungalow resorts in the Caribbean, but none in Bora Bora or anywhere else in the South Pacific. If you really want all-inclusive then the Maldives is your best bet as they have about 25 resorts there that are all inclusive or offer all-inclusive options. You’ll probably get the cheapest flights from Atlanta to the Maldives about 5 months out. And you’ll usually get the best rates at a resort from 3 to 6 months out. Have a great trip. -Roger

  4. Hi
    I am very interested to know how to build a bungalow and the conditions ex. Water deep , power of waves , etc
    Tnx

    1. M,

      I get this question a lot and it always surprises me. I wish I could help, but we are an online guide to overwater hotels and we have nothing to do with construction of them. You might consider contacting construction firms in the Maldives, since most of the world’s overwater resorts are there and they keep building new ones. -Roger