French Polynesia Opening Borders - Just in Time for Whale Swimming
French Polynesia has just announced that as of July 15th, their borders will be opened to all international travellers (with a caveat).
Between the opportunity to relax on tropical beaches and the must-do-in-your-lifetime experience of swimming together with a humpback whale, it might very well be the best travel opportunity for 2020.
That being said, there are still some caveats to travel there, and in this article, and just so you don’t need to do the research, I’ve gone ahead and done it for you below!
In this article, we’re going to go through the most-knows about their travel policy, getting flights, and finally, why I really really think you should go specifically to experience swimming with whales.
Looking to Swim with Humpbacks?
COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS & REQUIREMENTS
Let’s keep this section strictly to the facts.
Pre-Departure
All travellers must take a COVID-19 (RT-PCR) test 72 hours before departure to French Polynesia.
Travellers will need to provide a medical certificate to certify their results prior to boarding flights.
Those who test positive will not be permitted to board.
Travel insurance will be mandatory for visitors staying in French Polynesia.
This is inclusive of travel insurance policies that credit cards provide.
Travellers who have tested positive 3 weeks prior to departure and have immunity may provide an immunity certificate in lieu of testing.
Besides this, you may also be subject to randomized testing 4 days after your arrival. If you do test positive you will be quarantined at your place of residence.
For the latest and full information, you can check out Tahiti Tourism’s official COVID page here. I recommend looking into their French official guide and translating it through Google as the information is more comprehensive on that release.
GETTING TO FRENCH POLYNESIA
So, I mentioned there’s a caveat to travelling to French Polynesia. While they technically say that they are open to all international travellers, the reality is that you will be somewhat limited by the flight routes available. In short, if you can’t access Paris or the US easily, it’s going to be a pain.
Below are the standard routes that fly to Tahiti along with notes about the current status of things.
United States
Flights are scheduled from San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Flights are also scheduled from Honolulu, but Hawaii isn’t accepting tourists at this time so this is only relevant for Hawaii residents.
France
Flights are scheduled from Paris
Australia
As Australians are not permitted to leave the country without an exemption, flying from Australia will not be possible.
New Zealand
NZ does not plan to open before September to other countries besides Australia. There are technically flights running from NZ but as New Zealanders are not permitted to leave the country, we don’t recommend attempting to book these.
Japan
Air Tahiti Nui is not planning on resuming flights from Tokyo until at least September.
New Caledonia
Flights are scheduled from Noumea.
So in short, to get to French Polynesia you’ll most likely need to get to SF, LA, or Paris. Anything else is going to be a long shot.
WHY YOU SHOULD GO TO FRENCH POLYNESIA TO SWIM WITH WHALES
I’m not going to hide, we provide programs to swim with whales, so I’m clearly going to present a bias towards it here. But that being said, I don’t think it’s without good reason.
French Polynesia has a lot going for it, but you can basically break it down into two broad categories.
Tropical resorts & relaxation
Marine wildlife (whales, scuba, snorkelling)
Now, French Polynesia isn’t cheap to get to. From where I am based in Vancouver, flights cost approximately $1000~$2000 depending on the day you fly, involves one or two connections, and takes about 13-18 hours. Not only that, Tahiti itself doesn’t have much going for it, it’s the surrounding islands and atolls like Mo’orea, Teha’a, and Fakarava that have the gorgeous beaches and scenery. You’ll need to make one more flight out of Tahiti once you land.
French Polynesia also isn’t a cheap country in general. The cost of living in French Polynesia is about equivalent to the cost of living in Barcelona.
So from a strictly cost perspective, is it worth going to a place like this just for the beaches and relaxation? In my opinion, no. You can do the same in many other places at a lower cost.
What French Polynesia DOES have that most places don’t have though, is amazing oceanic wildlife. Humpback whales in particular.
Humpback whales travel to French Polynesia to breed, rest, and raise their young between mid-August to the end of October. And what makes these creatures so special is that they are both incredibly social, and intelligent. There are other whales that you can get into the water with, but few want to interact and play with you as a humpback will.
There are other places in the world that can provide this type of experience, but in Tonga, borders are still closed as of writing this article due to COVID-19. In the other major spot, the Dominican Republic, only 60 visitors are permitted to sail around the Silver Bank per week resulting in trips needing to be booked as long as years in advance.
There are a number of islands in French Polynesia that can provide this experience, which you can read more about here, but we personally recommend the island of Rurutu. This island in particular is quite unique in that it’s fringing reef creates deep waters close to the beaches, allowing whales to swim close to the shoreline of the island.
As there are far fewer whale swimming operators on the island as well, this also means that whaleboat captains are not swarming whales with their participants.
And I guess for just one more reason, swimming with humpbacks isn’t just a “fun” experience. Many people discover that it’s a deeply connecting experience both with these majestic animals and with the planet.
Gazing into the eyes of a humpback, you realize that we humans are not the only intelligent creatures, and that this planet doesn’t just belong to us. We share it. And in experiencing this, you gain an understanding that we can’t just squander this planet for our own selfish needs.
These experiences that help shift the way we see the world around us and help us grow as people are what we at Inertia Network believe travel is truly about. So come join us for an adventure sometime.
Hope to see you in the future, in the warm waters of French Polynesia.