Oh goodness, so sorry you had such mishaps! Thanks for the info. The bus can be quite unreliable.

sunny regards,

shully

I am sorry about your misfortunes at this pension. This is a very good lesson on why people should do their homework before going to French Polynesia. The transportation system around Moorea is not reliable, and is very confusing.

The buses ONLY run in conjunction with the ferry schedule. They will pass a specific location on the island at a time that is tied to their arrival and departure times from the ferry docks. They do not run hourly all day....only early in the morning when the ferry is on an hourly schedule. Later in the day there can be huge gaps in time, up to 3-4 hours. You absolutely need to know the ferry schedule before any attempt to get around the island on the bus.

Most of the small pensions do ask you to pay the charges up front. That is not uncommon at all. And what else was she to think on the night of your arrival other than you would be wanting dinner. I have to wonder how much of this was lack of communication and misunderstanding with both parties. It's quite possible if you were able to communicate in French, things would have been a bit smoother.

And...if this was a very recent stay or you happened to be there back in March or April during the oil crisis....in which case it would make some sense.

Hopefully, other than the pension and transportation problems, I hope you enjoyed your stay on Moorea.

Don't forget the point he is trying to make, forget about the bus schedule lesson ..........

What he is communicating is the the owner of the pension did not do what she said she would do, she also gave incorrect information .......

Now with that being said I would agree with doing your homework before you go .........

Btw, my wife speaks a little french but we still carry a electronic translator ..........

I know Tiki, I agree. I have to wonder how much of a language barrier there may have been. I have run into more than a few people over there who say yes or nod their head in agreement...and I'm thinking they are understanding me...only to discover later they did not understand me at all. It can be difficult sometimes. And then yes, there is always the possibility that the owners of the pension are just down right rude, selfish, and lie to your face. Without knowing the entire story, I'd lean toward lack of communication and understanding on both parties. It's really too bad. Moorea is such a wonderful place to visit. And to have it ruined because of a situation like this is very sad.

And again, doing your homework is essential. Had the poster had a better understanding of the bus schedule, much of this could have been averted. And, also knowing how safe and easy it is to hitch hike, would have helped this poster tremendously.

Indeed. I returned from my trip a week ago.

Four weeks before my trip to Moorea, I actually did my homework and was informed on the phone by Pension Tarariki that the buses ran every hour. But was not informed by them that the buses ran in conjunction with the ferry schedule and that it did not run doing lunch hours.

Tekura's boyfriend is fluent in English so I do not feel it was a language barrier between both parties. They did not have guests at their Pension so they lied that the buses ran every hour since I was their primary income for the week, staying for 5-nights. They just wanted money and didn't care to help or to be hospitable.

Wow. Then yes, I guess you do have a valid complaint. They should absolutely know that the buses only run to the ferry schedule. There is no way they should have told you any different. That is inexcusable on their part. And if he is English speaking, then yes, again, there should not be a problem with mis-communication.

Not sure what their problem is/was, but they surely can't expect to run a business like that. I have never heard anything good or bad about this particular pension before. I have only seen it mentioned in Jan Prince's book. It does not have a full write up on it.

Thanks for your report. Hopefully it will open the eyes of others considering staying there. And...hopefully it might open the eyes of the owners, that with the internet, word of a bad experience can hurt their business.

Again, sorry you had such a bad experience. Moorea is such a special place. I hope you were still able to enjoy the island in other ways.

Food for thought Patti ............

A nod of the head normally means yes/I agree in any culture ...........

Moorea 2008

Please copy and paste your comments to the pension

Their email is pensiontarariki@mail.pf

French Polynesia wants to build their country with tourism but they don't understand customer service

like they should.