Entry Requirements/Customs:
Foreigners wishing to visit French Polynesia must have a valid passport, which, depending on the nationality of the visitor, contains a valid visa. Such visitors must also have an airline ticket back to their resident country or to at least two more continuing destinations. Visitors must also have a sufficient amount of funds to cover their planned stay in the territory.

1. Visitors Eligible for Three-Month Stays:
Citizens of certain countries are exempt from all visa requirements for stays of three months or less. They are citizens of European Union Countries: Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. They are citizens of the following other countries: Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, San Marino, Switzerland, the Vatican, and Australia*.

2. Visitors Eligible for One-Month Stays:
Citizens of the following countries are exempt from all consular visa requirements for stays of one month or less: Argentina, Bolivia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus*, Czech Republic, El Salvador*, Equador, Estonia, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Japan*, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico*, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Poland, Singapore*, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, the United States of America**, and Uruguay.

3. When Visas are Obligatory:
Citizens from all other countries are obliged to have a consular-issued visa for French Polynesia issued by a French consulate office in the country where the citizen lives. The visa must include the following wording: "Valable pour la Polynesie Francaise" (valid for French Polynesia).

4. Other Situations:
A foreigner with a residence card for the United States is not exempt from having a visa for visiting French Polynesia. This person should contact French consular officials based in the United States of America. The entry formalities from French Polynesia are subject to modification without notice. Foreigners planning to visit French Polynesia are, therefore, urged to contact their nearest French Consulate or an airline serving Tahiti.

*Except for paid activities in French Polynesia.
**Just like in France, short-stay visas are required for American citizens in the following cases: holders of diplomatic and official passports on assignment, students enrolled in courses in French Polynesia, journalists on assignment, crew members, as well as those who will have paid activities in French Polynesia (including scientists and artists).

Customs:

In addition to personal effects, the following are allowed into Tahiti duty-free: 200 cigarettes or 100 cigarillos or 50 cigars or 250 grams of smoking tobacco, 50 grams of perfume, 500 grams of coffee, 100 grams of tea and 2 liters of spirits.

To import plants and flowers, special permission is necessary from the Service of Rural Economy, P.O. Box 100, Papeete, Tahiti, Tel. 42.97. 80 (Fare Ute - Papeete)/ 82.49.99 (Faa'a airport). All passengers importing plants, flowers, fruits or vegetables, must be in possession of an international certificate.

Importation of live animals is prohibited. Contact the above mentioned service if you have questions. Open daily from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., and from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Non-prohibited items should be re-exported in a maximum deadline of six months.

Certain types of animal life and flora are protected by customs regulations:
• by the Washington agreement (requires a CITES certificate issued by the Nature Protection Service)
• by territorial regulations (certain shells, etc. …)

Currency:

The currency in Tahiti is the French Pacific Franc (CFP), though credit cards and US dollars are common. It's also helpful to know business hours, taxes, and where to exchange money.

The currency used in French Polynesia is the French Pacific franc, or CFP. Though exchange rates vary, there are approximately 125 CFP to the U.S. dollar. Notes come in denominations of 500, 1000, 5000 and 10,000, and coins in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100.

Visa credit cards are accepted (banks will give you a cash advance), as are American Express. Mastercard is accepted in some areas. On many of the smaller islands, credit cards are not accepted.

Though ATMs are a growing presence in Tahiti, there is no guarantee yours will work here.

Electricity:

Most of the hotels use 110 or 220 volts, a.c. 60 cycles. Power outlets for all shavers and other appliances are a convenience provided in most hotels. A converter/adaptor for other appliances is usually available upon request.

Language:

The official languages of French Polynesia are Tahitian and French, but numerous other tongues are spoken as well. Paumotu (the language of the Tuamotu Islands), and Mangarevan (spoken in the Gambiers) are both native tongues. These languages belong to the great Malayo-European language family, which also includes the languages of Malaysia, Indonesia, Madgascar and the original languages of Taiwan.

Health:

There are excellent medical services avaliable on Tahiti, though the few simple guidelines presented here should help keep you out of them!

French Polynesia enjoys a high standard of health, with excellent medical and dental services, pharmacies, private clinics and a large government hospital in Tahiti, which is open 24 hours. The outer islands have hospitals or dispensaries, and a few private practitioners.

There are no snakes, poisonous spiders or fearsome animals in these islands. Hotels and dispensaries on each tourist island and atoll keep first aid supplies on hand to treat coral cuts, sunburn and the extremely rare case of poisoning, when the barefoot swimmer steps on the toxic spines of the stonefish. All the islands maintain hygienic controls to combat potential epidemics of tropical diseases, such as the dengue fever.

Please take precaution and do not overexpose your body to the tropical sun. Tennis shoes or plastic sandals are recommended when walking on the reefs and in the lagoons of Polynesia.

Certificates of inoculations against cholera, yellow fever and the plague are required for visitors arriving from an infected area as defined by the World Health Organization.

Time:

French Polynesia is 10 hours behind Greenwich Mean Time, 2 hours behind US Pacific Standard Time, and 20 hours behind Australian Eastern Standard Time.

When it is noon Sunday in Tahiti, it is 2 p.m. Sunday in Los Angeles, 8 A.M. Monday in Sydney, 11 P.M. (winter time) - 12 P.M. (summertime) in Frankfurt. The Marquesas Islands are a half-hour ahead of the rest of French Polynesia. When it is noon in Tahiti, it is 12:30 P.M. in the Marquesas.

Climate:

Our temperatures average about 79 degrees (F) year around, both the air temperature and the water temperature. We are a tropical destination blessed with lots of Sun and enough rain to keep the waterfalls flowing and the flowers blooming!