When my husband and I started telling our friends and family that we were taking our 6-year-old on a week-long vacation to Tahiti, the reactions were pretty much what we expected. A wordless version that mixes excitement and shock: What are you both thinking? Isn’t it a honeymoon destination?
And to be honest, yes, we It was I’m asking myself the same thing. It would be a very long journey to get there from the Midwest. Our daughter had never been abroad before so there were a lot of unknowns, but we knew what kind of reputation places like French Polynesia and Tahiti had. Was it really a family-friendly vacation destination? Or do you just want to enjoy a romantic sunset overlooking the lagoon from your underwater bungalow?
We took a chance and booked the trip anyway, half convinced we would spend a week apologizing for dragging our daughter somewhere she wasn’t meant to be.
Thankfully we were wrong. That’s embarrassingly wrong. Tahiti and French Polynesia turned out to be one of the best family trips we’ve ever taken. And the reason really surprised us. Here’s what happens that we didn’t foresee.
The locals treated our daughter as if she belonged there.
As soon as I boarded the Air Tahiti Nui flight, I knew I was in the right place. Before we took our seats, my daughter was given a small backpack filled with crayons, coloring books, and games. It was such a small thing, but it set the tone for everything that followed.
The warmth didn’t stop even at the airport. On our Bora Bora lagoon tour, our guide treated her like her own family. They helped her weave seashell bracelets with motu and walked her around the garden as if she were someone worth showing, not a child to be controlled, while the adults had a real experience. She devoured it. And to tell you the truth, so did I!
The culture of French Polynesia is so child-centered that it’s hard to explain unless you experience it first hand. Your child is welcome and it feels very authentic.
There are plenty of things to do (even with kids in tow) besides lying on the beach.
This was probably the biggest misunderstanding we made. Tahiti and French Polynesia aren’t just for people who want to spend a week reading by the water. (But…next time you travel, be sure to sign up!) There are so many great things to do, and many of them are perfect for kids.
At the Westin Bora Bora, my daughter made a seashell bracelet and visited a sea turtle conservation center to learn about sea turtle rehabilitation. That alone would have allowed her to travel. But if you have adventurous kids, it’s field trips that really open up the possibilities.
We took the Tahiti Ichi boat tour with Te Pari Explorer Lagoon Tours, and had we allowed our daughter, she would have stayed on that boat permanently. The guides were great, great with my daughter, and the scenery was unreal. At one point, they made her jump off a rope swing into a lagoon. she still Let’s talk about it. It will probably last for many years.
The kind and experienced staff were extremely helpful when planning our trip.
Before I even started planning an overseas trip to French Polynesia with my kids, I knew it would be a daunting task. There are multiple islands you can stay on, many formalities are involved in traveling to one, and there are about a million opinions on the internet about how to do it right, especially when traveling with a family.
We worked with Tahiti Tourism to put it together. This was one of the best decisions we made. Tahiti Tourism is not a travel agency that’s rightrather the hub for everything in Tahiti. They’re useful planning resources for travelers, with nifty trip planner tools and a dedicated site featuring certified travel advisors.
If you’re looking at French Polynesia and feel like your plans might be enough to break your heart, this is a sign to get help. It made everything feel doable rather than difficult.
It cost less than I expected.
Look, if you’re staying in an overwater bungalow with room service and nightly turndown service every night of your trip, then yes, French Polynesia is going to be expensive. But that’s not the only way.
We bounced around a few different properties and combining them made a huge difference. Places like Vanilla Lodge and Royal Tahitian offered a great French Polynesian experience at a more affordable price. You don’t have to have luxuries to feel like you’re living your best life. Trust me, the lagoon looks equally amazing either way.
If Tahiti isn’t on your bucket list because it’s too far, too expensive, or too romantic for a family trip, we understand. We thought the same thing. But this trip proved to us that it is absolutely possible, and that the experience on the other side is worth all the planning it takes to get there.
