Helpful Information

TIME DIFFERENCE

French Polynesia is 10 hours behind GMT, 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 PM. Sunday in Los Angeles, 8 AM, Monday in Sydney, 11 PM. (winter time) – 12 P.M. (summer time) in Frankfurt.

INTERNATIONAL AIR SERVICE

Faaa, the airport of Tahiti, is regularly served by frequent jet connections, linking Tahiti with the west coasts of the United States and Canada, Hawaii, France and Europe, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, South East Asia. International airlines providing these connections include Air France Group, Hawaiian Airlines, Air New Zealand, Qantas Airways Limited, Lan Chile, Air Caledonie International, A.O.M French Airlines and charter flights aboard Corsair. Tahiti airlines, the first Tahiti-based international carrier, will begin flying in April 1998 with an Airbus A 340-300 aircraft.

FUMIGATION SERVICE

All passengers importing plants, flowers, fruits or vegetables, must be in possession of an international certificate. 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 (Faaa airport). Importation of live animals is prohibited. Contact the above-mentioned service. Open daily from 7:00 am to 11:00 am and from 1:00 par to 4:00 pro. Non prohibited items should be re-exported in a maximum deadline of 6 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…)

FOREIGN EXCHANGE OFFICE

A privately operated foreign exchange office is located on the Papeete waterfront next to harbor and in back of the port immigration office and the Socredo Bank. It is open Monday through Saturday from 7~00 a.m to 7:00 p.m. It is open Sundays and public holidays from 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. All currency with a legal exchange rate may be exchanged. The exchange rates used are the same as those used by the banks in Papeete.

HEALTH CERTIFICATION

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.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

II. VISA FORMALITIES

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

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, Bermuda, Brunei, Cimada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Ne Zealand, 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. And 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 for 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.

In addition to personal effects, 200 cigarettes or 100 cigarillos or 50 cigars or 250 grams of smoking tobacco, 50 grams of perfurne, 0, 25 litre of lotion, 5OO grams of coffee, 100 grams of tea and 2 litres of spirits are allowed duty free. Visitors under 17 years of age are not allowed to import tobacco and spirits.

Before importing any telecommunication items, please contact the High Commissioner’s services, Tel. (689) 46 86 86 ext. 630. Prohibited items include narcotics, copyright infringements, weapons and ammunition, drugs, imitation brand names and cultured pearls originating in Tahiti.

MARRIAGE FORMALITIES

Marriage between two foreign persons or between French national and a foreign person, must follow and respect the form and conditions provided for in the legislation for public order : legal age limit, freedom from previous Marital engagement, marriage arranged by parents within legal limits, mourning period for women. In order to verify if the projected marriage is not contrary to public order, the municipal authority has the right to demand a customary certificate from the foreign authorities (ministry or consulate) if the couple does not exercise the right of their own national law. Article 74 of Civil Code provides that “the marriage will be conducted in the commune where one of the future spouses has an address or has established residency for a month of continued habitation from the date of publication provided by the law”. The publication of marriage bans will be done during ten days at the entrance of the Town House. In case one of the future spouses has neither address nor residence in France, the publication must be done in the place of his/her residence and must be verified by a certificate of publication.

MEDICAL CARE

French Polynesia enjoys a high standard of health, with excellent medical and dental services, pharmacies, private clinics and a large government hospital in Tahiti. The outer islands have hospitals or dispensaries, and a few private practitioners. All the islands maintain hygienic controls to combat potential epidemics of tropical diseases, such as the dengue fever. There are no snakes, poisonous spiders or fearsome animals in these islands, and 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. Take precaution and do not overexpose your body to the tropical sun, and wear tennis shoes or plastic sandals when walking on the reefs and in the lagoons of Polynesia.

WATER

Tap water in the hotels and restaurants is safe to drink. Local mineral waters and all sorts of French mineral waters are available.

ELECTRICITY

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

CLOTHING

Comfortable and cool, natural fabrics such as cotton sundresses or T-shirts are perfect for daytime wear. The standard attire for men even at dinner parties is simply slacks and shirt. Women usually wear comfortable dresses in the evenings and normal resort wear around the hotels. Pareus or pareos are brightly colored and versatile hand blocked or painted fabrics 2 yards long by 1 yard wide, and are worn at home, at the beach or around the hotel pools. Some are elegantly tied for evening wear. Pareus are not recommended for downtown Papeete, as the city is rather cosmopolitan in dress code. Bathing suits and short shorts are also out of place in Papeete.

POSTAL SERVICE

The PAPEETE POST OFFICE main office is located on Blvd. Pomare in downtown Papeete. Services include stamps for letters and parcels, expr: delivery service, international telephone calls, telegrams, telex, telefax aw, philatelic centre. Open from Monday-Thursday 7 am -3 pm Friday, 7 am – 2: Post offices in the islands are open Monday to Friday 7.00am – 3.30pra. Post office in the island of Tahiti are open:

TELEPHONE SERVICE

Direct dialing for local and international telephone calls is now very easy in French Polynesia, whether calling from your hotel or from the public phone booths. When dialing direct to Raitea and Tahaa, or to any other of the Tahitian islands, dial the proper International Access Code + 689 (Country Code) + Local Number. The International Access Code if calling from the U.S. is 011. When transmitting telex messages from the U.S., the code 702 or 711 for all of Tahiti and Her Islands must precede the telex number.

EXCHANGE AND BANKING

The local currency, the French Pacific Franc (CFP), is on a parity with the French Franc (1 CFP = 0.055 French Francs). The exchange rate for other currencies fluctuates daily. Notes are issued in denominations of: 10,000, 5,000, 1,000 and 500 francs (CFP); and coins are: 100, 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and I francs (CFP). There are international banks in Tahiti, with branch offices in the resort islands of French Polynesia, including a bank at the Tahiti-Faaa International Airport. Hotels will also exchange various currencies for CFP. Major credit cards are accepted in most hotels, restaurants, boutiques and other tourist establishments.