French Polynesia
French Polynesia has a moderately developed economy, which is dependent on heavily taxed imported goods, tourism, and the financial assistance of mainland France. Business meetings are generally casual and friendly. Business lunches are rare as most businessmen go home at lunchtime. Offices and shops are usually open from 8 am to 12 noon and from 1.30 PM to 5 or 5.30 PM. In the suburbs, smaller family corner stores may not close until 10 PM. Shops close at 11 am on Saturdays. Banking hours are 7:45 am to 3:30 PM Monday to Friday, and some banks are open on Saturday from 7:45 to 11:30 am.
There are no known threats to foreigners traveling to French Polynesia. However, petty crimes such as pick pocketing and purse snatching do occur. Travelers are advised to take precautions such as guarding personal belongings and avoiding crowded areas such as markets and transportation hubs.
Accommodations vary from air-conditioned, carpeted, deluxe rooms with telephones and room service, to thatched-roofed bungalows called "pensions" where the bathroom is shared and may be outdoors with cold showers. Luxury hotels include the Hotel Bora Bora, the Bora Bora Lagoon Resort.
Telephone IDD service is available in the country and the country code is 689. The telephone system in Tahiti is excellent and very hi-tech. There are many public phones all over town and most of them are operated with phone cards ( telecarte ) which can be purchased at the airport coffee shop, in some bars (bar- tabacs), at some magazine stands and of course at the Post Office. These phone cards are priced according to time unites preloaded in a microchip embedded in the card. The phone box debits the card and tells you how many units you have left as you are talking. There are cards priced at 1, 2 and 5 thousand Pacific Francs depending on the number of units.
The standard current is 220 volts AC with European-style plugs.
110/220 volts AC, 60Hz. US-style two-pin plugs are in use.
All the classified hotels have good restaurants. Chinese, French, Italian and Vietnamese food is served, as well as the Polynesian specialties; Papeete is noted for Chinese and French cuisine. Tahitian food can be found in some hotels. Trucks or lunch wagons parked on the waterfront sell steak, chips, chicken, poisson cru, brochettes and shish kebabs. A full range of alcoholic drinks are available.
Things to know: A key to how expensive a restaurant will be is often indicated by dollar signs; for instance, $$$$ will indicate an expensive restaurant, whereas
$ will indicate a budget restaurant. National specialties:
• Smoked breadfruit.
• Mountain bananas.
• Fafa (spinach) served with young suckling pig.
• Poisson cru (marinated fish, for example raw tuna served with coconut cream and limes).
• Poe (starchy pudding made of papaya, mango and banana). National drinks:
• Noni Juice comes from the Noni tree and is famous for its health-enhancing effects.
• Hinano is the beer of Tahiti.Tipping:
In general not practiced but tolerated, since it is contrary to the Tahitian idea of hospitality.Nightlife
Papeete is full of life in the evenings with many restaurants and nightclubs. Most hotels feature Tahitian dance shows, bands and other traditional entertainment.
