Jeffsetter Travel

Travel Consultants and Travel Tips

August Summary Recap – Maui and French Polynesia

by

Last updated on November 20th, 2017 at 02:49 am

Lately, we have been doing a pretty good job of catching up on old posts. And by catching up, I mean I am writing about experiences in August.

I put together a snapshot summary of our August in the form of an infographic. Well I should say, I finished the summary I started in September. Mostly, so I have a checklist for what I still need to write and eventually creating a “must do” list for the countries we visit.

Note: After the infographic, I included A LOT of details of what we did when we were not parading our life online, which was most of the time considering we really didn’t post much.

Again, no candy will be thrown (due to liability reasons).

August-Infographic

Contents show

The Details

The following maybe TMI (too much information) for most readers.

However to the Jeffsetter’s, this is JEI (just enough information) to remember what we did. We write this post as much for ourselves as we do for everyone else. Based on this list, we had a mildly entertaining August. (Sarastica font)

I guess the way I would look at this is – if you are looking for things to do on Maui and places to stay in French Polynesia, then keep reading.

Hawaii – Eat, Sleep and Do

After wrapping up July on the Big Island, we headed back to Maui with a quick stop in Oahu before heading to French Polynesia.

Sights and Activities

Restaurants

  • Fred’s Mexican Cafe & Cantina – its fine and right next to our Airbnb, I wouldn’t go out of my way to go here
  • Montage Kapalua Bay – stopped here for a beer after a hike, wish we could afford to stay here
  • Nick’s Fishmarket – don’t bother going here, high-priced mediocre food
  • Kina’ole Grill (Shrimp Truck) – must try at least one shrimp truck
  • Grandma’s Coffee House – great breakfast
  • Monkey Pod – good cocktails, great beer list and nice for happy hour
  • Star Noodle – omg yum! out of the way from where we were, but worth it!
  • Sammy’s Bar and Grill (Airport) – beers before catching our plane
  • Nico’s at Pier 38 – Great place, good food, reasonable prices, outside of the tourist area. Thanks for dinner Matt!!
  • Maui Brewing Company – Pub food and great beer
  • Blue Water Shrimp Truck – yes another shrimp truck
  • The Pig and the Lady – Probably our favorite restaurant in Hawaii. I have no idea why the yelp ratings are not higher.  Thanks Kyle!!!
  • Hard Rock Cafe Honolulu – our farewell US lunch (Mr. J quote, “I need a bath after this experience.”)
  • Roy’s Waikiki – The other one is in SF across from my old office
  • Cheeseburger in Paradise – just grabbed happy hour beers
  • Tiki’s Grill & Bar – Hotel restaurant

Lodging

French Polynesia – Eat, Sleep and Do

While in French Polynesia, we visited Tahiti, Bora Bora and Moorea. This was our second time to Moorea and Tahiti, so we spent most of our nights on Bora Bora. Beautiful, but I can’t say it is my favorite island.

Sights and Activities

Restaurants

Lodging

Reader Interactions

Comments

    • Yes, we did bring it to Tahiti/Bora Bora and we flew it. The IC Tahiti is close to the airport, and DJI app prevented us from getting too close. Unfortunately a prop fell off on the first flight in Bora Bora and broke the thing… so we didn’t get a chance to fly it there.

    • Just to clarify “the prop fell off”, Drone attacked me (Mrs. J) on Bora Bora, and it is lucky that I didn’t throw it in the lagoon to die. Yes, I have mental and physical scars from Drone. I hate him, Drone not Mr. J. Unfortunately, Mr.J was able to have Drone operated on in New Zealand. So, he is back.

  2. Thank you for your response. I am happy that Mrs. J is OK. ? Did they give you any trouble when you arrived into Tahiti or when you flew to Bora Bora? I am planning on taking mine but i wanted to make sure it doesnt get taken from me.

    • We didn’t have any trouble taking the drone into Tahiti or on any of the inter-island flights in French Polynesia.

      I think there is a general rule that you can’t have the battery in the drone, but you have to have enough battery power to show them it works if asked. We have never been asked to do this.

      Usually, I google drone regulations and the country before we go just to see if there are any regulations (i.e., no fly zones, etc). Unfortunately, I forgot to do this before we went to Peru. Oops…”I had one job”

  3. Thank you again for your response. I look forward to taking it. Do you travel with the drone as a carry on or checked luggage?

    Do you have any of the drone footage posted anywhere from the IC Tahiti?

    • We either check it or carry it on. It is in this hard case backpack thing. Whether we check or carry depends on our checked luggage allowance (i.e., if we are allowed two or one pieces checked for free.)

      The IC Tahiti is right next to the Airport, which is a no fly zone. We didn’t fly the drone on Tahiti, just a little too close to the no fly zone for our comfort. Our French is non existent, so I don’t like risking discussions with authorities in a foreign country in a language I do not speak. The flying app that tells you the no fly zones has worked for us internationally, so far.

      On the first drone flight in Bora Bora the crash happened, so unfortunately we don’t have any footage from French Polynesia….other than proof of the attack on me, and even that could have been conveniently deleted.

    • It is the DJI brand Hardshell Backpack for the DJI Phantom 3. Easily fits in the overhead storage bins. I think I put it under the seat in front of me one time. The case is strong. I use it as a seat sometimes. The weight is 4.8 KG with the drone and extra batteries in it. Perfect for the inter-island flights that have strict weight requirements. Mr. J bought it on the DJI website.

      I know there are other brands that you can find on amazon.

  5. Is this the backpack you have? I saw it at BestBuy today and I will say I am truly impressed if you put that thing as checked luggage. It seemed sturdy but I would be nervous to put it as checked luggage without a recommendation.

    http://www.bestbuy.com/site/dji-hard-shell-backpack-for-select-dji-phantom-3-drones-black/4738400.p?id=1219810831838&skuId=4738400

    Did you guys purchase a sim card for your phone while in Tahiti? If you did, where did you purchase it? I would like to purchase one ahead of time but will purchase it there if needed.

    Thanks Again!

    • No problem.

      Yep that is the case. We have checked it numerous times both plane side and curbside. It is sturdy. I also sit on it, and I am heavier than any checked suitcase should be :)

      We have T-moble with an international plan, so we don’t have to get sim cards.

      Before we were traveling, my work paid for my phone. So, I would usually just call Verizon and ask for the specific country plan if it wasn’t’ already covered under my current plan. Back in the old days when I had a Blackberry, I use to just get the sim card from my service provider (verizon).

      Or, I just used Whatsapp or Facetime on wifi to make calls.

      You are going to have some great pics, please share after your trip!! Let us know if you have any other questions.

      • Thank you for all of your assistance! I will definately share photos/ video after we get back.

  6. Glad you guys love P&L!

    You know, you guys have done more on Maui than we ever have and we’ve lived in Hawaii all our lives… So I have to ask, how’s the Road to Hana? And how was driving the backside? We’re going to go to Hana in a couple of weeks while staying at the Andaz. Probably gonna set out EARLY in the morning so we can hike Pipiwai, and get back with enough time to shower and head to a 8pm dinner reservation in Wailea.

    Pro tip: Try Roy’s original location in Hawaii Kai. I’ve never been to any of his restaurants (say what?) but I heard that location is the best and far different from any other location in Hawaii… which are different from any of his other locations around the world.

    • The Road to Hana is one of those things that feels like you have to do it. It felt anticlimactic to me. I don’t know, it was super crowded (lots of traffic).

      The rainbow eucalyptus trees are pretty cool, there are a few waterfalls (kind of weak when we drove), and good views.

      The main hiking path for the bamboo is over at the 7 sacred pools, which we actually did when we drove the backroad. I realized that when I was going through pictures this weekend.

      The back road to Hana was cool, but it is a dirt road and really rough. You drive through a desert area. There are a couple of one lane 90 turns on a cliff, but I really think there was only 2 or 3 of those. Close to zero traffic, we saw very few other cars.

      I would check your rental car agreement, some of them don’t allow the rental cars on the back roads.

      In theory, you could do the full circle (i.e., both roads) in a day. The back road is more challenging to drive since it is dirt and bumpy, but less cars. So both roads have different kinds of stress to them, and different scenery (forest v. desert).

      • Thanks for the info Mrs. J! Gotta really think about that one… Though I’m pretty sure I’m more comfortable with the traffic stress than the white knuckle stress… but hey, gotta get out there and push yourself sometime right?? We’ll see! I’ll let you guys know what happens for sure!

  7. I love your infographics!!! But AJ, you have now set a precedent…… I expect to see them for every month from now on!!

    • HA! Thanks, I am finding I am just not clever enough to do them every month. The annual Christmas card is easy, but sometimes we have boring months. But, my goal is to do one for each month.

  8. Hello again and thank you for all of your assistance thus far. If you don’t mind, I have a couple of more questions.

    When you check the drone as checked luggage, what do you do with the controller? Do you take it in your carry on or check it with the drone?

    When you charge the drone in countries that use 220V, do you use anything besides an adapter? I read the power supply and I see that it says 100-240V. But it says that it needs to be plugged into a grounded outlet even though the plug doesn’t have a ground on it.

    Thank you again for all of your help!

    • Our hard style carrying case has a slot for the controller… so it’s all in that one place. It is very durable.

      As for charging, as long as you have an adapter, the charger will handle voltage conversion. As long as the charger has the big thick transformer in the middle of it, it is designed to handle voltage conversion. Have not really worried about plugins being grounded and has not been a factor.

      • Thank you for your quick response and all of your assistance. I will be sure to share footage after we get back.

        • Just another note, we think that sand may have got in the gears of the camera swivel. We recently tried flying it in Mendoza. The camera wouldn’t steady or move well. Look at it, it sounds like sand is in the gears. (We have flown it from a lot of beaches and desert areas.) We are going to have it tuned when we get back to the states to figure out if it is just sand. So, I would recommend cleaning it when you get back home.