I assume that a Bond was required for French
Polynesia--how was this handled?
Quite a simple process, really!
One simply gets off the boat, visits one of the local banks
(Banque Socrea, Banque de Tahiti, or Bank de Polynesie),
and purchases a Caution de Retour. The bank people know
exactly what you need, and they'll quote you a price which
will include a (roughly) US$6.00 commission - this is in
addition to any commision on currency exchange! The
local currency is the CFP which is (at last report) pegged
to the Euro; as of today, it's about 108 CFP to the US $.
Anyway, after you purchase the bond, you go to Immigration
(you can stop there first, but without the bond, they'll
just
send you to the bank - save yourself a stop and go to the
bank first).
Note that if you do not visit the main island, you may not
need a bond! Our first stop was in Raiatea, and they did
not require a bond. We only had to post the bond when we
got to Papeete.
Getting your bond back is supposedly very simple - just
make sure you get all the paperwork when you arrange
your exit clearance, then stop at the Gendarmerie on the
last island you visit. The Gendarme will stamp your bond
release form and you then go to the bank to get your
money back. Note well: the return of your money will be
in local currency regardless of whether you exchanged
money when you purchased it. If you ask them to change
back to US$ you will pay exchange commission again!
Regardless, there will be a second Bond commission to
redeem the bond. Net, I think it adds up to about US$30
per person.
Definately stock up on filters and special fittings before
leaving US--but in countries as Australia one can usually
find items which are standard in the US.
We ran out of gen-set oil filters while here in Tahiti! (I
didn't count very well when we left California.) We asked
around for a supply of Fram PH-16's and got a Champion
equivalent - actually we got a dozen of them so we won't
run out again. We got lucky - make sure you count your
spares, and then count them again.
> I assume that a Bond was required for French
> Polynesia--how was this handled?
Quite a simple process, really!
One simply gets off the boat, visits one of the local banks
(Banque Socrea, Banque de Tahiti, or Bank de Polynesie),
and purchases a Caution de Retour. The bank people know
exactly what you need, and they'll quote you a price which
will include a (roughly) US$6.00 commission - this is in
addition to any commision on currency exchange! The
local currency is the CFP which is (at last report) pegged
to the Euro; as of today, it's about 108 CFP to the US $.
Anyway, after you purchase the bond, you go to Immigration
(you can stop there first, but without the bond, they'll
just
send you to the bank - save yourself a stop and go to the
bank first).
Note that if you do not visit the main island, you may not
need a bond! Our first stop was in Raiatea, and they did
not require a bond. We only had to post the bond when we
got to Papeete.
Getting your bond back is supposedly very simple - just
make sure you get all the paperwork when you arrange
your exit clearance, then stop at the Gendarmerie on the
last island you visit. The Gendarme will stamp your bond
release form and you then go to the bank to get your
money back. Note well: the return of your money will be
in local currency regardless of whether you exchanged
money when you purchased it. If you ask them to change
back to US$ you will pay exchange commission again!
Regardless, there will be a second Bond commission to
redeem the bond. Net, I think it adds up to about US$30
per person.
> Definately stock up on filters and special fittings before
> leaving US--but in countries as Australia one can usually
> find items which are standard in the US.
We ran out of gen-set oil filters while here in Tahiti! (I
didn't count very well when we left California.) We asked
around for a supply of Fram PH-16's and got a Champion
equivalent - actually we got a dozen of them so we won't
run out again. We got lucky - make sure you count your
spares, and then count them again.
