Tour & Activity Scams in Papeete, French Polynesia
Unlicensed guides, fake tickets, bait-and-switch excursions, and ticket scalping. Below are the tour & activities scams reported in Papeete — how they work and how to avoid them.
For broader context, compare this scam type with nearby destinations like Nadi, Melbourne, and Auckland.
Last updated: April 4, 2026
2
Tour & Activities Scams
8
Total in Papeete
How it works
Touts near the Papeete ferry terminal and outside the main hotels sell inter-island transfer packages — particularly to Moorea and Bora Bora — at inflated prices, adding undisclosed fees to the official Aremiti or Terevau ferry fares and Air Tahiti ticket prices. Some sell duplicate or already-used transfer tickets.
How it works
Unofficial operators in Papeete sell day-trip packages to Moorea and Bora Bora at inflated prices that include undisclosed markups on ferry tickets and activity fees. Some sell packages to Bora Bora as "day trips" without disclosing the actual travel time involved — Bora Bora is over an hour by air or many hours by ferry, making a genuine day trip impractical from Papeete.
See all scams in Papeete
8 total warnings across all categories