I was expecting more from lonely planet but aside from the maps, the book is obsolete. It also reads like a text book, no passion, no flavor, very boring. The sections on each area are not very big at all. ...

Out of the 4 books I got on French Polynesia, this rates #2. I like the format of the book, the way she puts things in bold (places to go, things to eat etc.) saves you a lot of time in searching. Her book is the most recent of the 4 and is good but very similar to Robert Kay's book "Hidden Tahiti". Not sure why but it seems they (the publisher) decided to use an unusually large print (rather than make a seemingly smaller book?). Nice descriptions of sights, places to stay and tour operators. I especially liked that she said how long the tours were for and what times they ran. Made it very helpful in planning the days.

I bought 4 books on the French polynesian islands and this was the best by far. I love his detail, his points of interest and his enthusiasm. After reading this book I couldn't wait to go there! This will be the one book I bring with me, it has everything. Where to stay, where to eat (like what native fruit to try), customs, phrases in polynesian and french, and much more.

I think it's funny that people take this book so seriously. Yes, it has some potientially helpful tips if you should get yourself in some bizarro situations but I think people are missing the whole point of putting the book together. I love this series, it gets me giggling in just about any situation.