Moorea Tourist Traps

To me, the Fruit Factory seems to sum up everything that is bad about French Polynesia. Once upon a time, the factory was a private business and used to be open for tours showing visitors how fruit was processed and juiced/canned etc. These days, the factory is in the hands of a multinational company (one of the worlds biggest soft drinks companies) in partnership with a local beer company. The factory has been closed for a long time (it was explained that it was because they were renovating the place, but I could see no evidence of this!)

However does anyone tell you this? Of course not. We saw tours being sold to take you there and all sorts of adverts for it. When you get there, all that is open is the shop, where the tours stop and people buy liquers and juices and other souvenirs.

If people knew in advance that the factory was shut, they probably wouldn't bother to go, and the locals know they would lose business. So nobody says anything, letting people waste a few hours of their valuable holiday on a horrendously expensive island just so that tour guides can sell expensive tours and the shop can flog you stuff.

Unique Suggestions: Unless you want to go to another tourist shop, just don't bother. Find a tour that doesn't go there, or do what we did and just rent a car.