1 destination · 18 things to do
French Polynesia
French Polynesia's classic first trip strings together three islands that each do something different. Tahiti is the gateway, with Papeete's covered market, the Musée de Tahiti et des Îles and the wild surf of Teahupo'o on its south coast. Moorea is the easy escape across the water, with jagged green peaks, a 4WD loop to the Belvedere lookout and Magic Mountain, a calm lagoon of stingrays and blacktip sharks, and humpback whales from July to November. Bora Bora is the postcard, a lagoon ringed by sandy motus under Mount Otemanu, best seen on a shark and stingray snorkel cruise, a jet ski tour or a jeep safari, then from the free, easy sand of Matira Beach. The islands are linked by a ferry between Papeete and Moorea and by short domestic flights to Bora Bora, and this guide explains how to join them. It then matches you to a base on each island, from a practical Papeete hotel by the ferry to a Moorea lagoon resort and Bora Bora stays from a mid-range overwater bungalow to the Four Seasons.
