The Marquesas
Built for the 2013 Mini Marquesas Festival, this beautiful site holds a large performance area and the island's main museum. The Marquesas's largest tiki,…
Must-see attractions in French Polynesia
Mo'orea
A small shop at the college sells jams in local flavours as well as honey, coffee, fruit juices and, on occasion, ice cream. If you’ve got itchy feet,…
Marae Titiroa & Marae Ahu-o-Mahine
Mo'orea
Past the agricultural college, the valley road comes to a parking area beside this vast complex, on the edge of a dense forest of magnificent chestnut…
Pape'ete
Although the Catholic cathedral is placed squarely in the town centre, Tahiti remains predominantly Protestant, a lasting legacy of the LMS missionaries…
Maupiti
Maupiti has some interesting petroglyphs etched into boulders in a rocky riverbed. The most impressive is a turtle image. To reach the petroglyphs, head…
Ra'iatea & Taha'a
On Taha’a, if you’re willing to take a bit of a walk you can get to deserted Joe Dassin Beach, on the southwest side of the island, a 15-minute walk along…
Nuku Hiva
Most tours stop in Taipivai to visit the Paeke archaeological site, which lies on a hillside at the exit of the village on the way to Hatiheu (the path…
Huahine
The coast road turns inland beside narrow Faie Bay to the village of Faie. Huahine’s famous blue-eyed eels can be seen in the river just over the bridge –…
Huahine
Right on the southern tip of Huahine Iti, Marae Anini was a community marae made of massive coral blocks. The comparatively recent construction was…
Mo'orea
At last, a public beach! Ta’ahiamanu (Mareto) Beach is one of the few public access beaches on the island. This narrow stretch of white sand is a popular…
Hiva Oa
Anyone with an interest in ancient Marquesan civilisation shouldn’t leave Atuona without a visit to the Tehueto petroglyphs. You’ll find a massive rock…
Pointe du Taharaa – One Tree Hill
Pape'ete
At the top of the hill at around PK8, pull off to the lagoon side of the road and park in the lot that once belonged to Tahiti’s very upmarket Hyatt…
Hiva Oa
In Hanapaaoa, ask a local to take you to the Tiki Moe One, hidden on a hillside. One of the quirkiest statues in the Marquesas, it features a carved crown…
French Polynesia
Raivavae’s stunning lagoon, brimming with marine life and ringed by ironwood-covered motu, is one of the treasures of the South Pacific. Motu Piscine …
Mo'orea
At PK21, a cement road veers inland and makes a very steep climb to a lookout called ‘Magical Mountain’, at a height of 209m. It's an arduous, 45-minute…
Fakarava
A handful of inhabitants also live in Tetamanu village, a tiny settlement on the edge of Tumakohua Pass, which is as backwater as backwater gets (despite…
Pape'ete
Taking pride of place in the centre of town is the Cathédrale Notre-Dame.
Bora Bora
The island’s main settlement, Vaitape is not the most evocative town, but it's a great place to do a bit of shopping, take care of banking needs and just…
Mo'orea
The best beach on the east coast, and the widest perhaps in all of French Polynesia, stretches from Teavaro round to the airport. The Sofitel Ia Ora…
Marae Raitoro, Haunarei & Harii
French Polynesia
More than 200 marae have been found in Tubuai and the few that have been cleared are among the most fascinating in the country. Raitoru and Haunarei Marae…
Huahine
Beside the bridge coming off Motu Ovarei are a number of V-shaped fish traps, made from rocks. They have been here for centuries and some are still in use…
Pape'ete
In Arue, on the water’s edge, signposted and just a short detour off the coastal road, is the tomb of the last of the Pomare family. The Tomb of Pomare V…
Huahine
About 2km north of Fare, the main sealed road runs along the inland side of Lake Fauna Nui. It’s also possible to turn off to the airport and take the…
Pape'ete
This is the main walking area along the waterfront, where you’ll find paved walking paths that meander past blooming planter boxes and the occasional tree…
Huahine
Marae Manunu stands on the motu, across the bridge from the main Maeva complex. The massive structure is 2m high, 40m long and nearly 7m wide. It features…
Mo'orea
A busy little village with a few shops and services, Papetoai was established as the Pacific headquarters of the London Missionary Society (LMS) in 1811…
Tahiti
Teahupoo is world famous among surfing circles for its monster wave. Until the early 2000s, the Teahupoo wave was only known to local surfers. It now…
Bora Bora
Faanui Bay was the site of the US military base during WWII. At the southwestern end of the bay, a steep and often muddy track climbs up to an old WWII…
The Marquesas
Tiny and scenic Hokatu, about 3km east of Hane, lies in a sheltered bay edged with a pebble beach pounded by azure seas with direct views of imposing,…
Tahiti
Just outside Pape’ete’s urban sprawl, the Lagoonarium is a pleasant tourist trap with a meshed-in area of lagoon with a modest underwater viewing room; it…
Distillerie et Usine de Jus de Fruits de Moorea
Mo'orea
About 300m inland from the coastal road, this juice-processing factory and distillery is well worth a stop. It produces various juices and alcoholic…
Pape'ete
This pearl museum was created by pearl magnate Robert Wan with aims of luring visitors into his glamorous shop. It’s a worthwhile, small and modern museum…
Around Tahiti Nui
Between 1891 and 1893, Paul Gauguin lived in Mataiea where he produced works including Two Women on the Beach, Woman with a Mango and Ia Orana Maria –…
French Polynesia
The only remaining tiki (carved humanlike statue) on the island stands in a private garden just to the west of the village of Mahanatoa. About 1m in…
Pape'ete
This pearl museum was created by pearl magnate Robert Wan with aims of luring visitors into his glamorous shop. It’s a worthwhile, small and modern museum…
Maupiti
Maupiti’s most important marae (traditional temple) features a large coastal site covered with coral slabs and a fish box. Made of four coral blocks set…
The Tuamotus
Île d’Eden is not a traditional tourist site per se, but a working farm operated by a handful of families belonging to the Church of the New Testament…
Bora Bora
Up a small hill on the eastern coast, a track peels off to the east and leads to two massive WWII coastal guns and a concrete bunker that were left by the…
Around Tahiti Nui
Only 15km from Pape’ete along the west coast, this excellent museum, in Puna’auia, is divided into four sections: geography and natural history; pre…
Huahine
From Maroe, the coast road skirts across the mouths of a number of shallow inlets, looking across to Motu Murimahora, before coming to Tefarerii (House of…
