Nuku Hiva

This huge, sparsely populated island (the second largest in French Polynesia after Tahiti) boasts a terrain of razor-edged basaltic cliffs pounded by crashing waves, deep bays blessed with shimmering, Robinson Crusoe–like beaches, dramatically tall waterfalls and lush, green valleys that feel like the end of the world. Timeless little Taiohae, with its bay bobbing with sailboats and tattooed locals trotting through town on horseback, is the marvellous ‘capital’ of the Marquesas.