Tahiti Travel Guide


Tahiti travel emanates from the main island of Tahiti and the Port of Papeete or the Faaa International Airport. Getting around the islands is easy with an excellent transport network with frequent daily flights to all the main islands as well as ferries and cruises on a regular timetable.

The main island and population centre of French Polynesia, is Tahiti, a high volcanic island about 40 sq. km in size. All of the of large Tahiti hotels are found along the north west coast and around the capital Papeete but there's a good scattering of small locally owned pensions all around the island which offer better value for money. The beaches in general around Tahiti are nothing special and the main attraction is exploring the stunning mountainous interior and surfing on the north shore beaches.

Moorea is just 20km from Papeete by ferry and connected by hourly flights (every half hour at peak times). There's an excellent range of accommodation on Moorea, with a concentration around Cook's Bay in the north and along the lovely beaches on the east coast. There's lots of activities around Moorea from cruises around the bays and coast to 4WD tours of the interior. Moorea is small enough to explore by bike and there are lots of small fishing villages along the coast

The Lagoon island of Bora Bora is gloriously recognised as one of the most beautiful spots on earth. From a deep blue lagoon emerges the main volcanic island of Bora Bora with its recognisable flat top peak and craggy points. Around the outer edge is a fringing reef with shallow lagoons and small low lying coral atolls (motu). The south of the main island is the tourist centre with a concentration of resorts and restaurants at Matira Point. There are a handful of resorts on the small motus which can also be explored on one of many cruises that operate around the lagoon. Most resorts in Bora Bora offer the wonderful over-lagoon thatch bungalows. Scuba diving in the deep lagoon is good and snorkelling around the outer fringes is exceptional. The only down side are commercialism, small crowds and expensive prices.

There are equally exquisite islands in the other Society Islands. Maupiti, a little further out than Bora Bora, is a charming island of similar appearance to Bora Bora but with only a faction of the resorts and tourists. The twin islands of Tahaa and Raiatea are rich tropical islands with gentle valleys and deep bays with marinas making it an exceptional sailing destination. Scuba diving around the large fringing reef is its other major draw. Huahine, even closer to Moorea and Tahiti, also has good scuba diving and the atmosphere is truly laid back with several small resorts and high mountains and traditional villages to explore. Huahine has several nice beaches in the south and one of the finest archaeological areas in the South Pacific at Maeva in the north.

The vast expanse of the Tuamotu Islands has a collection of 76 small islands and fringing atolls. The turquoise lagoons and white sandy beaches are some of the best in the South Pacific. Several of these island groups have luxury resorts and hotels and small pension guesthouses and along with Pearl farming, is the groups major source of income. Scuba diving is exceptional and the romance of being lost amongst remote islands draws the honeymoon market. Extending south of the Tuamotu is Gambier. This small collection of mountainous islands is infrequently visited and is a stronghold for subsistence Catholic fishing villages. A few guesthouses offer a unique insight into this traditional lifestyle.


The unusual Marquesas Islands to the north of Tuamotu are unique in that there is no reef. The volcanic islands just pop out from the deep ocean and the bays and cliffs make this one of the most scenic regions to visit. The islands support a number of small traditional villages which retain a rich culture. The Marquesas are renowned for its dancers, wood carvers and tattooists. Two grand sounding islands, Nuku Hiva and Hiva Oa have a small variety of accommodation from luxury resorts to guesthouses.
click below for detailed tahiti islands travel guide

Tahiti Travel Guide




Book your Holiday with the Specialists


Tahiti Holidays & Hotels

Thank you for visiting our website and we hope you have found it inspiring and useful.

south pacific pictures
cook islands pictures ; fiji pictures ; samoa pictures ; tahiti pictures ; tonga pictures ; hawaii pictures


For a comprehensive hotel guide with information and pictures:

south pacific hotels
cook islands hotels ; fiji hotels ; samoa hotels ; tahiti hotels ; tonga hotels ; hawaii hotels


For more detailed maps showing towns and villages please visit:

south pacific maps :
cook island maps ; fiji maps ; samoa maps ; tahiti maps ; tonga maps ; hawaii maps ;

This Accommodation Guide is brought to you by South Pacific Pictures, the photographic division of Pacific Travel Guides. This leading independent travel publisher is based in Fiji and aims to provide unbiased travel information to help potential holiday-makers plan their trip to the South Pacific. We do not sell individual hotels, tours or packages - we simply provide an overview to help you make the decision and provide links for you to make further enquiries and bookings. All the pictures in this website have been taken by us and try to show a true representation of our destinations. No picture has been staged - all were taken as presented.

Our small team of researchers travel around the south pacific on a regular basis to update our guides and to ensure their accuracy. Please feel free to contribute your own travel experiences to pass on to fellow travellers.

If you haven't been able to find what you're looking for in our website, you might want to try the following specialist websites:


South Pacific Travel Guides - comprehensive travel guide for the islands
Fiji Travel ; Cook Islands Travel ; Samoa Travel ; Tonga Travel ; Tahiti Travel
Hawaii Travel ; Oahu Travel ; Kauai Travel ; Maui Travel ; Big Island Hawaii Travel


South Pacific Resorts Search - listings of all resorts in the South Pacific

Beautiful Pacific Holidays - South Pacific Islands - travel agent based in the south pacific offering bookings

South Pacific Travel Resources - other accredited website


Last Updated
04 March 2008
by


Pacific Travel Guides
PO Box 10146, Nadi Airport, Fiji

Contact Us