Oceania · French Polynesia
Ten days across four islands: Tahiti, a 4x4 safari on Moorea, quiet Huahine and Bora Bora, with a day among sharks and rays and lunch on a motu.
Quick facts
Indicative price from
€2,299
per person
This itinerary is a starting point: we'll adapt it with you in your tailor-made proposal.
Request informationThe ideal first trip to Polynesia, four islands in ten days. It starts in Tahiti, with Papeete and its market, then Moorea, the island of pointed peaks: a 4x4 safari climbs to the Belvedere, Magic Mountain and the marae in the forest.
Huahine is the most authentic island, with quiet villages, archaeological sites and uncrowded lagoons. It ends on Bora Bora, in a lagoon bungalow, with a day on the water swimming with blacktip sharks and rays and lunch on a motu.
Domestic flights included, with shared transfers and excursions.
10 days in the programme
Arrival in Tahiti, the largest island in French Polynesia, with the traditional flower garland welcome. Shared transfer to the hotel, then free time in Papeete, the capital, a few kilometres from the airport. The centre is easy to explore on foot: the waterfront with the harbour and Notre-Dame Cathedral. In the evening the roulottes arrive, food vans serving raw fish in coconut milk and Chinese dishes. With a time difference of 11 hours, or 12 when Italy is on summer time, an early dinner is a good idea.
A free day. One idea: the morning at Papeete's covered market, with fruit, flowers and fish on the ground floor and pareos, monoi and crafts upstairs. Then the east coast, by hire car or on an optional excursion: about 10 km from the centre is Pointe Vénus, the black sand beach where in 1769 James Cook observed the transit of Venus across the Sun. Further on, the Arahoho blowhole, where the waves spurt up through a hole in the rock, and the Faarumai waterfalls, a few minutes' walk from the car park.
Shared transfer to Moorea, about 17 km from Tahiti, and check-in at the hotel. The pointed peaks you see from Papeete are what remains of an ancient volcano: the highest, Mount Tohiea, rises over 1,200 metres. Moorea has fewer than 20,000 inhabitants and a slower pace than Tahiti; its name means yellow lizard in Tahitian. The afternoon is free for a first swim in the turquoise lagoon, enclosed by the coral reef, and a stroll on the beach.
Half a day on a 4x4 safari, included and shared. You drive into the Opunohu valley, through pineapple plantations and forest, to the marae, the ancient stone platforms where Polynesian rituals were held. Then the Belvedere, at about 240 metres, looking over Cook's Bay and Opunohu Bay, divided by Mount Rotui. The last stop is a hill on the north coast, where you look down on the lagoon and all its shades of blue and green.
A free day. The lagoon can be explored with mask and snorkel, or by hired canoe or paddleboard. On the north-west tip, the motu Tiahura and Fareone have coral gardens a short distance from the shore. Between July and November humpback whales come to the island from Antarctic waters to breed and give birth: you can see them on an optional boat trip, booked separately. If you prefer, stay at your bungalow and enjoy the calm of the lagoon.
Transfer to the airport and domestic flight to Huahine, in the Leeward Islands. There are actually two islands, Huahine Nui to the north and Huahine Iti to the south, joined by a bridge and sharing one lagoon. Check-in at the hotel. With about 6,000 inhabitants, Huahine has stayed away from mass tourism and keeps a village pace. Its centre is Fare, on the west coast, with a small harbour, the quay where the boats come in and a few shops, for a first stroll in the afternoon.
A free day to explore the island, by hire car or bicycle. At Maeva, on the shores of Lake Fauna Nui, is one of the largest marae complexes in Polynesia, with the Fare Potee, a traditional house on stilts. In the channel nearby, the ancient V-shaped stone fish traps are still in use. At Faie you can see the sacred blue-eyed eels in the village stream. For a swim, the white sand beach at Avea, on Huahine Iti.
A short domestic flight to Bora Bora. The airport is on a motu, an islet on the reef, so you land right in the middle of the lagoon. Shared transfer and check-in at a bungalow overlooking the lagoon. In the middle of the island rises Mount Otemanu, 727 metres, the rocky outline you recognise from every point of the lagoon. The rest of the day is free for a first swim and for watching the colours of the water, from the pale green of the sandy shallows to the deep blue of the channels.
A full day by boat, included and shared. In the shallow parts of the lagoon you swim alongside rays, which come up curious, and blacktip sharks, shy and used to people. Then stops at the coral gardens, among butterflyfish and clownfish, and the included lunch on a motu, one of the sandy islets along the reef. In the afternoon you head back across the lagoon, with views of Mount Otemanu.
Last free hours for a swim in the lagoon or some shopping in Vaitape, the main village, with its black pearl and pareo shops. Then shared transfer to the airport on its motu, reached by boat, and domestic flight to Tahiti, connecting with your flight home.
