French Polynesia, Beyond Bora Bora: How To Choose Your Islands

InterContinental Tahiti

Tahiti

Most people treat Tahiti as the airport they pass through, and I'd ask you to slow down for at least a night. I stayed at the InterContinental Tahiti, a few minutes from the airport, with gardens running down to the lagoon and an overwater restaurant called Le Lotus that makes for a soft landing after a long flight. Use the day for Papeete: get to the covered market early before the heat, for vanilla, monoi oil, and black pearls, and come back at night for the roulottes, the food trucks along the waterfront, where a plate of poisson cru—raw tuna in lime and coconut milk—tastes better than it will anywhere fancier. Tahiti is the working heart of these islands rather than the postcard, and starting here gives the rest of the trip its proportion.

Cook's Bay Moorea

Moorea

Moorea is a 30-minute ferry from Tahiti and feels like another country. For where to stay, I visited the Sofitel Kia Ora, where the overwater bungalows face the reef and you can be in the water before breakfast. Spend lots of time around Cook's Bay, where the green peaks rise straight out of the water and the light shifts all afternoon, and drive up to the Belvedere lookout through the pineapple plantations for the view that ties the whole island together. Moorea suits families and anyone who would rather feel an island than only photograph it.

Moorea

Bora Bora

Bora Bora is the image everyone arrives for, and it lives up to it, but where you stay shapes the experience more here than anywhere else. The St. Regis is the most polished, with the largest overwater villas in French Polynesia and full butler service, so it is where I send couples who want quiet and a real sense of occasion. The Four Seasons has some of the best views of Mount Otemanu and a genuine kids' program, which makes it my choice for families. Le Bora Bora by Pearl Resorts is the one I love for travelers who want something more rooted: it sits on its own coral motu facing Otemanu, with Polynesian architecture, an intimate feel, and gentler pricing than the two big names. Wherever you land, get off the property at least once, whether to Matira Beach, which is public and stunning, or out on a private lagoon tour with a guide who truly knows the water.

Le Bora Bora by Pearl Resorts

The islands beyond

If you have more time, this is where it gets interesting, because the islands most people skip are often the ones that stay with you. Taha'a, the Vanilla Island, grows most of French Polynesia's vanilla and has only a handful of places to stay, among them Le Taha'a by Pearl Resorts, a Relais & Châteaux property. Huahine is quieter and greener still, the most untouched of the Society Islands. Out in the Tuamotus, Le Tikehau by Pearl Resorts sits on its own coral motu of pink sand and coconut palms, the kind of place you go to disappear for a few days. And for divers, Fakarava, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, is among the best in the world, with passes that fill with fish and reef sharks and water so clear it hardly seems real. These are the islands I save for travelers who have already seen the famous ones, or who tell me from the start that they want to go where most people don't.

Air Moana

Everything connects through Papeete, the only international airport, and from there you island-hop one of two ways. The inter-island flights are run by two local airlines, Air Tahiti and the newer Air Moana, and I've flown both and know the quirks of each, which routes they cover, how far ahead to book, and where the schedules can catch you out. For the shorter distances, the ferries are a lovely alternative, especially the Tahiti-to-Moorea crossing, and I'm happy to walk clients through the different lines and which sailings actually make sense for their plans.

On Moorea, Tahiti, and Huahine, rent a car. It's the easiest way to explore at your own pace and stop wherever you want, whether that's a fruit stand, a quiet beach, or a viewpoint. Bora Bora works differently, since most of the luxury resorts sit on their own motus and you arrive by boat, so a car matters less and the resort handles your transfers.

For the water, I've been out with several of the boat and snorkel tour operators across the islands and know which ones are worth your time, so you can skip the guesswork and book the good ones.

A few more things that help

April, when I went, is a sweet spot: the landscapes are green, the crowds are thin, and prices haven't hit the July and August peak. It's also worth carrying cash, since taxis, markets, roulottes, and many of the smaller local spots don't always take cards. Bring reef-safe sunscreen, too, and give yourself enough days to do two or three islands properly rather than trying to see them all!

For more inspiration and insider recommendations, visit our French Polynesia page.