No part of this site may be reproduced without our written permission. Non-divers can explore the lagoon via boat excursions (available through all hotels and pensions) that take in a spectacular pink sand beach and the ‘Lagon Bleu’, an indescribably blue area of the lagoon lined by white sand beach. Travel on cargo ships if you are flexible with your time. Written By Geoffrey Ravoire. All islands are serviced by these large ships which often have a few spots open for travelers at dirt cheap prices. Romantic Getaways Romance For All In Greater Fort Lauderdale. Island-Hopping in French Polynesia: What to See in Bora Bora, Moorea, and Tahiti Can you imagine anything dreamier than island-hopping around French Polynesia? French Polynesia is not a single island but a collection of an archipelago comprising 100 islands. Try out the spectacular diving in Rangiroa . While a number of these new hoteliers are drawn from outside Polynesia, it's the islanders themselves who are at the heart of the experience. I have a question regarding island hopping: are tourists allowed to go from one island to another without any restrictions? April 2, 2019. At the Tahitian-owned Vanira Lodge, an eco-guesthouse on the largely undeveloped southwestern coast, a husband and wife take me out on a boat to see the Teahupoo break, where I scream like a preteen on a roller coaster, my adrenaline spiking as a few surfers risk their lives for a six-second thrill. There's a collection of ornately carved antique hunting spears, and the insanely high observation platform, 88 steps up, which I climb to find a daybed and a 19th-century brass telescope for scanning the horizon for humpback whales. Romantic Getaways Romance For All In Greater Fort Lauderdale. And is it possible to... French Polynesia. “We're born storytellers,” he says. I'm not too surprised to learn that Tahi is also friends with Nicolas Malleville and Francesca Bonato, the savvy couple behind cult hideaway hotel and perfume label Coqui Coqui, who helped put Tulum, and more recently Valladolid, on the new-nomad map. The Islands of Tahiti are a couple's paradise and the perfect romantic retreat. It rivals Bora Bora for lush, high-peaked beauty but caters better to midrange travellers and families. Australia Day: the birth of a modern nation or a symbol of invasion and survival? Yampu’s Island Hopping through French Polynesia experience offers travelers to explore the world of oceanic islands with an almost limitless range of vacation activities, both leisurely and active. Jun 28. If you want to see the island with a less shocking price tag the mainland hosts some small hotels and family-run pensions, including Sunset Hill Lodge (www.sunset-hill-borabora.biz). With land elevations reaching no more than a few metres, the ethereal rings of coral that make up the Tuamotu islands surround lagoons rich with corals, fish, sharks and rays. 7 Day Island Hopping | Islands of Tahiti. Island hopping is the quintessential way to explore the magical beauty as well as interesting folklores associated with French Polynesian Islands. In the boutique on a Tuesday morning, there's a lean, wind-whipped couple—midway through sailing their 50-foot Hinckley from New Zealand to California—browsing hats woven from faded pandanus fronds, kitten-soft suede travel totes, and sniffing potions including orange blossom-infused bath oil and grapefruit-sandalwood-vanilla and ylang ylang-coconut eau de parfums while Serge Gainsbourg growls over the speakers. Island hopping holiday in Tahiti. Discover sharks and manta rays, humpback whales and sea turtles. At low-key Vahine Island, skipper TiTi takes me snorkeling in waist-deep water off a nearby isle. When in French Polynesia you really only option to go between the islands (presuming you don't want a cruise) is to fly on Air Tahiti.This is the interisland airline which is different from Air Tahiti Nui which is the international airline.The Air Tahiti website lists their air pass which allows you, for one cost, to fly between the islands. While Mo’orea is only a short flight or ferry ride from Tahiti, it's home to more of the things you expect on a tropical holiday: white beaches, luxe resorts and an intensely blue lagoon. This majestic, square peaked island rises from its aquamarine lagoon like a Photoshopped image of paradise. by Tony Huffman, Founder & Chairman. More recently, Elizabeth Gilbert, in The Signature of All Things, sends her protagonist, a young female botanist, from her life of science and structure in 19th-century Philadelphia to Tahiti in search of the spiritual, the divine, and the magical. To visit these sites you'll need to rent a car or take a tour (offered at all hotels and pensions). At the top of this valley is the Belvedere viewpoint which lets you look over unfathomably sharp cut ridges to the Cooks and Opunohu bays. I can unsubscribe any time using the unsubscribe link at the end of all emails. Located on a coral island, the hotel is a marvel of lavish amenities including a Deep Ocean Spa, canoeing facilities and snorkeling arrangements. Otemanu or learn how to spearfish. Oceania Discovering Perth, Australia. Bora Bora is possibly one of the most romantic places in the world . It's this curious isolation that drew Laliberté here in the first place. I have a question regarding island hopping: are tourists allowed to go from one island to another without any restrictions? With its own solar power and water plants, vegetable and herb gardens, fruit groves, apiary, chicken coop, and on-site doctor, nurse, and IT team, it is well on its way to self-sufficiency. Samoa is the easiest (and therefore cheapest) to travel. I've been to the Society Islands—one of French Polynesia's five island groups, which includes Raiatea as well as Tahiti and Bora-Bora—before, and done the usual things: visited the black-pearl farms, swam with sharks, explored the vanilla plantations. Answer 1 of 4: My husband, daughter, mother and I will be arriving in Tahiti in early April '10. There are few places on Earth as beautifully natural as the islands of French Polynesia. Be a smarter traveler: Use Wendy’s WOW List to plan your next trip. With over 100 islands spread throughout five archipelagos, French Polynesia is as varied as it is exotic. Now, where to go? And hotels are working with local storytellers, athletes, and craftspeople, creating experiences that go beyond traditional dance performances during dinner buffets. Inquire about air passes if island hopping within a single destination (for example, in Vanuatu and in French Polynesia). Laliberté has ensured that the island remains a sanctuary for the large number of marvelously monikered birds that live here, like the red-footed booby and the nearly extinct bristle-thighed curlew, clearing invasive species of plants, keeping the island rat- and mosquito-free, and timing the landing of planes with when the birds are least active. Explore the island of Moorea . The islands' own narrative arc is continuing to evolve. These two deep bays can be visited on lagoon excursions with operators such as Moorea Boat Tours (www.mooreaboattours.com), which also head to fringing white sand islets for snorkelling, sunbathing and a picnic. Island hop in these paradise islands from the towering peaks and turquoise lagoons of Bora Bora to the barefoot luxury and powder white sands of Tikehau This site uses cookies. French Polynesia Tourism French Polynesia Hotels French Polynesia Bed and Breakfast French Polynesia Holiday Rentals There are shiatsu massages and facials at the spa, sportfishing for mahi-mahi and wahoo with no other boats around, surf lessons, laying down tracks in the recording studio, and hijinks on the outdoor parkour course. The most luxurious are Le Taha'a Private Island & Spa and Vahine Island Private Island Resort. I'm not too sure what I was expecting from the man who has helped redefine modern-day spectacle, but the bungalows and villas, all of which open onto the beach, are wonderfully understated. Getting around the islands requires flying on Air Tahiti, the country's only domestic airline. But at some point the idea of the islands as a romantic cliché spread and grew; of French Polynesia as a once-in-a-lifetime destination for newlyweds and those whose marriages have made it to 50, staying at hotels with bungalow-lined jetties that spiral into pacific lagoons like teak-and-thatch tentacles. For two hours we see only coral—chunky brainlike neon purple lobes and enormous wispy fire orange fans—and so many weirdly wonderful fish, such as the yellowstripe goatfish, with its old man's face, and Roberta, a stingray that befriended TiTi decades ago and swims ahead of our boat all the way back. This is where you'll find those world famous overwater bungalows where glass coffee tables let you peer into the fish-filled waters below and nightly buffet feasts are served by fiery torch light. While most of the island's lagoon has a sandy bottom, head out to the fringing reefs to sites such as Anau and Tapu and you'll be rewarded with dive sites renowned for lemon shark sightings and manta ray encounters. In 2017 they opened a boutique, perfumery, and spa on the island's quiet Matira beach, miles from the cruise port of Vaitape. Oceania Traveling On The Ghan From Darwin To Adelaide, Australia. This article was published in February 2013 and updated in April 2013. Between the lush rainforests, sugar-white beaches, turquoise lagoons, and those ubiquitous overwater bungalows, it’s the definition of paradise on Earth. FOR TWO HOURS WE SEE ONLY CORAL, WONDERFUL GOATFISH, AND ROBERTA, A FRIENDLY STINGRAY. “And it's the only place on earth I can crank my sound system as loud as I want and not piss off the neighbors.”. After a day or two you'll be waving to new friends on the road and blissfully unaware of what day of the week it is. I was island hopping in the remoter archipelagos of French Polynesia, travelling on a small cruise ship, marvelling at how much the reality of this island world matched the fantasy. The pair moved from Mexico to Bora-Bora with their three children in 2016 for the flowers. © 2021 Lonely Planet. Ra'iatea is home to the country's biggest and most important marae (ancient religious site), Taputapuatea, as well as to the rare Tiare Apetahi, a white flower that only grows on the slopes of Mt Temahani. No commercial flights go there, and I'm at the Papeete airport at 5 A.M., pounding three successive cups of tepid vending machine café au lait while waiting for my charter plane. Rangiroa is the largest and most developed atoll and is known for its scuba diving through shark-filled passes. February 6, 2018. Much of the rattan furniture and woven wall hangings have been repurposed, along with a deep teak-rimmed claw-foot tub, from the storied, now-shuttered Hotel Bora Bora, whose 1960s tiki cool drew everyone from Cecil Beaton to Nicole Kidman before closing in 2011. April 13, 2018. Everything, apparently, grows on Bora-Bora, and there are few pollutants, which means purer perfume. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast. We take the main road that hugs the island's 61-mile perimeter of rocky beaches and palm-lined inlets, ringing a rain forest bursting with candlenut and mape trees, waterfalls, and the mysterious tiare apetahi, a wild gardenia that only grows on Raiatea. Sleepy Taha'a is the vanilla capital of the country, but it also hosts a few elegant resorts on fringing islets that rival the glamour of Bora Bora. He is emblematic of a new generation that is both globally aware and deeply committed to the islands' heritage, and keen to share it in deeper, more nuanced ways. Small details have been scrupulously considered—the Mariage Frères tea and reef-safe bath products; the mezcal at the bar that is sold only in one little shop in Oaxaca; the fresh shots of ginger juice laced with island honey at breakfast. It's worthwhile hanging around a day or two to explore Tahiti's many mountains and waterfall valleys such as Papenoo and Fautaua Valleys, on foot or by 4WD (try www.tahitievasion.com and www.tahiti-safari.com respectively). Alternative accommodations are opening at both ends of the spectrum—low-fi, locally owned guesthouses and private atolls. Whilst here, we’ll introduce the lesser-known, adrenaline-fuelled side of French Polynesia as you spend days out on the water deep sea fishing, scuba diving and jet skiing. These 100 islands of French Polynesia are set apart so much so that they are spread over 2000 km! When we got married, my husband and I first discovered the beauties of French Polynesia on our honeymoon trip, when we sought the privacy and unspoiled nature. Island Hopping~The Islands of Tahiti, French Polynesia May 20, 2020 By Linda Leave a Comment Although travel is currently banned to French Polynesia because of Coronavirus -Covid 19 – Now is the perfect time to dream and learn about the destination and be … It's a reverie induced by a sea that alchemizes from barely there cyan to an incandescent Uranian blue and then deep indigo; trees slung with martian green breadfruit and all-but-submerged coral atolls; and the perfume of jasmine, vanilla, and copra, cracked coconuts caramelizing in the tropical sun. It's a Saturday afternoon in July and I'm sharing plates of tangy green papaya salad and tuna crudo, washed down with the local Hinano beer, at Fish & Blue, which feels more like a quirky boutique in Bridgehampton, with its distressed whitewashed furniture, outdoor chandelier, and giant Buddha head, than a tables-in-the-sand restaurant on the island of Raiatea. Getting to Papeete, French Polynesia's capital and the location of its only international airport, is faster, cheaper, and more accessible. By continuing we assume your permission to use cookies, as detailed in our privacy and cookie policy. Spend a night here, before hopping across those tempting waters to the jungled island of Moorea where you’ll spend two nights at the beachfront Hilton Moorea Lagoon Resort. That's not to say there aren't some theatrics. Vehicles and drivers are available at hotels and pensions. A bike ride before dinner leads to Pergola, a 30-foot-tall Corten steel sculpture that looks like a Gothic chapel glowing copper in the setting sun. Island Hopping Island Hopping in Tahiti. All the islands are small and require no more than a day or two to see the sights but add more if you want to melt into the pace of island life. Answer 1 of 2: We've been looking to book our trip to Tahiti, and I found this site very helpful. Dive into crystal clear waters in search of radiant coral and rainbow-streaked schools of fish. In the afternoons you can watch dolphins frolic in Tiputa Pass, the shores of which are an easy stroll or bike road from most hotels. The accounts of French explorer de Bougainville helped shape the utopian theories of Denis Diderot; Gauguin's bright-colored, side-eyed fin de siècle paintings and more shadowy woodcuts captivated a generation of modernists. All rights reserved. April 14, 2020. Getting Around Samoa. They're minimal and modern, with high-end touches like the enormous unlacquered brass Vola showerheads in the bathrooms. What turns out to be a red-tailed chick looks up and squawks but doesn't move, secure in her right to be there. Condé Nast Traveler may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. The shores of Nukutepipi, a small atoll in French Polynesia, Our most popular newsletter for destination inspiration, travel tips, trip itineraries, and everything else you need to be an expert traveler in this beautiful world. I was still impressed by the turquoise water and the overwater bungalows! Into the sea with a big-wave surfer or free diver, for example, or getting inked by a tattoo artist: After all, the monochrome art form, which appeared in place of writing on the islands, still has deep social significance. 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