Island comparison for choosing a route
The right island is not chosen by the prettiest photo alone. Arrival, local travel, trip length, coast and onward connection all matter.
The island of arrival, the largest in the country
Tahiti is the island you arrive on: Tahiti-Faa’a international airport is the only international air gateway to French Polynesia. It is also the largest island in the country, volcanic, crowned by Mount Orohena (2,241 m). Papeete, the capital, its market and waterfront, the valleys for hiking and the wave of Teahupo’o are its landmarks. Many travellers spend the first and the last night here; the island also suits a longer stay, between the town, the valleys and the peninsula.
The sister island, half an hour by ferry
Moorea lies about 17 km north-west of Tahiti. Ferries link the Papeete ferry terminal with Vaiare in half an hour to three quarters of an hour, the plane takes a quarter of an hour. The volcanic island is ringed by a reef with twelve passes and shaped by its two large bays, Cook and Opunohu, which Mount Rotui separates. The Belvédère above the Opunohu valley, the pineapple plantations and the lagoon for outings on the water make it an easy base for a first contact with the islands.
The lagoon and its ring of motu
Bora Bora, a volcanic island of the Leeward group, is surrounded by a lagoon and a ring of motu that hold the airport and most of the hotels. The flight from Tahiti takes about fifty minutes; Motu Mute airport can only be reached by sea, and the boat shuttle to Vaitape is included in the air ticket. Mount Otemanu (727 m) towers over the island; Matira beach, the coral gardens, the rays and the sharks of the lagoon are the usual outings.
Two islands joined by a bridge, forty minutes by air
Huahine, in the Leeward group, is made of two parts, Huahine Nui and Huahine Iti, joined by a bridge; the main village is Fare. Air Tahiti serves the island from Papeete and Bora Bora in 35 to 40 minutes, and the Apetahi Express makes its first call here, about three hours after Tahiti. Tahiti Tourisme calls it “the secret island”: marae and archaeological sites, villages, a lagoon with rays and reef sharks, the sacred eels of Faie.
The birthplace of Polynesian culture
Raiatea, a volcanic island of the Leeward group, shares its lagoon with Taha’a. The marae of Taputapuātea has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2017, “an exceptional testimony to 1,000 years of mā’ohi civilization”. Raiatea-Uturoa airport takes Air Tahiti and Air Moana, 45 minutes from Tahiti and 20 from Bora Bora; Uturoa is also the Apetahi Express stop and the harbour of the charter yachts. Mount Temehani (1,017 m) is the refuge of the tiare apetahi, the island’s emblematic flower.
The vanilla island, in Raiatea’s lagoon
Taha’a lies north of Raiatea, in the same lagoon, surrounded by a string of motu. The island has no airport: you land on Raiatea and continue by boat, about half an hour; the Apetahi Express also calls here, between Raiatea and Bora Bora. Taha’a is known for its vanilla plantations open to visitors, its two rum distilleries and its pearl farms, and for a very Polynesian pace of life.
The largest atoll in French Polynesia
Rangiroa is the largest atoll in French Polynesia and one of the largest in the world, about an hour’s flight from Tahiti. The two villages, Avatoru and Tiputa, and the airport sit on the most populated motu, between the Avatoru and Tiputa passes, known for their marine life: this is first of all a diving and snorkelling destination. The Blue Lagoon, Reef Island and the country’s only vineyard on an atoll complete the outings.
Biosphere reserve, diving passes
Fakarava is the second largest lagoon in French Polynesia after Rangiroa. The commune forms a UNESCO biosphere reserve of seven atolls, almost two million hectares; the Garuae pass, 1,600 m wide, is the largest in the country, and the southern Tumakohua pass is known for its “wall of sharks”. Air Tahiti and Air Moana link Tahiti with the airport, 4 km from the main village of Rotoava, in a little over an hour.
Pink sand, a single pass
Tikehau is a small atoll of the Tuamotu, next to Rangiroa, of whose commune it is a part. A single pass, Tuheiava, opens the reef to the ocean; the pink sand beaches owe their colour to a microscopic organism, the foraminifera. The main village and the airport are in the south of the atoll, about an hour’s flight from Tahiti. Diving in the pass, the seabirds and the lagoon are the reasons to come.
Te Henua ʻEnata, the Land of Men
The Marquesas lie about 1,500 km north-east of Tahiti: eleven high islands and one atoll, six of them inhabited, without lagoon or barrier reef, with ridges and cliffs rising above 1,000 m. The archipelago has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2024. Nuku Hiva, the second largest island in the country, and Hiva Oa, where Gauguin and Brel are buried, are the two gateways, more than three hours by air from Tahiti; the mixed cargo ship Aranui 5 serves the six inhabited islands from Papeete.
Whales, crafts and a cooler climate
The Austral Islands stretch south of Tahiti: six high islands and the Maria atoll, five of them inhabited, an hour and a half by air. Rurutu, Tubuai, Rimatara and Raivavae have an airport; Rapa, the southernmost island in the country, is served only by the mixed cargo ship Tuhaa Pae. The climate is cooler than in the Society Islands, humpback whales frequent Rurutu and Tubuai in season, and crafts, pandanus hats and baskets, as much as farming make the archipelago’s reputation. You stay in family guesthouses, not in luxury hotels.
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