Marquesas Islands

Getting there

Four of the six inhabited islands have an airfield. Nuku Hiva and Hiva Oa are linked to Tahiti by Air Tahiti and Air Moana: Tahiti Tourisme gives flight times of 3 hr 15 min to 3 hr 50 min to Nuku Hiva and 3 hr 15 min to Hiva Oa. Nuku Hiva’s airfield is in the north of the island, about an hour and a half by road from Taiohae; on Hiva Oa the transfer from the airfield is arranged with the host. Ua Pou and Ua Huka are reached from Nuku Hiva, in an Air Tahiti Twin Otter: five to six flights a week to Ua Pou, three to four to Ua Huka, and 25 minutes between the two. Air Archipels flies charters between the islands, and an administrative shuttle, the Kaoha Tini, links Nuku Hiva with Ua Pou. Tahuata and Fatu Hiva can only be reached by sea.

From Papeete, the Direction polynésienne des affaires maritimes lists the cargo ship Taporo 9 and the cargo-passenger ship Aranui 5, which serves the six inhabited islands, 18 round trips a year. Its atlas counts 36 hr 20 min at sea from Fakarava to Nuku Hiva, then 2 hr 20 min to Ua Huka, 2 hr 32 min to Ua Pou, 4 hr 48 min to Hiva Oa, 52 minutes to Tahuata and 3 hr 04 min to Fatu Hiva.

Climate and seasons

Météo-France places the Marquesas in the humid tropical climate, some northern sites bordering on the arid tropical. Temperatures vary little from one season to the next; it is the rain that sets the cycle, and it departs from the pattern of the other archipelagos: the hot and humid season runs from January to August, the cool season from September to December. The archipelago stays under the trade-wind regime, with moderate rainfall, warm temperatures and good sunshine. Tahiti Tourisme contrasts Ua Huka, one half green and the other arid, with Hiva Oa, the “garden of the Marquesas”, with its fertile soils. The Marquesas run thirty minutes ahead of Tahiti, as the polling-station closing times published by the Haut-commissariat show.

Island by island

Nuku Hiva, the largest, the country’s second-largest island after Tahiti, has Taiohae as its chief town, at the head of its bay; the Vaipo waterfall, over 350 m in the Hakaui valley, is earned by a hard five-hour return walk, and the island counts some 700 archaeological sites, among them the tohua and paepae of Hatiheu. Hiva Oa, called the garden of the Marquesas, has Atuona as its village, on a black-sand bay; the Puamau valley holds the Lipona site and its 2.57 m tiki, the tallest, the Taaoa valley the Upeke site, and Mount Temetiu rises to 3,979 feet. Ua Pou raises its basalt pillars, Poutetaunui and Poumaka among them, above Hakahau; flower stones are gathered on Hohoi beach. Ua Huka, between Nuku Hiva, Ua Pou and Hiva Oa, is the island of wild horses, of the Papuakeikaha arboretum and of museums in Vaipaee, Hane and Hokatu. Tahuata, 40 minutes by boat from Hiva Oa, lives from bone and miro-wood carving and from monoi, with beaches often deserted. Fatu Hiva, the most isolated, is known for the Bay of Virgins at Hanavave and for tapa beaten from mulberry bark.

Heritage and culture

Te Henua Enata, “the Land of Men”, has been a World Heritage site since 2024: 345,749 ha in seven components, for its landscapes as for Marquesan culture; UNESCO cites the cloud forests of Nuku Hiva, Ua Pou, Tahuata and Fatu Iva. In Atuona lie Paul Gauguin and Jacques Brel, in the Calvaire cemetery; the Paul Gauguin cultural centre and the Espace Jacques Brel, with his small aeroplane, open Monday to Friday from 8 to 11 and from 2 to 5. In Taiohae, the Enana museum opens from 7.30 to 11.30, Monday to Friday. The Service du tourisme describes Nuku Hiva as an island of tattooists and carvers, and the Marquesas arts festival, Matavaa o te Henua Enana, is held every two years on the restored tohua; the Aranui schedules a cruise for the December 2027 edition. On the sites, the stones of the paepae are not moved and the tiki are not touched; at Hatiheu as at Hakaui, a guide from the village is recommended.

Where to stay and eat

The Service du tourisme’s list of 31 March 2026 counts 29 family guesthouses in the Marquesas, 125 units and 338 beds: the greatest number in Taiohae and Atuona, several in Vaipaee and Hokatu on Ua Huka, in Hakahau and Hakamoui on Ua Pou, four on Tahuata (Vaitahu, Hapatoni) and a single one on Fatu Hiva, in Omoa. Tahiti Tourisme also notes a hotel on Nuku Hiva and a lodge in the hills above Atuona; elsewhere you stay with families, meals included. On Ua Huka the airfield is far from the villages and there is no shuttle: agree the transfer with the host when booking, and book ahead, as capacities are small. In Taiohae the Service du tourisme lists grocers, bakeries, restaurants, a pizzeria and snack bars; in Taipivai, a snack bar and two grocers; in Hatiheu, a snack bar and a small grocer. Nuku Hiva’s supplies arrive every five to seven days, and the Service du tourisme recommends the fruit and vegetables grown in the Marquesas.

On the islands

Tourist tax: the commune of Hiva Oa charges 150 F CFP per day per person in hotels and on cruise ships, 60 F CFP in all other accommodation, all year round, children under 12 exempt (deliberation 24/2023), and states that the rate is the same on Nuku Hiva; the regime of country law 2025-38 will apply to stays from 1 January 2027. Money: in Taiohae the banks allow withdrawals but do not exchange currency, according to the Service du tourisme; bring cash, the dollar is not accepted. Health: a hospital and a pharmacy in Taiohae. Water: Taiohae’s water is not drinkable; three treatment stations provide it, and the Service du tourisme warns that no water in the Marquesas is drunk without treatment. Taiohae has five grocers, two hardware shops, bakeries, an Air Tahiti office, an OPT office, a fuel station and a gendarmerie. On Nuku Hiva you can hire a car or scooter; on Hiva Oa a four-wheel drive is useful on the slopes, and some valleys are more easily reached by boat. The tourism committees of Nuku Hiva (40 92 08 25) and Hiva Oa (40 92 79 64) give information locally. Clocks run half an hour ahead of Tahiti.