French Polynesia

Papeete

Bora Bora, lagoons and vanilla. Here is when to go, what a day costs on site and what to see, then Okela composes your itinerary hour by hour.

When to visit Papeete

Best months: May, June, July, August, September and October.

What to see in Papeete

1. Marché de Papeete
   The market is the beating heart of Papeete, where locals do their daily shopping and visitors hunt for souvenirs.
2. Bora Bora (lagon, excursion)
   Bora Bora's lagoon is a wide, very clear basin ringed by a chain of motu and watched over by the peak of Mount Otemanu.
3. Moorea (ferry, baie de Cook)
   Cook's Bay opens at the foot of Mount Rotui, with calm water and steep, deep green volcanic slopes, only a short crossing from Papeete.
4. Plage de la Pointe Vénus
   This tongue of black volcanic sand, lined with coconut palms and casuarinas, juts into the lagoon on Tahiti's north coast.
5. Grotte de Maraa
   On Tahiti's west coast, these fern-covered grottoes shelter a cool freshwater pool, a pause from the heat of the road.
6. Teahupo'o (surf)
   At the end of the road on Tahiti Iti, a very hollow and powerful reef wave breaks in shallow water just a few hundred meters from shore.
7. Jardins de Vaipahi
   On Tahiti's south coast, in the commune of Teva I Uta, this garden is part stroll, part botanical park: the river runs through dense, shaded greenery.
8. Musée de Tahiti et des Îles
   This museum is the best place to get your bearings in Polynesia before exploring the rest of the island: the settlement of the Pacific, the arts, beliefs and ways of life are laid out clearly.

A sample itinerary for Papeete, three days

Composed by Okela from the places in its database, with times. Yours takes your dates, pace and group into account.

Budget

Expect about €278 per person per day on site (accommodation, meals, transport and visits), depending on the comfort you choose. Okela shows the price of every step of your itinerary.

Photo: Remi Jouan, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.