Journey suggestions for Tahiti, Bora Bora, French Polynesia

I’ve been interested by honeymoons so much not too long ago.

Maybe it’s as a result of we’re within the coronary heart of marriage ceremony season and I’m getting invites to summer season nuptials; possibly it’s as a result of that is Pride weekend in Minneapolis and I’m listening to so much about love; or possibly it’s as a result of I traveled to a dream honeymoon vacation spot earlier this yr — French Polynesia — and am nonetheless interested by that exceptional go to.

But a go to to French Polynesia—with its widespread islands together with Tahiiti and Bora Bora and its lesser-known islands reminiscent of Huahine and Nuku Hiva within the South Pacific Ocean—isn’t only for {couples} celebrating their new marriage. It’s for households, solo vacationers, pals searching for an unique location, foodies, nature lovers and journey seekers. It’s for everybody searching for an elevated escape.

Tahiti Tourisme invited two different journey writers and me to the enchanting land in April to discover the various historical past, topography and tradition of three of the nation’s 118 islands. That’s an enormous ask, just like having a journey author evaluate New York City, Monterey, California, and Lubbock, Texas, in a single article. (I’ve written previous journey tales about all three.) I used to be as much as the duty.

First, some background on visiting French Polynesia, which is mostly known as Tahiti. Officials name themselves Tahiti Tourisme (as a substitute of French Polynesia Tourism) as a result of, they are saying, many individuals combine up French Polynesia with the Maldives or mistakenly assume Tahiti is situated nearer to France, close to Ibiza and different widespread European islands. In truth, it’s practically 10,000 miles away from Paris.

It is in the identical time zone as Hawaii, one other widespread honeymoon vacation spot. It is comprised of 5 archipelagos: Society Islands, Marquesas Islands, Tuamotu Archipelago, Gambier Islands, and Austral Islands. Because they’re remoted islands and so unfold out, every archipelago has its personal historical past, highlights and distinct benefits, providing distinctive experiences all through.

Getting there and getting round

I began my journey with a flight from MSP to Los Angeles after which a red-eye direct flight on Air Tahiti Nui to Tahiti’s capital, Papeete. The eight-hour Air Tahiti Nui flight was upscale and cozy, and I used to be in a position to transfer from my window seat subsequent to newlyweds on their honeymoon to the again of the aircraft after takeoff to sleep flat in an open row—all the time a bonus on a protracted flight.

The time is 5 hours sooner than in Minnesota, apart from Nuku Hiva within the Marquesas archipelago, which is a complicated 30-minute time distinction from the remainder of Tahiti. The essential language is Tahitian, with French additionally quite common. I picked up the on a regular basis greetings, however want I had discovered extra Tahitian (or French) forward of time to speak higher with the pleasant locals.

The French Pacific Franc is the primary forex and money is king on the smaller islands the place bank cards aren’t accepted. That defined the extremely lengthy line for the one ATM on the airport in Papeete. The temperatures are tropical (learn: constantly stunning) and the sunshine is powerful. In April, it rained briefly within the mornings however cleared up shortly. Crime by no means as soon as crossed my thoughts; I felt protected in every single place and welcomed as a visitor as a substitute of as a “tourist,” though tourism is a serious supply of revenue throughout Tahiti. Food allergy symptoms are acknowledged and accommodated, however those that should keep away from shellfish and seafood are actually lacking out.

French Polynesians are happy with their tradition and like to share their historical past by way of music and dance. They acknowledge the idea of “mahu,” the concept that some folks embody each female and male identities, so LGBTIQ+ individuals are very welcome right here, with many working within the hospitality and tourism industries. Yes, your server could possibly be trans. No, it’s not an enormous deal. They will train you find out how to correctly tie your pareo (ornamental material that may be worn as a gown) and reward you with a lei of contemporary flowers.

Here’s a take a look at the three completely different islands we visited over the course of eight days.

Tahiti

Tahiti is French Polynesia’s largest island and a part of the Society Islands archipelago. It can also be dwelling to the one worldwide airport. After touchdown right here at about 5 a.m. from LAX, we had a hurried hour to get by way of customs and safety and onto the tarmac for a
fast flight to Huahine. We returned to Tahiti later within the week and spent a full day circling the island with a educated information in addition to a remaining night time earlier than our flight again to LAX.

Our daylong tour of the island of Tahiti began with a go to to a neighborhood market to buy among the nation’s most well-known objects — pearls, vanilla beans and brightly-colored textiles and pareos. After the market, we headed to Te Fare Iamanaha, or the islands of Tahiti museum, for an interactive historical past lesson. After about 90 minutes there, we set out for a driving tour with stops at Mara’a cave, Vaimahuta, considered one of Tahiti’s three well-known waterfalls, and Teahupo’o, the seaside space the place the browsing competitors was staged for the 2024 Summer Olympics (keep in mind, France hosted that occasion). Surfing and scuba diving are very talked-about actions throughout French Polynesia.

The spotlight of the day was an al fresco picnic lunch on the childhood dwelling of our information, MarieJeanne Nordhoff, often called MJ. We spent the afternoon eating on contemporary seafood and Tahiti’s nationwide dish, poisson cru, which is a mixture of uncooked tuna, lime juice and coconut milk. Nordhoff’s mom made the whole meal from scratch and eventually sat down with us after serving everybody because the chickens pecked close to the kitchen and the property’s many canines romped subsequent to the surf. We discovered extra about MJ’s well-known grandfather, creator Charles Nordhoff, and the way he co-wrote “The Bounty Trilogy” within the Thirties. The triology consists of “Mutiny on the Bounty,” which helped make Tahiti well-known when Marlon Brando starred within the film model in 1962.

After a full day of seeing the sights and a late dinner on the widespread Blue Banana, we collapsed into our rooms on the InterContinental Resort and didn’t see a lot of the nightlife Tahiti reportedly presents. On the opposite islands, most residents begin their days early and go to mattress by 9 p.m., so nightlife isn’t actually a factor.

Huahine

Also within the Society Islands, we spent the primary a part of our journey on Huahine, simply 66 miles northwest of Tahiti. Formerly known as Matairea, the land is 2 islands joined by a bridge: Huahine Nui (the larger island) and Huahine Iti. Although it’s only a quick flight from Tahiti, the vibe of Huahine felt completely different — rather more tranquil and laid-back. The view from our Air Moana flight as we approached was beautiful, with the turquoise sea surrounding the shoreline. Our first day was fortunately low-key as we recovered from our in a single day flight, and I spent most of my time within the non-public soaking pool at my cabana at Maitai Lapita Village. The following day, we had been charmed by our anthropologist/information Paul Atallah, who took us to see the blue-eyed eels (yuck), a vanilla plantation, fish traps and the marae — or sacred web site — of Maeva. We visited a number of maraes over the week and Atallah’s professional rationalization of their significance helped put the others in context.

My favourite day of the eight-day journey was spent on the water with Matairea Lagoon tour. As we boarded the non-public boat early on a sunny and windy morning, I used to be excited and a bit apprehensive about what the day would convey. I knew I’d be within the water but additionally undecided if I’d get seasick or sunburned. I didn’t must be apprehensive, because it turned out to be an excellent day of snorkeling, boating and listening to our boat’s skipper and others sing and strum conventional Polynesian songs. We stopped for lunch on a motu — or small islet — the place I grew to become a bit emotional interested by how stunning the day was and the way fortunate I used to be to get to expertise it.

Nuku Hiva

Our third island of the go to was north of Tahiti and Huahine to Nuku Hiva, the capital of the Marquesas Islands. A 3-hour flight on Air Tahiti from Papeete, touchdown in Nuku Hiva felt like a wholly completely different journey but once more. With the airport on one aspect of the island and our resort in the primary village of Taoihae on the opposite aspect, the one-hour drive of switchbacks and rugged volcano topography provided a number of beautiful stops for images.

We noticed horses tied to posts on the aspect of the street and discovered in regards to the varied fruit timber and flowers alongside the best way. As we approached Taiohae, we may see sailboats bobbing within the bay, which helped us notice that seeing Nuku Hiva by boat as a substitute of flying in is an excellent choice.

After checking into our cabanas at Le Nuku Hiva by Pearl Resorts, we got down to discover the small village and get the lay of the land. We visited the Temehea ceremonial web site and its imposing tiki and in addition stopped by the Notre Dame des Marquises Cathedral.

The finest a part of the tour, although, was once we casually got here throughout a welcome ceremony for a Tahiti official whose entourage was additionally visiting to dedicate the village’s new recreation heart. We had been mesmerized by the normal drumming, chanting and rhythmic dancing that was completely genuine and never a efficiency for our profit.

The clientele at Le Nuku Hiva additionally felt completely different from our keep on Tahiti. Over dinner one night time, the overall supervisor confirmed the vast majority of company are 50 and older — a departure from the youthful crowds on Tahiti and Bora Bora. We met one couple visiting from Utah to scuba dive and one other from California making a return journey to Tahiti to discover new islands. Meeting them made me assume again to the newlyweds I sat subsequent to on the aircraft and puzzled in the event that they, too, would return sometime to Tahiti, both as an anniversary journey or to convey their household. The bride informed me she thought of Tahiti a once-in-a-lifetime vacation spot, however after experiencing three completely different islands, I like to recommend a number of visits to a number of islands.