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Tahiti Island
Travel Guide
French Polynesia
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tahiti pictures map
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Tahiti is the main island and population centre of French Polynesia; its name, however, is commonly used to describe the entire group. Tahiti Island is almost 1000 sq. km in size and is larger than all of its neighbouring Society Islands put together. It combines two shield volcanoes joined by a narrow isthmus - Tahiti-Nui is the larger most populated portion and takes about 6 hours to circumnavigate by car whilst Tahiti-Iti is quite wild and sparsely inhabited. Tahiti offers lovely coastal scenery, high mountains with tropical rain forests, and some of the best hiking and surfing in the South Pacific. However, lacking decent beaches, it is mostly neglected by tourism with the large airport hotels catering to tourists in transit to other islands. The capital Papeete, and the international airport are located on the north west tip of the island facing Moorea.
... more about Papeete, Faa'a and the Airport Hotels
Around Tahiti Nui
The main concentration of population is along the sunny west coast where there are lots of residential properties blocking access to the beach front. This heavily populated area has terrible traffic congestion during the morning and evening rush hours all the way to Paea Village - it can literally take an hour to travel just one mile! The most accessible beach is at Punaauia where the fine white sand makes a picturesque setting looking down the coast and over to Moorea Island. One of the few budget beach resorts with dormitory beds is located here, Pension Armelle which offers basic rooms with shared bathrooms. At the northern end of the beach is the grand Le Meridien Hotel with its huge swimming pool built on an ancient burial site. About 5 km to the south, just beyond the bustle of Paea Village, is a beautifully reconstructed marae at Arahurahu which makes for the spectacular setting for several cultural performances. You can stay close by in Paea Village at Relais Fenua, a small family run guesthouse about a 5 minute walk to the local beach with lovely mountains as a backdrop.
The south coast of Tahiti is rather featureless, with few attractions except the popular Gauguin Museum, The Fern Grotto and the scenic golf course at Atimaono. However, the mountain scenery from the coastal road is attractive, with the best views at Papara Village where there's also an impressive black sand beach with some of the best southern surfing in Tahiti (May to November). You can stay on the coast here at Pension Hiti Moana which has a small swimming pool and good swimming offshore but no beach. At the far end of the south coast at Papeari is an inland 4WD track that winds up the mountain through a tunnel to Lake Vaihira and across the pass to the north side of the island. This is a wonderful experience and several companies offer day tour excursions taking in mountain panoramas, waterfalls and ancient marae. The more adventurous can stay in the mountains at Relais de la Maroto. The east coast of Tahiti Nui, beyond the isthmus that joins with Tahiti Iti, is the tropical wet side of the island with lush vegetation coming right to the roadside and several lovely waterfalls.
The north coast of Tahiti has the islands' best mountain scenery and a few noteworthy scenic attractions. Here too are several picturesque black sand beaches with excellent surfing from the busy beach at Papanoo and the quieter location of Tiarei further along the coast. At Arahoho Blowhole there's a large car park usually full of tourist coaches, and small stalls touting tourist souvenirs. A road from here leads a few kilometres inland to the three waterfalls of Faarumai. The furthest is a twenty minute walk from the car park and these are at their most spectacular during the rainy months of Dec to May. In the height of the dry season the waterfalls shrink to a trickle. Twenty kilometres before reaching Papeete, the inland road from Papenoo offers lovely mountain scenery and is the venue for several 4WD day tours, walking tours and horse back excursions. This is the same road traverses the island to the south coast via Lake Vaihira. The last main attraction along the north coast is at Point Venus, a stunning lookout over tranquil Matavai Bay and back towards Papeete just 7km in the distance. You can stay on the silvery beach below Point Venus at the modern Radisson Tahiti. The bay here has excellent swimming, is good for watersports and you can sometimes spot dolphins in the water.
Around Tahiti Iti
Tahiti-Iti is very rural with some attractive Polynesian style villages and a few small beaches on its south coast. Hiking trails are excellent on both the south and north coast and the coastal road passes some of the country's most outstanding scenery making this a must for those who like exploring.
The road around Tahiti Iti's north coast winds along the coastline with nice views. The road ends at the tranquil Tautira Village which has spectacular mountain views and a nice beach where village kids spend their days splashing around in the water. From Tautira you can take the 15-km walking track along the stunning Pari Coast where you can see petroglyphs and sacred marae along the way. Another road from the north coast heads inland climbing the gentle cattle grazing hills. From the summit of Vaifaufa are stunning views of both Tahiti Iti and Tahiti Nui, seen at its best for sunrise and sunset.
The south coast road on Tahiti Iti runs for 17km to Teahupoo before it too is halted by the rugged mountains. There's a nice beach at Toouo where locals catch fish with spears in the bay. There's a picturesque village at Vairao and you can stay nearby at Pension Chayan hidden along the coast amongst tropical forests. This makes an ideal base to explore the remote Vaipoiri Coast beyond the road and to surf the monster waves at Teahupoo. Another option is to stay at the budget Pension Bonjouir which has dormitory beds and camping and is accessible only by boat beyond the coastal road close to Teauhupoo.
search for ... Tahiti Resorts
find ... Tahiti Tour Companies
continue to ... Moorea Island
Readers may also be interested in the following destinations:
Cook Islands Travel Guide
Fiji Travel Guide
Samoa Travel Guide
Tonga Travel Guide
Hawaii Travel Guide
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