Country Information

• Wander around Papeete’s (the capital of the island Tahiti) public market, Le Marché. The market is open all week but really comes to life on Sunday mornings when out-of-town merchants come to sell their wares. Flowers, spices, fabrics and fresh produce are all on offer.

• See some of Tahiti’s impressive watery wonders, from the Blowhole of Arahoho, which throws water skywards, to the Faarumai and Vaipahi waterfalls.

• Lap up the beach life that Tahiti and Her Islands offers: relax on the island of Moorea’s dazzling white-sand beaches and clear lagoons, ideal for swimming, diving and snorkelling, and surrounded by volcanic peaks and a winning mixture of tradition and touristic entertainment; and discover the Leeward Islands, sheltered by the surrounding coral reef, the coastal waters and lagoons, all good for encountering the local aquatic life; go deep-sea fishing, scuba-diving, snorkelling or swimming on a nearby motu (small sandy atoll within a reef), or take a trip by glass-bottomed boat around the lagoons of Bora Bora. The sea around the South Pacific islands is excellent for scuba-diving, providing visibility that often reaches 40m (130ft). Other popular and well-provided-for watersports include windsurfing, waterskiing, surfing (highly rated at the Avo Moía Pass and in Teahupoo) and kite-surfing.

• Visit the beautiful Opunohu Valley on Moorea, an ancient dwelling place, uninhabited for 150 years, with 500 ancient structures including temples or marae, some of which have been restored. The marae used to be sacred buildings, or funerary sites, of a rectangular shape on which religious and social ceremonies would be performed. The marae (open-air temple) of Mahaiatea, on Tahiti, is also worth a visit.

• Inhale the faintly sweet aroma that lingers on the ’Vanilla Island’ of Tahaa. The breeze constantly carries the aroma of vanilla, from the island’s numerous vanilla plantations. The island also shares a coral reef with the island of Raiatea, and offers a tranquil and relaxed lifestyle.

• Ascend the two mountains of Otemanu and Pahia on the island of Bora Bora, and find yourself a wonderful lookout point across this most famous of the Leeward Islands, still only 45 minutes from Tahiti by plane. Club Alpin in Arue also provides information and assistance for climbing Mount Aorai, with a shelter at 1,798m (5,900ft) and Mount Diademe.

• Visit the burial spots of both Paul Gauguin and Jacques Brel on the Marquesas Islands. Both are buried on Hiva Oa. For greater insight into the life of Gauguin, the famous French Post-Impressionist painter of the 19th century, visit the Paul Gauguin Museum on Tahiti.

• Go horse riding between the numerous valleys of Ua Huka. Hourly and day-long horse riding tours can be arranged through Club Equestre de Tahiti and Centre de Tourisme Equestre de Tahiti, both at the Hippodrome, Pirae, Tahiti. For more equine-related fun, Tahitian-style horse racing can be seen at the Hippodrome in Pirae.

• Cherish one of Tahiti and Her Islands’ most beautiful locations: the island of Fatu Hiva, with its valley of Hanavare, hidden between volcanic rock on the Bay of Virgins. This also contains the important archaeological site of Puamau, with its intact 2.1m- (7ft-) high tiki (a male figure in Polynesian myth), the largest on the Marquesas.

• Come across some of the amazing life that lurks beneath the lovely waters of Tahiti and Her Islands. There are shark and ray feeding demonstrations on Moorea and Bora Bora, and humpback whale watching is possible between July and October in the waters of Rurutu.

See Contact Addresses for further tourist information.