The island guides
Fifteen islands,
five archipelagos.
Every island guide covers the same ground: what the island is like, who it suits and who it does not, what to do, where to stay, how to get there and what it costs.
Raivavae, Austral Islands
The Society Islands are high volcanic islands with barrier reefs and lagoons. The Tuamotu are atolls: rings of coral with no mountain in the middle. The Marquesas have no barrier reef and no lagoon. The Australs are cooler and farmed. The Gambier are a single lagoon 1,650 km from Tahiti.
Archipelago
Society Islands
High volcanic islands with barrier reefs and lagoons. Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora and four quieter neighbours.
Society Islands
Tahiti
The capital island: Papeete's market, the museum, the interior valleys and Teahupo'o.
Society Islands
Moorea
Thirty minutes from Tahiti by ferry. Rays off the beaches, humpback whales outside the reef from July.
Society Islands
Bora Bora
The widest lagoon in the Society Islands, the overwater resorts, and the highest hotel prices in the country.
Society Islands
Huahine
Two islands inside one reef, restored marae beside a lake, and family pensions instead of resorts.
Society Islands
Raiatea
Taputapuātea, the World Heritage marae, and the base for most sailing charters.
Society Islands
Taha'a
Vanilla plantations, pearl farms, two rum distilleries and motu resorts facing Bora Bora.
Society Islands
Maupiti
A small high island in a wide lagoon. Family pensions only: no hotels, no car hire, no bank.
Archipelago
Tuamotu
About seventy-six atolls: rings of coral with a lagoon in the middle and no mountain.
Tuamotu
Rangiroa
One of the largest atolls in the world. Pass diving, resident dolphins, a pearl farm and a vineyard.
Tuamotu
Fakarava
A UNESCO biosphere reserve with several hundred grey reef sharks in its south pass.
Tuamotu
Tikehau
A small atoll with pink sand, one village, one pass and a manta cleaning station inside the lagoon.
Archipelago
Marquesas
Steep volcanic islands with no barrier reef and no lagoon, 1,400 km north-east of Tahiti.
Archipelago
Australs
Cooler, farmed islands south of Tahiti, and the winter breeding ground of humpback whales.
Archipelago
Gambier
One lagoon 1,650 km south-east of Tahiti, with a village, a cathedral and the pearl farms.
Before you choose
Three guides
that help.
Explained
How an atoll forms
A volcano, a reef, and millions of years of subsidence. Darwin described it in 1842.
Read the article
Plan
When to go
Two seasons, a month-by-month table, and the windows for whales, diving and festivals.
Read more
Plan
Itineraries
Four routes for ten to fourteen days, with the reasoning shown.
Read more
Stay
Overwater or pension
The two ways to stay, and why most trips use both.
Read more