Ferries and boats
between the islands.

01 · The short answer

Two ferry routes,
then freighters.

To Moorea, take the boat: 30 to 45 minutes on the fast ferries, 50 on the Vaeara'i, from 1,100 to 2,350 XPF (≈ US$11–23) one way for a visitor⁵⁶⁷⁸.

To Huahine, Raiatea, Taha'a, Bora Bora and Maupiti, the Apetahi Express is a full day on the water — Papeete to Bora Bora takes 6 h 50 — for 8,000 XPF (≈ US$78) one way in school term or 9,000 XPF (≈ US$88) in the holidays²⁷. The plane takes 50 minutes and costs several times more⁹.

Beyond the Society Islands, there are no passenger ferries from Tahiti. Cargo ships carry a few passengers to the Tuamotu, the Marquesas, the Australs and the Gambier on schedules that move with weather and breakdowns¹⁰¹¹; the Aranui 5 sails 12-day Marquesas loops as a cruise⁴.

03 · Tahiti–Moorea

Three companies,
one crossing.

Aremiti (two ships, Aremiti 5 and 6), Tauati Ferry and Vaeara'i share the Papeete–Vaiare line¹. One-way fares in October 2026: Tauati 1,100 XPF (≈ US$11) for anyone aged two or over, Vaeara'i 1,900 XPF (≈ US$19) for adults, Aremiti 2,350 XPF (≈ US$23) for visitors aged 12 or over⁷⁶⁸. A small car costs 4,000 to 5,440 XPF (≈ US$39–53) one way⁶⁷⁸.

Terevau, the fourth name in older guides, stopped for good: the commercial court ordered its operator's liquidation on 13 April 2026¹⁵. Some official lists still name it³; it does not sail.

The Moorea ferry guide has the timetables, the first and last boats, terminals and car bookings.

05 · In the Leewards

Boat or plane,
island by island.

The Apetahi Express makes sense when the boat day is part of the trip, when luggage is heavy — two 23 kg bags are included⁷ — or when flights are full. It makes less sense for short hops: Raiatea–Taha'a costs the full 8,000 XPF fare⁷, while the local public shuttle across the lagoon costs 800–1,000 XPF (≈ US$8–10)¹⁷. That shuttle and the hotel boats are covered on the Taha'a and Raiatea pages.

Maupiti is the boat most likely to be cancelled. Every vessel enters through Onoiau, a narrow pass in the southern reef; in a south-easterly to south-westerly swell the outgoing current can exceed ten knots and sailings are delayed or cancelled¹⁸. Don't connect a boat into or out of Maupiti with an international flight.

The Maupiti Express II, despite its name, is listed by Tahiti Tourisme for 2026 as serving Bora Bora, Taha'a and Raiatea: three trips a week, 2 h 20, tickets on board or at the Vaitape office, be there 45 minutes early¹⁹. Confirm its current timetable at the office in Vaitape before planning around it.

06 · Cargo ships

The goélettes,
honestly.

The mixed cargo ships — goélettes — are the lifeline of the outer islands, and some take passengers. The maritime affairs office (DPAM) lists the ships serving each archipelago from Papeete; from October 2026 their departure notices are published on the government's Revatua platform rather than on the DPAM page³. The government also publishes the maximum passenger and freight fares they may charge¹.

Treat them as an adventure, not a timetable. The DPAM's own advice is that dates and times are indicative and can change at any moment, and that passenger service on the goélettes may be limited: check that it has resumed and that a berth is free¹⁰. Breakdowns reshuffle whole routes: when the Mareva Nui broke down on 30 January 2026, the Hava'i was moved from the Leewards to the western Tuamotu and the Vaitere 2 covered the Leewards¹¹.

New ships are coming. The Dory, which served Tikehau, Rangiroa, Ahe and Manihi, stopped in September 2025; its replacement Dory 2 was due in July 2026, and the Teremanuia, ex-Tuhāa Pae IV, at the end of 2026, each with room for about 100 passengers¹¹. Check with the operator before counting on either.

Passenger numbers show how marginal this is for visitors: the whole Austral archipelago counted 816 sea passengers in 2017²⁰, and the two ships calling at the Gambier have 12 and 9 berths¹⁴.

07 · The Aranui

A freighter
that is a cruise.

The Aranui 5 carries freight and up to 230 passengers in 103 cabins²¹, sailing 12-day loops from Papeete to the Marquesas; four more Marquesas departures remain in 2026, the last on 19 December⁴. Fares for the 7 November 2026 departure run from about 426,000 XPF (US$4,174) per person in the dormitory or an obstructed-view cabin to about 1.3 million XPF (US$12,728) per person in the presidential suite²².

Its new sister, the Aranoa, built for the Australs with 198 passengers, starts on 6 March 2027 with an inaugural Austral voyage to Rapa; its 2027 schedule also includes a five-day Tuamotu trip and Pitcairn and Gambier voyages²³⁴.

It is not transport in the ferry sense — you buy a voyage, not a one-way passage — but it is the only way to see six Marquesan islands without six flights. The getting around page has more on it.