French Polynesia Travel Guide: What to Do in French Polynesia

No visit to French Polynesia is complete without a Tahitian dance performance. But visit between late June and late July and you’ll find most of the Society Islands caught up in the amazing dance frenzy that is the Heiva Festival. Tahitian dance was banned by missionaries from the London Missionary Society in the 1820s, as it was deemed too erotic. Once the French took control of the islands six decades later, dance was back on the agenda, although not in its original form. In the 1960s a Papeete schoolteacher named Madeleine Moua revived the traditional dance, and the Heiva Festival was born.

Performances and competitions are held in Papeete’s Maison de la Culture (cultural center); others take place in Bora Bora, Moorea and Huahine.

Those who want to don a coconut bra and grass skirt and shake their hips vigorously can learn the moves through the long-established Ori Tahiti International School of Tahitian Dance.

Bora Bora’s sensational lagoon — claimed to have seven shades of blue — is a playground for marine life. One way to soak it all in is with a “motu picnic.” Motus, or small islands, form a circle around the lagoon and are perfect places to view the majestic main volcanic island and its cloud-swathed peak, Otemanu.

A typical tour starts with snorkeling in the clear waters of the coral gardens, where the fish swim up to have their photos taken and the occasional moray eel slivers by. Later the boatman might scurry up a coconut tree to retrieve a tropical snack to accompany the barbecue feast. The day finishes with a wade in shallow waters among harmless stingrays and black-tipped reef sharks. The “Bora Bora Exclusive” tour from Moana Adventures and the “Lagoon Tour & Snorkeling with Lunch” option from Maohi Nui are two recommended excursions.

The Marquesas Islands are called the “Land of Men” for their hardy inhabitants, known for full-body tattoos, horsemanship and their ability to tame the wild environment. A journey to these remote rugged islands can be done in comfort while still experiencing their authentic characteristics and meeting the locals.

Cargo/passenger ship Aranui 3 makes the 933-mile journey from Tahiti to the Marquesas 17 times a year, visiting six of the islands. While burly men unload supplies for the islanders and take on precious copra (the dried meat of the coconut, used to make oil), passengers take excursions to villages, archaeological sites and the grave of French artist Paul Gauguin, who died on Hiva Ora Island in 1903. The 14-day voyage includes two relaxing days at sea, allowing plenty of time for passengers to attend lectures or lie by the pool.

Tales of human sacrifices and jungles dotted with stone tikis and remnants of ancient temples make for a real “Boys’ Own” adventure. French Polynesia has a number of sites where the islands’ earliest inhabitants worshiped their many gods. Stone temples called marae were also royal compounds and meeting places, while legend says human sacrifices were performed up until the mid-18th century.

While marae and tikis (human-like stone figures) are found everywhere, the islands of Raiatea and Huahine have the most extensive and best preserved. Raiatea is known as the sacred island; its huge Taputapuatea marae, dating back to 1000 A.D., was the central temple of eastern Polynesia at that time. Nearby Huahine’s marae are believed to be even older and housed the island’s eight royal chiefs. You can explore them on your own, but if you’d prefer a tour, Island Eco Tours offers half- and full-day 4WD tours led by anthropologist Paul Atallah, who explains Huahine’s rich cultural sites.

Falling asleep to the gentle lapping of lagoon waters and waking up to a refreshing dip are the lures of the overwater bungalow. Nothing quite says French Polynesia like this iconic thatched hut on stilts, invented in Moorea in the 1960s.

Today overwater bungalows have morphed into mini-hotel suites with plunge pools (such as the opulent Four Seasons Resort in Bora Bora), although the classic conical one-room and deck with stairs into the lagoon still exists (the Hotel Maitai in Bora Bora is an example of the original style). The stroll along the pontoon to a secluded room is enticingly romantic, while the glass floor panel reveals marine creatures swimming below.

Overwater bungalows aren’t cheap, but when in French Polynesia the experience is de rigueur. Bed down in one of these in the Society Islands or farther afield in Rangiroa and Tikehau in the Tuamotus.

— written by Caroline Gladstone