Tahiti: This Island Paradise Just Can’t Take a Bad Picture

Technically speaking, if you find yourself on a charter boat in Tahiti, you’re actually in one of the five island groups of French Polynesia and you’re probably sipping a cold Hinano beer in the Society Islands – more specifically, the Leeward Islands. Tahiti: the word itself elicits images of turquoise waters, swaying palm trees and, more than any other tropical paradise, dramatic vistas that are so camera-friendly, they’re always ready for their close-up.

The island of Tahiti is really two islands – Tahiti Nui (big island) and Tahiti Iti (little island). If you speak French or Tahitian, you’re golden. But these days, you can also get by in English. Nevertheless, it does put a smile on a local’s face if you try out even a limited vocabulary, so why not learn a few terms? Get your vowels ready because like all Polynesians, Tahitians aren’t big on the use of consonants.

Ia ora na (hello)

After landing at Faa’a airport in Papeete, most people take a few days to acclimate before stepping aboard their charter boat. For North Americans, this is easy as Tahiti is only three hours behind Pacific Standard Time. So up at 6:00 a.m. with the sun isn’t hard even if staying up much past 9:00 p.m. is.

You’ve come a long way, so explore before rushing to the boat. A must-see in town is the municipal market where you can grab breakfast of fruit or pastries and then take in the colors of the local wares. The first floor is mainly food and flowers, and the second includes handicrafts and souvenirs.

An afternoon tour of Tahiti Nui will lead to stops at the Gauguin Museum, the James Norman Hall House (co-author of Mutiny on the Bounty, 1932) and Point Venus Lighthouse where both captains Cook and Bligh landed at various times. After 6:00 p.m., the place to be is the newly rebuilt Gare Maritime, the main quay on Boulevard Pomare. As night falls, les roulottes, or food trucks, roll in and serve up fish, curries, pizza, poisson cru (marinated raw fish like ceviche), and crepes in an outdoor atmosphere. It’s the cheapest and best food you’ll find in Tahiti. Plus, it’s a great way to spend time with the locals. There is no alcohol served, so visit one of the outdoor cafes for a glass of wine afterward.

Maeva (welcome) to Your Charter Yacht

A 45-minute flight from Papeete to Raiatea will bring you to the docks at Apooiti Marina, home of both Sunsail and Tahiti Yacht Charters. Moorings charter boats are around the corner but in the same vicinity and Dream Yacht Charters is on the other side of the island. Do your technical checkout and chart briefing while the crew heads to the town of Uturoa by taxi for provisions.

Most of the charter boats are catamarans rather than monohulls and that’s a good thing. Not only are catamarans better platforms for groups, but their draft comes in handy in the skinny water near the motus (islands on the fringing reefs). It’s amazing what 2’ (0.6 m) less of draft can do.

It is interesting to see what returns in a taxi when you send six people to buy food. Everything is expensive in Tahiti because most of it is shipped in from France or the U.S., so shopping local brands will stretch your franc (CFP). Mangos, pineapples, bananas, papaya, coconuts and pamplemousse (grapefruit) are excellent. If you want strawberries, however, be prepared to pay. French wines and cheeses are terrific as is the mahi-mahi mousse, a kind of fish pate. When combined with the baguettes of French bread and a glass of chilled white wine, it makes a happy hour very happy.

Charter Time

The islands of Raiatea and Tahaa share a fringing reef, so it’s easy to stay in protected waters for the first day or two. Head north two hours from the base to Hurepiti Bay on Tahaa. Here, Noah Plantier runs a land tour on a 4x4 truck. Noah is the son of a couple who sailed their 32-footer (9.75 m) here. A four-hour tour ($75) includes a stop to feed coconuts to chickens, a chance to sample local fruits, and a way to learn more about vanilla pollination. Noah also provides noni, the fruit of a tree in the coffee family, which is rumored to be a miracle cure and a fountain of youth but is so foul-tasting that it’s reminiscent of boiled sweat socks.

The next morning, you can go shopping for Tahiti’s black pearls at one of the local pearl farms. Then head for one of the well-marked passes to the open ocean. You can go east or west depending on the length of your charter. If you have the time, 22 miles to the east is Huahine -- the least developed of the bigger Society Islands. You can enter through either Avamoa or Avapehi pass and anchor near the town of Fare.

A great way to see the island is to rent a bike and ride over to the northern tip to visit the stone fish traps in Lac Maeva, the many maraes or religious sites, and the sacred eels in the freshwater river. These eels are 5’ (1.5 m) long, have blue eyes, and will embarrass themselves for a taste of canned tuna.

If you only have a week, skip Huahine and explore Raiatea, the Sacred Island, itself. Anchor in Faaroa Bay where you can take the dinghy on a trip up a river that gets so narrow and shallow that you have to paddle or drag the dink across. Back near the reef, three miles south in Onoa Bay, is Marea Taputapuatea, one of the religious sites on Raiatea.

The First Born

Bora Bora is the stuff of brochures and is the most photographed and mystical of the islands. You can almost hear the Rodgers and Hammerstein song Bali Hai when entering Bora’s Teavanui pass on the west side. Turn right and duck in behind Topua motu, the remnants of an ancient volcano, for an afternoon of kayaking followed by a quick run to the village of Vaitape for ice.

Dinner at Bloody Mary, a palapa-style building with a sand floor, is not to be missed. If you’re lucky, grab one of Bloody Mary’s moorings. If you’re not lucky, head around the corner to drop the hook in shallower depths because when anchoring near the central islands, the water is deep, dark and usually fouled.

In the morning, it’s time for the trek to the backside of Bora Bora. Go while the sun is high in the sky and check your charts often. Binoculars and the depth sounder will become your best friends when negotiating the reefs. Remember that in French Polynesia, it is NOT Red, Right, Returning. Having the hook down before the sun gets low and the glare off the water obscures the shallow reefs is key.

It is easy to become obsessed with Otemanu, Bora Bora’s main mountain that rises 2,300’ (701 m) above the crystal lagoon. It’s the perfect backdrop to just about every photo, including ones taken from Le Meridien’s deck bar where you can enjoy a fruity cocktail for $25.

Drift snorkeling along the central reef or through the Lagoonarium ($65), a kind of underwater zoo, is excellent. Anchoring is easy near the motus on the reef side so long as you avoid the coral heads because in a tussle with one of them, you’re bound to lose. You have to love any place that gives directions like, “The best anchorage is near the five tallest coconut trees on the white sand beach.”

It’s possible to make it back around Bora Bora, out the pass, and across open water to Raiatea in one day but be prepared for 20-30 knot headwinds in the afternoon and a lot of pounding. It’s better to head out in the morning and then enjoy the western side of Raiatea on your way back to the base. An evening on a mooring by the Taravana Yacht Club on Tahaa is a great way to soak up the last sunset and grab another Hinano.

What’s Your Hurry?

Most of the Society Islands are around 16-degrees south latitude. So, the days are short, the temperatures are in the 80s with constant breezes, and the tide is about 1’ (0.3 m), which can make a difference if you’ve got a keel perched on a coral head. The diving is not always clear, the motus are often private or reserved for hotel guests, and the prices are steep. But the people are friendly and the scenery is incomparable. Even if you chafe at $25 cocktails, you can't beat the view.