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Tahiti Beach Holidays
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South Pacific Beach Holidays
our rankings - select destination for more info
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South Pacific Honeymoons
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Tahiti Island
The main island of Tahiti has few nice beaches. The only white sand beaches on the island are on the west coast, south of Papeete Town and Faa'a Airport where most of the resorts are located. But even here, the beaches are not what you expect from such tropical paradise and the lagoon is often washed with seaweed making swimming not great. The nicest beach is at Punaauia which has public access and a parking area just south of Le Meridien Hotel.
Papenoo on the north coast and Papara on the south coast are attractive black sand beaches but the swimming is usually rough and best for surfing and body surfing. There's a nice sandy beach at Toahotu on remote Tahiti Iti which is popular with locals and several beaches on the north coast of French Polynesia Iti, particularly at Tautira which is good for strolling and beachcombing with stunning coastal and mountain views.
Moorea Island
The beaches on the neighbouring island of Moorea are a lot better, but still don't match the pictures in the glossy brochures. The public beach at Temae adjacent to the Ia Ora Resort on the east coast of Moorea is one of the longest stretches of beaches in Tahiti and has good snorkelling and a shallow sandy bottom lagoon for swimming, as well as palm trees and mountain views. The beach continues past Temae Point running alongside the airport on the north east coast. There are several small sandy bays on the protected north coast of Moorea where you'll find Pearl Resort Moorea, Sheraton Moorea and the landscaped beach environment at the elaborate Intercontinental Moorea. There are no beaches along the scenic Cooks Bay and Opunohu Bay except a small stretch of sand at Hotel Kaveka.
The beach at Hauru Point on the north west tip of Moorea is the most popular beach on Moorea for water activities. Hauru Point faces several small offshore islets which create a shallow lagoon and ideal conditions for kayaking, sailing and para gliding, as well as good snorkelling. However, the sand here is rather narrow and the beach front is lined with budget hotels and guesthouses. Pick of the bunch is Vai Moana or Les Tipaniers. The rural south west coast of Moorea has a couple of small beaches including at Linereva north of Haapiti and at Maatea on the southern point of the island.
Bora Bora Island
Many of the picture postcard beach scenes are taken from Bora Bora. However, there are only a couple of nice beaches on the main island of Bora, the most popular being at Matira Point on the southern tip. The west side of Matira Beach has public access and has deeper water making it good for swimming and water activities including water skiing and banana tube rides. The very tip of Matira Point has a gorgeous sandy beach and is the location of the luxury Intercontinental Bora Bora. Heading along the east side of Matira is a long sweeping beach lined with more affordable hotels and guesthouses including the lovely Maitai Polynesia and Temanuata Beach Lodge, although the latter has no beach front at high tide. The only other decent beach of the main island of Bora is around Povai Bay on the south west coast where you can stay across the main coastal road (virtually no traffic) at the affordable Temanuata Village Lodge.
The most beautiful beaches are found on the smaller motu islands that surround the lagoon. One of the finest white sandy beaches is on Motu Toopua Iti alongside the Bora Bora Nui Resort. Other lovely beaches include those alongside the Bora Bora Lagoon Resort and the Pearl Beach Resort, both also on the west side of Bora. On the north lagoon are a string of small flat coral islands surrounded by beaches. If you are looking for an island to yourself, try Private Island Lodge which has a small narrow beach and access across the lagoon to a lovely swimming and snorkelling beach. The longest stretches of beaches are on the eastern motu where you can walk for miles alongside the sandy shoreline backed by palm trees. Here, the delightful Le Meridien Resort sits on a small bay surrounded by beach front and looking out onto almost 100 over-the-water bungalows.
Other Society Island
Tahaa and its twin sister of Raiatea have only a few beaches along its rainforested coastline but there are exquisite beaches on the offshore motu, particularly off the north of Tahaa where you'll find the splendid Tahaa Pearl Resort. Huahine has only few nice beaches that are accessible by road, mostly on its south coast, with the best being around Avea Bay and alongside Hotel Mahana, although these are nowhere near match those on Bora Bora. With a boat, you can access lovely beaches on the motu off the east coast although there is no accommodation here. The Te Tiare Beach Resort on the inaccessible west coast has a pleasant beach front. Without doubt, the best beaches of the other Society Islands are found on Maupiti, similar in appearance to Bora Bora but without commercial tourism. Of particular beauty are Tereia Beach on the west side of the main island and the secluded beach surrounding Tiapaa Motu off the east coast of Maupiti. There are only a couple of guesthouses here including the delightfully down to earth Pension Kuiri.
Tuamotu Group
There are some fantastic resort beach locations in the lagoon islands of the Tuamotu Group where snorkelling and diving are world class.
Tahiti Beach Resort Listings
Tahiti Tour Companies
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