Papeete
2 hostels · dorms from XPF 4,500
Tahiti's capital: a market, roulottes food trucks on the waterfront, and the airport.
French Polynesia country guide
French Polynesia Travel Guide
Bora Bora, Moorea and 116 other islands across an ocean the size of Europe. Famously expensive, and there is a cheaper version that involves guesthouses and ferries.
XPF3,500
A dorm bed, from
118
Islands
30min
Ferry from Tahiti to Moorea
5
Archipelagos
The expensive one, and the way around it
French Polynesia is 118 islands spread across five archipelagos and an area of ocean roughly the size of Europe. It has a reputation as the most expensive destination in the Pacific, earned honestly by the overwater bungalows of Bora Bora.
There is a second version. Pensions de famille (family guesthouses) exist across the islands at a fraction of resort prices, the ferry between Tahiti and Moorea costs almost nothing and takes half an hour, and markets and food trucks feed you well for very little. It is still not cheap, but it is a different order of magnitude.
Tahiti is where you land, and Papeete's market and roulottes food trucks are worth a night. Moorea, visible across the water, is the one most travellers love: a cathedral of green ridges with a lagoon around it.
Ten days to two weeks covers Tahiti, Moorea and one more island.
Where to go
Ferries link Tahiti and Moorea cheaply. Everything further needs a flight.
Moorea
1 hostel
Thirty minutes by ferry: green ridges, a lagoon and the island most visitors prefer.
Bora Bora
The famous one, with a lagoon that lives up to it and prices that go beyond it.
Huahine
Quieter and greener, with archaeological sites and far fewer visitors.
Raiatea
The sacred island, with Taputapuātea marae, a UNESCO site central to Polynesian history.
Rangiroa
A vast atoll in the Tuamotus, and one of the great diving destinations in the Pacific.
What kind of trip is this?
French Polynesia is a lagoon, diving and hiking trip, and how you book it decides what it costs.
Beach in French Polynesia
Lagoons that justify the photographs.
Adventure in French Polynesia
Diving, hiking and interior valleys nobody visits.
Culture in French Polynesia
Marae sites, tattoo traditions and Heiva in July.
Food in French Polynesia
Poisson cru, French bakeries and waterfront food trucks.
What to do
- Poisson cru, the national dish
- Roulottes on the Papeete waterfront
- A French bakery breakfast
Spots to visit
- Papeete roulottes
- Market halls
- Moorea
Best cities for it
Budget in French Polynesia
Possible, with pensions and ferries instead of resorts and flights.
City break in French Polynesia
Papeete for a night, mostly for the market and food trucks.
What to do
- The covered market early
- Roulottes after dark
- The waterfront
Spots to visit
- Papeete centre
- Waterfront
Best cities for it
Things to do
Things to do in French Polynesia
Moorea is where most independent travellers end up, and rightly. Lagoon tours take you to snorkel with rays and blacktip sharks, the Belvedere lookout sits between two bays, and the Three Coconuts pass is a proper half-day hike through the interior.
Bora Bora's lagoon does live up to its reputation, and there is a way to see it without a resort: stay in a pension on the main island, take a lagoon tour, and eat at food trucks.
Rangiroa in the Tuamotus is one of the world's great dive sites, with the Tiputa pass carrying dolphins, sharks and rays through on the tide.
Raiatea's Taputapuātea is a UNESCO-listed marae complex and one of the most important sites in Polynesian culture, from which voyaging canoes set out across the Pacific.
Food and drink
Eating in French Polynesia
Poisson cru (raw tuna in coconut milk and lime) is the national dish and it is everywhere, from roulottes to restaurants.
Roulottes are the answer to the cost problem. These food trucks gather on the Papeete waterfront each evening and in towns across the islands, serving steak frites, chow mein, poisson cru and crêpes for XPF1,200 to XPF2,000: a fraction of restaurant prices and considerably more fun.
The French legacy means genuinely good bread and pastries everywhere, including baguettes that are price-controlled and therefore cheap.
Market halls in Papeete and on the larger islands sell fruit, fish and cooked food, and self-catering from a supermarket is how many travellers manage a longer stay.
Nightlife
Going out in French Polynesia
Papeete has the only real nightlife: bars along the waterfront, a few clubs, and a scene that is busiest at weekends. Elsewhere, evenings are your pension, the roulottes, or a hotel bar.
Heiva in July is the exception: a month of dance and singing competition between islands that is the cultural event of the year, with performances that are the opposite of a tourist show.
Hinano is the local beer at XPF500 to XPF900 in a shop and considerably more in a bar. Alcohol is expensive and imported, and buying from a supermarket rather than a resort bar makes a substantial difference.
Getting around
Getting around French Polynesia
The Tahiti to Moorea ferry is the one cheap link: thirty minutes, several times a day, a few hundred francs, and it makes Moorea an easy first stop.
Everything else means Air Tahiti, whose multi-island passes are the sensible way to combine several islands: buying legs individually costs considerably more. Flights to Bora Bora, Huahine and Rangiroa all run from Papeete.
On the islands, le truck buses have largely given way to limited local services, so most visitors hire a car for a day, rent bicycles, or rely on pensions offering transfers. Moorea's ring road is 60km and cycling it is a long but flat day.
Cargo ships serve the remote Marquesas on multi-day voyages, which is a trip in itself.
Costs
What French Polynesia costs
This is the most expensive destination in this guide, and the gap between the resort version and the independent one is enormous.
Pensions and dorms start around XPF3,500 to XPF9,000, against resort rates many times that. Roulottes plates are XPF1,200 to XPF2,000 while restaurant mains are XPF3,000 to XPF5,000. The Moorea ferry is a few hundred francs; internal flights are XPF15,000 to XPF35,000 a leg.
A careful day comes to XPF9,000 to XPF18,000. The levers are pensions rather than hotels, roulottes rather than restaurants, supermarket shopping, and staying on Tahiti and Moorea rather than flying between distant islands.
The CFP franc is pegged to the euro, which makes conversion simple for European travellers.
Safety
Staying safe in French Polynesia
French Polynesia is safe, with low crime and good infrastructure by Pacific standards: it is a French overseas collectivity, and health and emergency services reflect that, particularly on Tahiti.
The hazards are in the water. Lagoon passes have very strong currents on an outgoing tide, and drift diving there is for experienced divers with guides. Coral cuts infect fast, and stonefish sit in shallow sandy areas: reef shoes are sensible.
Sharks are common in the lagoons and are generally blacktips and lemon sharks that ignore people; feeding them, which some tours do, is discouraged and changes their behaviour.
Cyclone season runs November to April. Ciguatera, a toxin that accumulates in some reef fish, is present: locals know which fish and areas to avoid, and following their lead is the practical protection.
Entry and documents
Entry and documents
French Polynesia is a French overseas collectivity but is not in the Schengen area, so it has its own entry rules. EU citizens can enter and stay with an identity card or passport. UK, US, Canadian and Australian citizens generally enter visa-free for up to 90 days, though a Schengen visa does not automatically apply here.
Passports need to be valid for the stay, and proof of onward travel is commonly requested.
Check the current position for your nationality before booking, as the rules differ from mainland France in ways that catch people out.
When to go
May to October is the dry season and the best time. November to April is hotter, wetter and carries cyclone risk, though prices drop.
Jan
Hot, humid and the wettest stretch. Cyclone risk
Feb
Still wet and humid
Mar
Wet season continuing, and quiet
Apr
Improving. Good value before the season starts
May
Dry season begins. Excellent
Jun
Superb. Cool, dry and clear
Jul
Peak season, and Heiva fills the calendar
Aug
Excellent. Whales offshore and the best diving visibility
Sep
Superb and slightly quieter than August
Oct
Still dry and warming. Good value
Nov
Wet season and cyclone risk return
Dec
Hot and wet, busy over the holidays
Bar height is temperature. Colour is how busy it gets:
quiet
busy
peak
Average highs for Tahiti, which barely change. The Tuamotu atolls including Rangiroa are drier year-round, and the Marquesas run on a different rainfall pattern again.
What your trip will cost
Pick how you travel and how long for. Per night, for one person, in CFP francs.
The CFP franc is pegged to the euro. Internal flights at XPF15,000–35,000 a leg sit outside these figures: Air Tahiti multi-island passes are cheaper than buying them separately.
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- Beds—
- Food and drink—
- Getting around—
- Doing things—
What's on
What is on while you are there
Heiva in July is the cultural event of the year across all the islands.
July
Heiva i Tahiti
Papeete and the islands
A month of dance, singing and sport competition between islands. The cultural event of the year.
August to October
Whale season
Moorea · Tahiti
Humpbacks calving in the warm water, with regulated swimming tours.
October or November
Hawaiki Nui Va'a
Leeward Islands
A three-day outrigger canoe race between islands, and a national obsession.
May to October
Dry season
Nationwide
The best weather, visibility and diving conditions.
November
Matari'i i ni'a
Nationwide
The rising of the Pleiades, marking the traditional season of abundance.
November to April
Cyclone season
Nationwide
Hotter, wetter and cheaper, with some risk attached.
Hostels
Where to stay in French Polynesia
What is bookable here, live from Hostelworld. Pensions de famille and small guesthouses are the affordable option, concentrated on Tahiti and Moorea.
French Polynesia travel questions
The ones we get asked most.
Can you visit French Polynesia on a budget?
Not cheaply, but far more affordably than the resort image suggests. Pensions de famille from XPF3,500 to XPF9,000, roulottes food trucks at XPF1,200 to XPF2,000 a plate, and the Moorea ferry for a few hundred francs make a careful day XPF9,000 to XPF18,000.
Moorea or Bora Bora?
Moorea for most independent travellers: it is thirty minutes by cheap ferry, greener, has better hiking and costs considerably less. Bora Bora has the more famous lagoon and is reachable on a budget if you stay in a pension on the main island rather than a resort.
What are roulottes?
Food trucks that gather on the Papeete waterfront each evening and in towns across the islands, serving poisson cru, steak frites and crêpes for XPF1,200 to XPF2,000. They are the single biggest saving available here, and better fun than the restaurants.
How long do you need?
Ten days to two weeks for Tahiti, Moorea and one more island. Internal flights are expensive, so Air Tahiti multi-island passes are worth pricing if you want to combine several.
When should I visit?
May to October, the dry season, with June to September the best of it. Whales are offshore from August to October. November to April is hotter, wetter and carries cyclone risk, with lower prices to match.
Do I need a visa?
French Polynesia is French territory but not in the Schengen area, so it has its own rules: a Schengen visa does not automatically apply. Most Western nationalities enter visa-free for up to 90 days; check your own position before booking.
Is the water safe with sharks around?
Blacktip and lemon sharks are common in the lagoons and generally ignore people. The real hazards are the strong currents through reef passes on an outgoing tide, coral cuts and stonefish in the shallows.
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