French Polynesia

How the islands differ

Every trip starts on Tahiti: flights from Auckland land at Faʻaʻā, and flights to the other islands leave from the same airport. The real question is how to split your nights. The three form a ladder: Tahiti for doing things, Moʻorea for lagoon days within ferry reach, and Bora Bora for the trip that is the occasion.

Tahiti is the island for waterfalls, 4x4 days in the Papenoʻo valley, the surf at Teahupoʻo and the Papeʻete market. Its beaches are mixed, and the best-known lagoon stays are elsewhere. Two to four nights covers it.

Moʻorea is the lagoon close to Tahiti. You can snorkel in shallow water beside blacktip reef sharks and stingrays, or hike with a guide. The tourism board suggests at least three or four days there, and says it has fewer crowds than Bora Bora. For families, it is the more workable lagoon of the two.

Bora Bora is the honeymoon benchmark. The airport and most hotels sit on the motu, the islets around the lagoon, so arriving, and every trip to the main island, means a boat. It is the dearest of the three and the hardest to justify with children. It earns its price when the lagoon is the point of the trip.

Getting between them

Moʻorea is the easy hop. The tourism board counts about 10 ferry crossings a day from the Papeʻete terminal, taking 30 to 45 minutes, and flights from Faʻaʻā take about 15 minutes. The Aremiti ferry also takes cars and bicycles. Its conditions allow sailings to be cancelled in bad weather, with no compensation.

Bora Bora means flying. Air Tahiti and Air Moana fly there from Faʻaʻā several times a day, in about 50 minutes. Air Moana also lists Moʻorea–Bora Bora flights, which saves crossing back to Tahiti between lagoons. Check the bag allowance on your fare: Air Moana’s runs from none on its Light fare to 23 kg on standard fares. Ferries reach Bora Bora only a few times a week, and the Apetahi Express takes nearly seven hours from Papeʻete.

Combining islands is sensible, and the packages assume it: Air Tahiti Nui’s NZ packages for Moʻorea and Bora Bora pair five nights on the island with a night in Papeʻete at each end. On a week, two islands is plenty. Save all three for 10 nights or more, because each change of island eats part of a day.

Before you book

The catch is cost, and every extra island adds to it. As listed in October 2026, the Bora Bora package starts at NZ$4,099 a person, sharing, against NZ$3,799 for Moʻorea, on the lowest-priced dates between November 2026 and March 2027. That Bora Bora price buys an ocean-view room, not an overwater bungalow, and hotels on both islands add a local tax of XPF 200 a person a night. So decide where the money goes: a few nights on Bora Bora, or a longer, easier stay on Moʻorea.

Choose your season. May to October is drier, but June to September is the high season, peaking in July and August, and NZ’s July school holidays fall in it. November to April is wetter and is cyclone season, though most of it is low season. If you go then, insure when you book.

Book inter-island flights with your international ones, and leave slack before the flight home. The tourism board advises arranging island transport in advance, and SafeTravel warns that strikes can disrupt transport. A last night on Tahiti protects the most expensive ticket.

Carry some Pacific francs. Small shops and markets want cash, and guesthouses on the outer islands often take nothing else. On Bora Bora the cash machines are at the banks in Vaitape, a boat ride from the motu resorts. Shops there keep Monday-to-Saturday hours, and only some supermarkets open on Sunday mornings.