Why go en Polynésie?
The good reasons to go en Polynésie
Postcard landscapes
Turquoise lagoons, white sandy beaches, coconut palms and sunshine all year round: you are there.
Ancestral culture
With over 3,000 years of history, Polynesia boasts an incredible heritage.
The sweet scent of flowers
The floral scents of tiare, flamboyant and hibiscus enchant you as soon as you disembark.
An unrivalled Polynesian welcome
Polynesia remains synonymous with a people of legendary hospitality.
Exceptional craftsmanship
From carving to weaving, local crafts are rich, varied and of excellent quality.
Hotspot for outdoor activities
Lagoons and craggy hills provide the ideal playground for nature sports.
Diving Eldorado
Great underwater encounters all year round thanks to the richness of the marine fauna.
Exuberant nature
The volcanic soil and tropical climate are conducive to an opulence of greenery.
A place of romance
A honeymooner's paradise, French Polynesia is a romantic lagoon.
Meeting with the whales
Fenua is one of the last six countries in the world where people still swim with whales.
Good to know when visiting la Polynésie
Timetable
Most of the places to visit in French Polynesia are free to enter, with no entrance fee or schedule. When this is not the case, the opening hours vary from 8 or 9 am to 4 or 5 pm, with a possible break at lunch time. The markets - especially the one in Papeete - are very early and open their doors at 5 am or even earlier! The activity is sometimes restricted on Sundays, but the places of visit are usually open, with slightly lighter hours.
To be booked
Pearl farms generally offer guided tours at set times and/or by appointment: please enquire on a case-by-case basis. On some islands - Rangiroa, for example, with Gauguin's Pearl - a shuttle can even pick you up free of charge if you've booked one. As for visits to vanilla plantations on Tahaa - La Vallée de la Vanille, for example - it's best to phone ahead to make sure the owners are available. Alternatively, you can use a local guide, who will organize all your visits without you having to ask such questions.
Main events
The months of July-August are perfect for a visit to Fenua: cultural, sporting and traditional Heiva celebrations are numerous throughout the territory and bring to life some of the most beautiful archaeological sites. Every Saturday in July in particular, the tamure shows at Tahiti's Marae Arahurahu allow you to combine a visit with a plunge into ancestral culture. To be booked in advance at the Carrefour Punaauia ticket office.
Guided tours
If they are not systematically proposed by the places of visit themselves, they nevertheless bring a real added value to your discovery. Where you might only see a pile of stones nicely aligned, a guide will be able to transmit to you the sacredness of a marae, the history of these thousand-year-old archaeological sites, and might even succeed in making you feel the mana that emanates from the place... Not all hikes are perfectly marked or secured (we specify this on a case by case basis in the pages of this guide): calling on a professional can also prove invaluable to penetrate the exuberant Polynesian nature and to survey its steep reliefs.
Tourist traps
As everywhere else, it is preferable to use certified guides, or at least experienced guides, for your guided tours and other tours of the islands. This rule is all the more valid for your dolphin and whale watching tours: unfortunately, guides and pilots do not always respect the regulations applied for the approach of cetaceans. Those mentioned in this guide have been tested and approved by us!
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Discover la Polynésie
A land of dreams and fantasies, a vaunted and coveted Eldorado since the dawn of time, French Polynesia is brimming with myths and clichés. Ah, the vahiné, lascivious and exotic, in pareo, dancing the tamure under the astonished gaze of travelers... But the reality is much richer than this simple cliché!
Before putting your flip-flops down on the warm sand, let us take you on a tour of history: discover its glorious moments as well as its shadows, its cultural mix resulting from different waves of immigration, its economic, social and ecological challenges... Imagine a lush natural environment, a mild climate almost all year round and a people who, even today, are fighting to gain more and more autonomy.
Here's a colorful portrait of an overseas land, as welcoming as ever, that has charmed such illustrious souls as Paul Gauguin, Jacques Brel and Pierre Loti. And once you're there, it's easy to see why.
