French Polynesia itinerary, day by day

From Tahiti to the pineapple valleys of Moorea and the lagoon of Bora Bora below Mount Otemanu, day by day: the map, what is worth booking, everything that costs nothing, and where to sleep at three budgets.

🗓️ 3, 7 or 14 days📍 3 stops☀️ Best time: May to October (dry season)

Papeete · Photo Sébastien Vincon / Pexels

Route map (numbers = order of the stops).

French Polynesia in 3 days

2 stops · 12 things to do · boat

1Tahiti

Day 1

The main island and the way in: the Papeete market, waterfalls down the valleys, and beaches of black volcanic sand.

🎟️ Worth booking

Island tour and waterfalls, guidedFull day · from €55
A day round Tahiti, with stops at the waterfalls, blowholes and black beaches of the east coast.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Reef diveHalf day · from €75
A dive on the reef among rays and blacktip reef sharks.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Papeete market · The black sand beach at Point Venus · The Vaipahi water gardens · The roulottes, food trucks on the Papeete waterfront

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Fare Suisse (€80 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Sarah Nui (€130 a night) · Luxury: InterContinental Tahiti (€380 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

L'O A La Bouche ↗ ★ 4.7 · 249 reviews
Maru Maru ↗ ★ 4.7 · 158 reviews
Le Sully ↗ ★ 4.6 · 304 reviews
Le Manoa ↗ ★ 4.6 · 223 reviews
Brasserie des Remparts Tahiti ↗ ★ 4.6 · 137 reviews

Photo Adrien Daurenjou / Pexels

⛴️ Ferry · 30 min · 20 km

2Moorea

Days 2-3

Tahiti's neighbour, roughly the shape of a heart, with two deep bays, Mount Rotui standing between them, and a lagoon full of fish.

🎟️ Worth booking

Swimming with rays and sharksHalf day · from €60
Waist-deep in the lagoon with stingrays that glide around your legs, and blacktip reef sharks circling at a distance.
Book on GetYourGuide →
4x4 through the pineapple valleysHalf day · from €45
Up through the pineapple fields of the Opunohu valley to the Belvedere lookout over both bays.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Opunohu Bay · The Belvedere lookout below Mount Rotui · Temae beach · Snorkelling in the lagoon

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Pension Motu Iti (€110 a night) · Mid-range: Manava Beach Resort (€220 a night) · Luxury: Hilton Moorea (€480 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

North Shore Poke and Smoothie Bar ↗ ★ 4.9 · 979 reviews
Aoy Thaï Food ↗ ★ 4.9 · 362 reviews
KE'IKI ↗ ★ 4.9 · 292 reviews
Moorea Grill ↗ ★ 4.9 · 114 reviews
Motu Grill ↗ ★ 4.8 · 191 reviews

Photo Colon Freld / Pexels

French Polynesia in 7 days

3 stops · 18 things to do · boat & flight

1Tahiti

Days 1-2

The main island and the way in: the Papeete market, waterfalls down the valleys, and beaches of black volcanic sand.

🎟️ Worth booking

Island tour and waterfalls, guidedFull day · from €55
A day round Tahiti, with stops at the waterfalls, blowholes and black beaches of the east coast.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Reef diveHalf day · from €75
A dive on the reef among rays and blacktip reef sharks.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Papeete market · The black sand beach at Point Venus · The Vaipahi water gardens · The roulottes, food trucks on the Papeete waterfront

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Fare Suisse (€80 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Sarah Nui (€130 a night) · Luxury: InterContinental Tahiti (€380 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Adrien Daurenjou / Pexels

⛴️ Ferry · 30 min · 20 km

2Moorea

Days 3-4

Tahiti's neighbour, roughly the shape of a heart, with two deep bays, Mount Rotui standing between them, and a lagoon full of fish.

🎟️ Worth booking

Swimming with rays and sharksHalf day · from €60
Waist-deep in the lagoon with stingrays that glide around your legs, and blacktip reef sharks circling at a distance.
Book on GetYourGuide →
4x4 through the pineapple valleysHalf day · from €45
Up through the pineapple fields of the Opunohu valley to the Belvedere lookout over both bays.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Opunohu Bay · The Belvedere lookout below Mount Rotui · Temae beach · Snorkelling in the lagoon

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Pension Motu Iti (€110 a night) · Mid-range: Manava Beach Resort (€220 a night) · Luxury: Hilton Moorea (€480 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Colon Freld / Pexels

✈️ Inter-island flight · 50 min · to Bora Bora

3Bora Bora

Days 5-7

A lagoon in every shade of blue around the basalt peak of Mount Otemanu, and the overwater bungalows the island made famous.

🎟️ Worth booking

Lagoon tour and picnicFull day · from €90
A day round the lagoon by boat, swimming with rays and eating lunch on a motu, one of the small islets on the reef.
Book on GetYourGuide →
A night in an overwater bungalow1 night · from €450
A room on stilts above the lagoon, often with a glass panel in the floor to watch the fish go by.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Mount Otemanu, seen from the lagoon · Matira beach · Snorkelling the coral gardens · Sunset over the lagoon

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Village Temanuata (€150 a night) · Mid-range: Royal Bora Bora (€220 a night) · Luxury: Four Seasons Bora Bora (€950 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Hello Sunshine Bora Bora ↗ ★ 5 · 311 reviews
Roulotte Matira ↗ ★ 4.8 · 106 reviews
Lagoon Restaurant at The St. Regis Bora Bora Resort ↗ ★ 4.7 · 146 reviews
La Villa Mahana ↗ ★ 4.6 · 192 reviews
Saint James Bora Bora ↗ ★ 4.5 · 749 reviews

Photo SlimMars 13 / Pexels

French Polynesia in 14 days

4 stops · 24 things to do · boat & flight

1Tahiti

Days 1-3

The main island and the way in: the Papeete market, waterfalls down the valleys, and beaches of black volcanic sand.

🎟️ Worth booking

Island tour and waterfalls, guidedFull day · from €55
A day round Tahiti, with stops at the waterfalls, blowholes and black beaches of the east coast.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Reef diveHalf day · from €75
A dive on the reef among rays and blacktip reef sharks.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Papeete market · The black sand beach at Point Venus · The Vaipahi water gardens · The roulottes, food trucks on the Papeete waterfront

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Fare Suisse (€80 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Sarah Nui (€130 a night) · Luxury: InterContinental Tahiti (€380 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Adrien Daurenjou / Pexels

⛴️ Ferry · 30 min · 20 km

2Moorea

Days 4-7

Tahiti's neighbour, roughly the shape of a heart, with two deep bays, Mount Rotui standing between them, and a lagoon full of fish.

🎟️ Worth booking

Swimming with rays and sharksHalf day · from €60
Waist-deep in the lagoon with stingrays that glide around your legs, and blacktip reef sharks circling at a distance.
Book on GetYourGuide →
4x4 through the pineapple valleysHalf day · from €45
Up through the pineapple fields of the Opunohu valley to the Belvedere lookout over both bays.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Opunohu Bay · The Belvedere lookout below Mount Rotui · Temae beach · Snorkelling in the lagoon

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Pension Motu Iti (€110 a night) · Mid-range: Manava Beach Resort (€220 a night) · Luxury: Hilton Moorea (€480 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Colon Freld / Pexels

✈️ Inter-island flight · 50 min · to Bora Bora

3Bora Bora

Days 8-12

A lagoon in every shade of blue around the basalt peak of Mount Otemanu, and the overwater bungalows the island made famous.

🎟️ Worth booking

Lagoon tour and picnicFull day · from €90
A day round the lagoon by boat, swimming with rays and eating lunch on a motu, one of the small islets on the reef.
Book on GetYourGuide →
A night in an overwater bungalow1 night · from €450
A room on stilts above the lagoon, often with a glass panel in the floor to watch the fish go by.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Mount Otemanu, seen from the lagoon · Matira beach · Snorkelling the coral gardens · Sunset over the lagoon

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Village Temanuata (€150 a night) · Mid-range: Royal Bora Bora (€220 a night) · Luxury: Four Seasons Bora Bora (€950 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo SlimMars 13 / Pexels

✈️ Inter-island flight · 50 min · return

4Tahiti

Days 13-14

The main island and the way in: the Papeete market, waterfalls down the valleys, and beaches of black volcanic sand.

🎟️ Worth booking

Island tour and waterfalls, guidedFull day · from €55
A day round Tahiti, with stops at the waterfalls, blowholes and black beaches of the east coast.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Reef diveHalf day · from €75
A dive on the reef among rays and blacktip reef sharks.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Papeete market · The black sand beach at Point Venus · The Vaipahi water gardens · The roulottes, food trucks on the Papeete waterfront

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Fare Suisse (€80 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Sarah Nui (€130 a night) · Luxury: InterContinental Tahiti (€380 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Adrien Daurenjou / Pexels

Hotel prices are per room per night, activity prices per person, checked when written. Some links are affiliate links (Booking, GetYourGuide): we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

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Good to know before you go

🍽️ What to eat

Poisson cru: raw tuna marinated in lime and coconut milk (e'ia ota), the national dish.
Grilled fish: tuna and mahi-mahi fresh off the boats, with lagoon seafood alongside.
Po'e: a baked fruit pudding, banana or papaya, served with coconut milk.
Uru: breadfruit, cooked in the ahima'a, the Tahitian earth oven.
Fruit and coconut: fresh juice at every roulotte, and coconut water drunk straight from the nut.

⚠️ What to avoid

Expect high prices: almost everything is imported.
Do not stand on the coral, even where it looks dead.
The sun is fierce: wear reef-safe sun cream and a lycra top in the water.
Book guesthouses and inter-island flights early, above all for July and August.

Plan this trip

📒 The free printable French Polynesia guide→ 🗓️ Best time to visit French Polynesia, month by month→ 🎟️ What to book before you go→

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