Two walks, one in the city and one in a protected valley. The city loop needs no booking, while the valley walk needs a permit and a plan. Walk 1: the city loop Order Stop What you will see 1 Place Vai’ete Waterfront square, public toilets, craft pavilion 2 Parc Bougainville Banyan trees and a monument 3 Mairie de Papeete, Rue Paul Gauguin Palace-style town hall 4 Notre-Dame Cathedral Active church; silent and modest dress 5 Marché Mapuru a Paraita Produce, fish, flowers, crafts The ground is flat and paved.

Papeete suits couples best as a stopover. Four ideas are listed below with what each involves, and a short note on timing. Prices are in XPF; none are quoted here because menus and charters change. The setting The west coast of Tahiti faces Moorea, whose peaks stand out at sunset. Nearly every idea below uses that view. Idea 1: an overwater dinner Le Lotus belongs to the InterContinental Tahiti Resort in Faa’a.

Family options near Papeete are limited, so this page lists each one with the age fit and the practical catch. Paofai Gardens (all ages) About 5 hectares of public park under trees, beside the lagoon and close to the centre. Take drinks and a picnic. Whether any playground equipment is open varies, so look when you arrive. Museum of Tahiti and the Islands (school age) Under 18s go free; standard entry is 1,000 XPF Saturday guided tour: 1,000 XPF for children Open Wednesday to Sunday, 09:00 to 17:00; closed Monday; Tuesday is for school groups The museum stands at Pointe des Pêcheurs in Punaauia Vaimahuta waterfall (young walkers) At Faarumai the first fall (80 m) is a few minutes from the car park.

Five kinds of organised outing leave from Papeete. For each, the notes say what a trip normally covers, how long it takes and what to check first. 1. 4x4 safari to Lake Vaihiria Route: up the Papenoo Valley, through the basalt tunnel to the lake Operators seen on current listings: Tahiti Safari Islander (about 7 hours, pickup near 08:10), 4x4 Safari Hereakimanu (about 8 hours, pickup near 08:30), Natura Exploration (Papenoo to Mataiea crossing with a certified guide) Also offered: a half-day quad-bike tour from Taravao Check: ask what the trip includes, as prices differ by operator 2.

Use Papeete as the junction of an island-hopping trip. The plan below works from the transport rules rather than a fixed day count, so you can stretch it to fit. Step 1: decide how you will move Ferry: Papeete to Vaiare on Moorea only, 30 to 45 minutes; operators are Aremiti, Tauati Ferry and Vaearai Air Tahiti: every other island; flights depart from Faa’a airport, about 5 km west of the centre Passes: Air Tahiti sells multi-island passes.

Four one-day options, compared on distance, effort and what you need to pre-book. Trip Getting there Pre-book? Moorea Ferry from the Papeete terminal to Vaiare, 30 to 45 minutes Yes on busy weekends East coast loop Coast road, Point Venus about 10 km out No Teahupo’o Road to the south-east tip, roughly 60 to 75 km Boat watching, yes Tetiaroa Catamaran from the Papeete marina, about 11 hours total Yes Moorea in a day Aremiti runs the Aremiti 5 and Aremiti 6 on the Papeete to Vaiare line, and Tauati Ferry and Vaearai serve it too.

Landmarks are grouped here by distance from central Papeete: in town, along the east coast, and further out. Almost all are free to see. In town (walkable) Landmark Notes Mairie de Papeete, Rue Paul Gauguin Replica of Queen Pomare IV’s palace by one description; counter open Mon to Thu 07:30 to 15:30, Fri 07:30 to 14:30 Parc Bougainville Shaded waterfront park with banyans and a monument Notre-Dame Cathedral Active church on Rue du Général de Gaulle; modest dress, quiet, no photos during Mass Paofai Gardens About 5 hectares of trees by the lagoon Mass times and visits: cathedraledepapeete.

At a glance: capital of French Polynesia, currency CFP franc (XPF, fixed at 119.33 per euro), exercise normal precautions per the US State Department (Level 1). The seven stops below are ordered from the first thing you can do on arrival to the last. 1. The market, from dawn Where: Marché Mapuru a Paraita, central Papeete Cost: free to walk through When: open every day; the Sunday session starts around 04:00 Tip: weekday closing times are not published, so make it a morning visit and carry cash 2.

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Moorea is the easy add-on the whole collectivity is built around: a heart-shaped island about 17km northwest of Tahiti, reached by a 30 to 45 minute ferry rather than a flight, greener and considerably cheaper than Bora Bora, and close enough for a day trip if you’re truly short on time.

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Seven days is the sweet spot for French Polynesia: enough time to do 2 or 3 islands properly rather than rushing 4 into a single week. This plan gives Tahiti a day, Moorea 3 nights, and Bora Bora 3 nights, more breathing room on each island than our tighter 6 day itinerary allows.

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Six days is enough to do the classic French Polynesia trip properly: Tahiti, Moorea, and Bora Bora, each with real time rather than a rushed stopover. This is the honeymoon-brochure version of the collectivity, and it holds up, but expect the transfers, a ferry, then a flight through Papeete, to eat a meaningful chunk of the week.

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Five days is the point where the classic French Polynesia combination, Moorea and Bora Bora, 2 to 3 nights each, actually works without feeling rushed. This plan splits the trip roughly in half: Moorea first for the bays and the lagoon, then a flight to Bora Bora for the overwater-bungalow half of the trip.

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Four days is right at the edge of where Bora Bora starts to make sense as an add-on. This plan bases you on Moorea for most of the trip and adds a short Bora Bora taste at the end, but read the budget alternate below before you commit to the flight, adding Bora Bora to a 4 day trip means one of your 4 days goes almost entirely to transfers.

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Three days is enough to add real depth to a French Polynesia trip: a brief look at Tahiti bookending two full nights on Moorea, rather than the rushed day trip our 2 day itinerary has to settle for.

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Two days is barely enough to land in Tahiti and add a genuine taste of Moorea alongside it, so this plan keeps things simple: one day acclimatizing in Papeete, one day on a Moorea ferry trip.