French Polynesia 5 Day Itinerary

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French Polynesia is 118 islands spread across five archipelagos, an ocean area roughly the size of Europe, but almost everyone who visits spends the whole trip within about 250 kilometres of Tahiti. Five days is enough for the classic two island combination, Moorea and Bora Bora, without rushing either one, which is why it is the shortest length this site recommends adding Bora Bora to at all.

Day 1: Tahiti

Land at Faaʻā International Airport (PPT), the sole gateway, about 8 hours from Los Angeles. If that route connects through LAX, clear US customs there with a valid US ESTA regardless of your final destination, since LAX has no sterile international transit. Visa exempt nationals get roughly 90 days here without a visa; French Polynesia is not part of the Schengen area. Spend the afternoon at the Marché de Papeete for pearls, vanilla, and pareo, then eat at the roulottes food trucks at Place Vai’ete come evening. The currency is the CFP franc (XPF), fixed at 1 EUR to 119.33 XPF, and tipping is not customary anywhere in the territory.

Day 2: crossing to Moorea

Take the Aremiti or Terevau ferry from Papeete to Vaiare, 30 to 45 minutes across the 17 kilometre channel, the one inter-island route here that is a boat rather than an Air Tahiti flight. Rent a car at the dock and drive to the Belvedere Lookout, about 250 metres up, for the view over Cook’s Bay and Opunohu Bay, split by Mount Rotui. Keep the two peaks straight: Mount Tohivea, the true summit at roughly 1,207 metres, is not the same mountain as Mount Mou’aroa, the “Shark’s Tooth,” at about 880 metres. Settle in for two nights.

Day 3: Moorea’s lagoon, then on to Bora Bora

Start with a morning at the “Sharks Sandbank,” standing in shallow water among blacktip reef sharks and stingrays. If your dates fall between July 20 and November 20, this is whale swim season and Moorea is the main base in French Polynesia for accredited operators, worth booking ahead. In the afternoon, fly Air Tahiti from Moorea to Bora Bora, about 50 minutes; note the airport sits on its own motu, so arrival includes a boat transfer, and resorts on outer motu add another leg on top of that. Check in and get oriented before evening.

Day 4: Bora Bora’s lagoon

Bora Bora’s reputation rests on Mount Otemanu, the 727 metre volcanic peak, and the lagoon around it, the icon that made the overwater bungalow famous, though it’s worth knowing Hotel Bora Bora’s original 1970s stilt rooms are usually credited with making the style take off rather than inventing it outright. Matira Beach, the island’s one proper public beach, is worth the afternoon on its own. A lagoon tour by outrigger canoe out to the coral gardens and the shallows where blacktip reef sharks and stingrays gather is the standard, well run activity here, and most operators fold in a stop for both on the same run.

Day 5: departure

Fly back from Bora Bora to Faaʻā in the morning, about 50 minutes, and allow at least three hours before an international connection, since Papeete’s check-in queues run slow at peak times. If you have a few hours to spare, Point Venus, the black sand beach and lighthouse where Cook recorded the 1769 transit of Venus, is an easy stop close to the airport.

Book these before you go

Worth knowing: dengue is endemic with recurring outbreaks here, so pack repellent, and ciguatera fish poisoning affects some reef fish, worth asking locally before eating anything caught that week. There is no malaria in French Polynesia. Medical care is good on Tahiti and Bora Bora; smaller islands have only minor clinics, and a serious case elsewhere can mean an air evacuation to Papeete running $10,000 or more, a real argument for travel and evacuation insurance even on a trip this length. French Polynesia is genuinely expensive across the board, though family run pensions and the Moorea ferry route keep a budget version of this itinerary possible.

For a shorter run of the same route, see the 3 day plan, or add a third island with the 7 day plan. The full Moorea guide covers the bays, the peaks, and the sandbank in more depth. Official tourism information is at Tahiti Tourisme .