Tahiti - Our Self-Guided Day Tour of the island (French Polynesia)

After six wonderful and relaxing days on Bora Bora we went back to Papeete on Tahiti today.

The Days

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Table of contents

Our flight from Bora Bora to Tahiti

Just in time at 12.15 p.m. we went from Bora Bora with 2 stops in Raiatea and Moorea back to Tahiti. On the plane you should definitely sit on the right. The view of the individual islands is absolutely fantastic. At the airport we picked up our rental car for the next 3 days. As always, we have booked this with all insurances via Billiger-Mietwagen.de.

The aircraft of Air Tahiti

The view of the island of Bora Bora

The islands of Raiatea and Tahaa

Our accommodation in Tahiti

We all found the hotel prices on Tahiti relatively high. That’s why we booked an apartment for three nights via Airbnb in Punaauia, which is about 10 km from Papeete airport. We were already expected by the owners Mikael & Estelle at the airport and went to the apartment together. The 2-room apartment BEL APPARTEMENT VUE MER is located in a residential building, which is located on a slope and from which one had a great view of the lagoon.

The living room

The kitchen

The terrace

View from the terrace

An island tour over Tahiti by car

Before we fly on to Australia, we wanted to explore Tahiti– the most famous and populous island in French Polynesia. For the next day we made 2 dives with Topdive and for the 2nd day on Tahiti we have planned a complete island tour. There is a single ring road, the Route de Ceinture, which once runs around Tahiti Nui, the large, round part of the island. For orientation, one counts the kilometers from Papeete, both clockwise and counterclockwise.

The capital Papeete

The first thing we did was drive to the centre of Papeete in the morning. As a large Royal Caribbean cruise ship had docked, the city centre was full of tourists. The market of Papeete is supposed to be THE main attraction, but was rather sobering. We couldn’t find a colorful hustle and bustle that is talked about everywhere in travel guides. It was a normal market with different stalls from fruit, fish, meat to clothes, pearls and junk. After that we walked a bit through the streets and to the pier before we left Papeete and continued on the ring road towards the east.

Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Papeete

Marche Municipal

Cruise ships in Papeete

The harbour promenade

The Venus Peak on the East Coast

Next stop was a viewpoint at Pirae, from which you have a great view of Papeete and the island of Moorea in the background. A little further on, tahiti’s only lighthouse is in the municipality of Mahina on the so-called Venus peak. The first Protestant missionaries arrived at this bay at the end of the 18th century. Here you can also find everywhere the black beaches of Tahiti, which consist of fine volcanic sand.

The viewpoint at Pirae

Point Venus Lighthouse

Plage de la Pointe Venus

The waterfalls of Faarumai

The road continues along the ocean and leads to the municipality of Tiarei. Here there is a “blowhole” to see and hear. A few hundred meters further we go to the three waterfalls of Faarumai. From the car park you can reach the first waterfall within five minutes – a beautiful sight. Again and again you can see the green mountains of Tahiti during the route.

Le trou du souffleur

The Mountains of Tahiti

The waterfalls of Faarumai

After a few kilometres you reach the Strait of Taravao. From here you can also reach Tahiti Iti, the small peninsula in the south of Tahiti. You can’t completely circumnavigate the peninsula, but there is an 18 km long road on the north and south sides, which then stops. We drove along the road in the south along white sandy beaches. At the end of the road, the reef is supposed to offer one of the most beautiful surf spots in the world. Unfortunately we haven’t seen a single surfer…

The West Coast with the Vaipahi Garden

Afterwards we went back over the strait back to the main island along the west coast. Here we passed the Vaipahi Garden, a public botanical garden with a small waterfall.