An itinerary for seven days in Polynesia, what to see and what to do in the beautiful islands of the Pacific Ocean. A paradise that enchants the eyes but also the heart, read our low cost itinerary.
Is it possible to go to heaven for 7 days and then go back and tell how beautiful it was? If the paradise in question is there French Polynesia, then the answer is definitely yes.
Like any self-respecting dream destination, Polynesia makes itself desired, so far away and apparently unattainable, if not after well 24 flight hours that separate us from its unparalleled nature and history.
Our trip started from Barcelona, then made a stopover in Paris, with a short stop in Los Angeles and finally, Papeete. The flight operated by national airline Air Tahiti Nui it is anything but boring, it is the first contact with the scent of Tiare flowers, with the blue of the livery and the colorful stewardess clothes that announce the vivid shades of the lagoon sea, it is ukulele music and announcements in Polynesian, which make us understand that we are leaving towards a dream. It will be 7 days in which we will find out Tahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora, their natural beauties and their true and genuine inhabitants, their traditions and the thousands of activities that can be done on these islands.
Papeete
Papeete is hot and muggy and is often seen for the first time at night. As soon as you get off the plane you still don't realize where you have arrived, then the music that comes from inside the airport becomes louder and you are invaded by the joy of an unparalleled Polynesian welcome, with dancers and musicians covered with flowers, in a small room where huge fans on the ceiling try to make the air more breathable, even if no one seems to notice the heat anymore.
Papeete, la capital of Tahiti, the large island of the archipelago of the society islands is a city on the move, with a port and an airport from which intercontinental airplanes arrive, but from where all the small local transports for the other islands also depart. Sunday the Papeete market it is a triumph of colors, flavors and traditions, including hand-made objects, women dressed up for religious services, smiling children and the scents of exotic foods. In the evening, if you want to try something typical and cheap, stop at caravans on the harbor, where Asian cuisine mixes with Polynesian cuisine and fresh fish or roasted meat are served with fried potatoes, rice, vegetable and fruit side dishes in an environment populated by local people where you can discover Polynesian humanity at every corner. Often in the adjacent square they make some dance shows or singing, which enrich the sensory experience making it complete.
Tahiti is an island that deserves more than a few days to visit, but unfortunately it is not always possible and is often used as a stopover for the first night, before flying away to other islands. The first, the twin island, the one that from the port of Papeete can already be seen in all its majesty, is the wonderful Moorea.
Moorea
To reach Moorea, also called the garden island, you can take a fast ferry, L 'Aremiti 5 or a plane of the local company Air Tahiti. We opted for the first solution which was the first approach with a majestic sea, towards the green of Moorea. There are many local agencies of Transfers that take tourists to their resorts or accommodations, and the trip in the minibus is the one that first makes the eyes widen in front of the panorama that flows quickly from the windows. Palms, dense and colorful vegetation, houses surrounded by greenery and then, suddenly, the sea appears, of an indefinite color, between crystal and light blue, and then gets lost in an indescribable blue.
Moorea is the island of activities, excursions, discovery. It is possible to do a large number of water sports, book a picnic on a motu - a small deserted island surrounded by the lagoon - swim with rays and sharks or with i dolphins of the Moorea Dolphin Center. Moorea can be visited by car, quad bike, bike, scooter, you choose the means you want to travel its circular road that embraces it all. It's not that long, but stop along the way to say hello to the locals, buy a pineapple or pick up a papaya, taste fish, admire the bay where Captain Cook landed during one of his voyages and which was the protagonist of the famous mutiny of the Bounty or visit the agricultural school or the fruit juice museum, where you can taste new flavors just prepared and buy some I remember. Climb up to the viewpoint along a stretch of the Pineapple Road, the way of pineapple crops, which sprout from the earth with their tufts of plants that hide the sweet fruit. And when you get to the top, the spectacle of the bays will open to your eyes, which take on a characteristic heart shape from above, and of the ocean that reaches infinity by meeting the coral reef.
And when night falls, you can't be tired enough to miss out on the show Tiki Village. A reconstruction of an ancient village awaits you with explanations of traditions and rituals of ancient Polynesia. The boys of the Tiki Village are both guides and exceptional artists and after having accompanied you along a path full of stories and curiosities, you will need a traditional dinner cooked inancient Tahitian oven and then give you a colorful show where artists play with fire as if it were a harmless friend and test tube dancers tell historical legends in music and singing.
We also tried to dance with them and we assure you that even though we had a lot of fun, the technique of Polynesian dance It's really difficult!
Every minute in Polynesia is pure emotion and the night serves only to regenerate while waiting to try new ones. After Moorea, in fact, this time in flight, we are preparing to reach the pearl of the Pacific: Bora Bora.
Bora Bora
It is not how they describe it, because the words to describe it may not exist. You have to see it, you have to land on that small strip of land to find out what lies beyond the door of the tiny airport, where trolleys with luggage risk falling into the water as they are close to the sea. The boat from our hotel comes to pick us up, while the public one collects other tourists heading to other accommodations. We already have the flower necklaces around the neck, inevitable and fragrant welcome signs. And we run on the lagoon of a celestial never seen before, while here and there they sprout bungalow and emerald green mountains.
Bora Bora is made of heaven and dreams. It is touristy, but never crowded, is popular, but there is always a corner to be obtained for yourself only, in that immensity of blue that surrounds you. We are on the other side of the world, on a pearl that you see rising from the Pacific when you are on a small plane and you are fascinated to see it get bigger and bigger.
Don't be afraid and do yours baptism of water, dive with professional guides to discover the unique seabed of this island. And if you really can't, get lost in coral garden snorkeling, among multicolored fish that come to touch you and a surprising flora. The sea and relaxation on its beaches never tire, but if you want something different, book a Safari 4 × 4 on the steep streets that lead to the sacred mountain, where you will meet artists who paint colorful sarongs and sell shells, breathtaking viewpoint and pearl crops. Polynesian pearls are unmistakable, with iridescent colors and shapes that draw perfection from their details, there is one for each, find yours and do not let it escape, it will be a unique memory. Choose a medium quality one, you will take home a respectable pearl, saving a little on the price.
Our overwater bungalow accommodation atIntercontinental Le Moana gave us breathtaking sunrises, in a place where you sleep as little as possible to steal every moment from the splendor of nature and on the most beautiful free beach on the island, Matira Beach, we saw the most beautiful and warm sunset, where the sun goes down into the water without encountering any obstacles, giving a complete view of its redness to spectators fascinated by its extraordinary colors.
It is not necessary to stay in a resort to enjoy the beauty of Polynesia, if you want to save on accommodation, choose one family pension, there are very beautiful ones by the sea, where you live the Polynesian life with its slow rhythms and its people, without giving up the sight of a sea and a green that leaves you breathless.
With several shell necklaces around the neck, goodbye signs, we return home. There is no way to forget about Polynesia, from that moment on it will become a sweet and nostalgic memory, in the eternal hope of being able to see it again.
