EXPLORE THE SOUTH PACIFIC
Lagoons, Atolls and Volcanic Peaks
The islands of the South Pacific come in two kinds. Some are high and volcanic, like Moorea and Bora Bora, their green peaks rising from lagoons held in by a ring of reef. Others are atolls, such as Rangiroa and Fakarava in the Tuamotus, where only the reef and its sandy islets are left above the water. Further west, across the date line, Fiji and Tonga add villages where a gift of kava opens the door, and sheltered bays where humpback whales come to calve. A yacht is the natural way to travel here, because so much of the best water lies inside the reefs.
Many Nations, One Ocean
HERE, THE BEST WATER LIES INSIDE THE REEF.
The South Pacific is not one country but a scattering of them. French Polynesia is an overseas collectivity of France, where French and Tahitian are spoken and the money is the CFP franc. Tonga, a kingdom, and Fiji, independent since 1970, lie between 2,500 and 3,500 kilometres west of Tahiti, while New Caledonia, Vanuatu and the Cook Islands each have their own languages, customs and rules for visiting yachts.
The islands also tell a geological story. In November 1835 Charles Darwin, sailing with HMS Beagle, looked across from Tahiti at Moorea and the reef around it while forming his theory of how atolls are made: a volcanic island slowly sinks while its coral keeps growing upwards. Bora Bora, with its central peak and wide lagoon, is partway along that path, and the atolls of the Tuamotus are what is left once the volcano has gone below the surface.
People found these islands long before Europeans did. Polynesian navigators crossed thousands of kilometres of open sea in double-hulled canoes, steering by the stars, the swells and the flight of birds, and at Taputapuatea on Raiatea priests and navigators from across the Pacific met to share their knowledge. Further west, Fiji is where Melanesian and Polynesian cultures meet, and its villages keep their own customs for receiving guests.
Life on board follows the reef and the sun. Passes into the lagoons are timed for the tide, and inside them captains prefer to move when the sun is high and coral heads show clearly against the sand. Many days end at anchor off a motu, one of the low sandy islets on the reef, with a swim in warm, shallow water before dinner on deck.
Six Cruising Grounds Worth the Long Flight
From Moorea and the Leeward Society Islands to the Tuamotu atolls, and west across the date line to Fiji and Tonga, each of these six island groups could fill a week on its own.
Vava’u, Tonga
Moorea
Taha’a and Raiatea
Bora Bora
The Tuamotus: Rangiroa and Fakarava
Fiji’s Mamanuca and Yasawa Islands
Vava’u, Tonga
Moorea
Taha’a and Raiatea
What to Do Along the Way
Snorkel with Rays and Reef Sharks
The lagoons of the Society Islands are shallow, warm and full of life. Off Moorea and Bora Bora, stingrays glide over sandbanks shallow enough to stand on, while blacktip reef sharks, usually wary of people, circle at a distance. Green turtles graze along the reef edge, and in the coral garden off Taha’a the current does the work as you drift over the coral. Look but do not touch, follow the guide’s lead where the animals gather, and bring a reef-safe sunscreen.
Ride the Tide Through a Pass
On a rising tide the ocean pours into the Tuamotu lagoons through narrow passes, and divers ride that current in from the reef wall outside. In Rangiroa’s Tiputa Pass, bottlenose dolphins sometimes come close to look at the divers, while in Fakarava’s southern pass, Tumakohua, grey reef sharks hold station in the current by the hundred. Snorkellers can drift the shallower edges at slack water with a guide. Local dive centres run the dives, and your crew will book them to suit the tide.
Swim with Humpbacks in Vava’u
Each southern winter, humpback whales travel thousands of kilometres from Antarctica to the warm, sheltered waters of Tonga to mate and give birth. Between about July and October, licensed operators take small groups into the water, and the guide decides when to enter and how close to go, often to a mother resting with her calf. Underwater you may hear the males singing. In French Polynesia, whales are seen from about July or August into November, under strict rules on how boats and swimmers may approach them.
See How a Black Pearl Is Grown
Tahitian pearls come from the black-lip pearl oyster, Pinctada margaritifera, farmed in the lagoons of the Tuamotus and the bays of Taha’a. At a pearl farm you can see how each oyster is grafted with a small bead and a sliver of tissue from another oyster, and why the harvest takes around 18 months. Only oysters that have produced a good pearl are grafted again. The colours range from silver and grey to green and aubergine, and the farm shop is the place to compare them side by side.
Paddle a Va’a, Watch the Heiva
The outrigger canoe, or va’a, is part of everyday life in French Polynesia, and you will see crews training on the lagoon early and late in the day. Your crew can arrange a paddle with a local guide. In early November the Hawaiki Nui Va’a race crosses from Huahine to Raiatea, Taha’a and Bora Bora over three days. Each July, Papeete hosts the Heiva i Tahiti, a festival of dance, song and traditional sport, from stone lifting to fruit-carrier races, that grew out of celebrations first held in 1881. In Fiji, a village visit may end with a meke, a dance that tells a story.
What to Eat and Drink
Order Poisson Cru
French Polynesia’s best-known dish is poisson cru, i’a ota in Tahitian: cubes of raw tuna marinated briefly in lime juice, then mixed with coconut milk, cucumber, tomato and onion. It appears on almost every menu, from the roulottes to hotel restaurants, and is at its best made with fish landed that morning. On a charter, the chef may prepare it for lunch on a motu, served with a bowl of rice.
Try Kokoda in Fiji
Fiji’s take on marinated raw fish is kokoda. The fish, traditionally walu, or Spanish mackerel, is cured in lime or lemon juice with onion and chilli, then finished with fresh coconut milk, and it is often served in a coconut shell. In Tonga the same idea becomes ‘ota ‘ika, and in the Cook Islands it is ika mata, each with its own balance of citrus, chilli and coconut.
Feast from the Earth Oven
Across the islands, feasts are cooked underground. In Tahiti the ahima’a is a pit lined with volcanic stones heated by a wood fire; pork, fish, breadfruit, taro and fe’i bananas go in wrapped in leaves, and the oven is covered and left for several hours. The meal that follows, ma’a Tahiti, is a Sunday tradition and often ends with po’e, a sweet pudding of fruit and starch cooked in the same oven. Fiji has its lovo and Tonga its ‘umu, made in much the same way.
Eat at the Roulottes
As the sun goes down in Papeete, the roulottes, food vans parked on the Place Vai’ete by the harbour, open their counters and serve late into the evening. The menus run from poisson cru and grilled fish to steak frites, Chinese noodles and sweet crêpes, eaten at shared tables in the open air. In the morning, the municipal market, first called Mapuru a Paraita, is the place for fish, fruit, flowers and vanilla, and it is at its busiest early on Sunday, when families shop for lunch.
Taste Moorea’s Pineapples
Moorea is known for its sweet pineapples, grown in the fields of the Opunohu valley. The fruit-juice factory near Cook’s Bay, at the foot of Mount Rotui, presses the island’s Queen pineapples into juice. Across the islands, markets sell papayas, guavas, passion fruit and, in season, rambutans and lychees, and a chilled drinking coconut is never far away.
Look for Taha’a Vanilla
Tahitian vanilla, Vanilla tahitensis, has plump pods with a floral, fruity scent, and on Taha’a it is grown on small family plantations. Each flower opens for a single day and is pollinated by hand, and the green pods are then cured, partly in the sun, for several months until they turn dark and supple. Visit a plantation to see the process, then look for vanilla on the menu: in a cream sauce with mahi-mahi, in desserts, or steeped in rum.
Two Seasons in the Tropics
The tropical South Pacific has two seasons. From about May to October the south-east trade winds blow steadily, the air is drier and the nights are cooler, and this is the main charter season. From November to April it is hotter, more humid and wetter, and the official tropical cyclone season runs from 1 November to 30 April, with the greatest risk from January to March. Cyclones strike Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga more often than French Polynesia, which is affected mainly in El Niño years, but many larger yachts leave the tropics for New Zealand or Australia over the southern summer.
Best for settled trade winds and drier days
The rain eases through May and June and the trade winds settle in. Daytime highs fall to around 29–31°C, and the sea is about 27–28°C around Tahiti and a little cooler in Fiji. In the old Tahitian calendar, the setting of the Pleiades in late May, Matari’i i raro, marks the start of the drier half of the year. In the Tuamotus, groupers begin to gather in Fakarava’s southern pass ahead of the June or July full moon, and yachts that spent the cyclone season further south start to come back.
MAY AND JUNE
Best for festivals and the first whales
Midwinter in the southern hemisphere brings the driest, freshest weather of the year, with highs of around 28–30°C and cooler nights. The sea drops to about 26°C off Tahiti, 25–26°C in Fiji and 24°C in Tonga. From time to time the maraamu, a strong south-easterly, blows for a few days, and captains move to anchorages in the lee of the islands. July is Heiva month in Papeete, and the first humpbacks reach Tonga. European summer holidays and the mid-year school break in Australia and New Zealand make these busy weeks, so reserve early.
JULY AND AUGUST
Best for whale calves and sunny days
The dry weather lasts through September, with around eight hours of sunshine a day in Papeete, and the sea starts to warm again, reaching about 27°C off Tahiti in October. In Vava’u the humpback calves grow stronger and more curious before the whales head south, and in French Polynesia they are often seen off Moorea and Tahiti. The northern summer visitors have gone home, so anchorages are quieter, although showers become more frequent as October goes on.
SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER
Best for warm water as the wet season begins
The cyclone season officially opens on 1 November. Showers grow heavier and more frequent, December is on average the wettest month in Papeete, and the sea warms to 27–28°C. Early November brings the Hawaiki Nui Va’a, and on 20 November French Polynesia marks Matari’i i ni’a, the rising of the Pleiades that begins the season of abundance, with a public holiday. Many larger yachts sail south for the New Zealand summer around now, while those that stay keep a close watch on the forecasts.
NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER
Best for quiet lagoons and flexible plans
These are the hottest months, with highs of 31–32°C, high humidity and sea temperatures that peak at about 28–29°C. Heavy downpours and thunderstorms come and go, often with clear spells in between, and January to March is when cyclones are most likely, especially in the western islands. The few yachts that stay in the tropics have the lagoons largely to themselves, and plans are made a few days at a time. By April the rain begins to ease, and the islands look ahead to the drier months.
JANUARY TO APRIL
settled trade winds and drier days
festivals and the first whales
whale calves and sunny days
warm water as the wet season begins
quiet lagoons and flexible plans
PLAN YOUR CHARTER
More on Pacific South by Yacht
- South Pacific Yacht CharterThe island groups, seasons, planning and costs of a charter across the region.
- Society Islands ItineraryEight days by superyacht through the Society Islands of French Polynesia.
- Where to Eat and DrinkThe restaurants, waterfront bars and beach clubs we recommend across the islands.
- Yachts in the South PacificBrowse the crewed yachts available across the South Pacific.
Choose Your Island Group
A week is enough for one group of islands. From Tahiti or Raiatea you can combine Moorea, Huahine, Taha’a and Bora Bora; from Port Denarau, the Mamanucas and the Yasawas; from Neiafu, the anchorages and caves of Vava’u. With ten days or more, add the atolls of the Tuamotus, or fly on to a second island group.
Some guests come for the water: reef sharks, pass dives and whale swims. Others want lagoon picnics, pearl farms and an evening at a village feast. The South Pacific suits both, as long as the route follows the season.
Share your travel dates, how large your party is and which islands appeal most. We will suggest yachts based in the right waters for that time of year, and a route planned around the trade winds and the tides at the passes.