French Polynesiaencompasses 118 islands and has long beguiled travelers with the promise of tropical seas, languid sensuality and carefree days. Its splendid, luxurious resortsmake this part of the world the holy grail of posh travel. People come to French Polynesia’s islands in search of authenticity, yet the ‘the real Tahiti’ could be found just around the corner from your resort, at a family-run pension or a private islet off its coast, so you can also enjoy island life away from overcrowded bars and restaurants, floral lei-making demonstrations and dance troupes.
If an active holiday is what you are looking for, there’s plenty to choose from. For instance, you can rise early and set out a hiking trip from Paopao to Vaiare through the lush, tropical forests of the interior. This wonderful can take you to an awe-inspiring overgrown hilltop ruin.Don’t forget to take plenty of drinking water with you.
Diving is most definitely the main sporting activity on the atoll. You can have a great adventure by drift snorkeling through the amazing Tiputa Pass. What is truly awesome about this activity is that the incoming tide sweeps diversinto the lagoon. If this isn’t enough for you, you can also hire a kayak or jet-ski.
Swimming with and reef sharks and dolphins is yet another great activity. Your resort can also organize and an excursion where you can hand-feed raysor reef sharks. If you find yourself on Rangiroa, you’ll be able to watch numerous playful dolphins and even mothers with their young. Dolphin-watching can be a part of a snorkeling tour.
There are also different walks different archaeological sites, the most famous of which is certainly MaevaMaraeon the Society Island. Around two hundred stone temples (maraes)were built there to honor Polynesian gods. Vanilla production is one of the major industries on the islands, so just ask your guide to arrange a trip to a vanilla plantation if you are interested.
French Polynesian cuisine represents a lovely marriage oftraditional South Pacific cooking methods and French gastronomy, with Italian and Chinese influences. Food wrapped in banana leaves(tamaaraa), cooked in traditional pit ovens (ahimaa), is quite common on the islands.Popular dishes include mountain bananas, smoked bread fruit, fafa(young sucking pigwith spinach), as well as a variety of seafood.
When it comes to drinking, you can find excellent small distilleries serving delicious fruit punches, liqueurs and other intoxicating beverages. For an utmost hedonistic experience, you can have a picnic on one of the gorgeous small, off-shore islets (motus).
Polynesian islands experience high temperatures as well as humidity all year round, with the majority of tropical rains falling somewhere between November and April. The weather tends to be cooler, drier and more pleasantbetween May and October. Late spring, just after the rains, is probably the best period to score good French Polynesia deals. This is when the air is fresh and there are at least eight hours of pleasant sunshine per day, with temperatures ranging from 20-30 degrees Celsius, which is the perfect setting for your dream holidays.
