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Tahiti

Teahupo'o, on the south coast, staged the surfing events of the 2024 Olympics.

French PolynesiaCapital: Papeete

Cultural HeritageAdventureDiving SnorkelingRomance

The Paris Olympics of 2024 held its surfing competition 15,000 kilometres from Paris, at Teahupo'o on the south coast of Tahiti Iti, because the wave there breaks over shallow reef into a barrel that has no equivalent in Europe. The village behind it is small, reached at the end of a road that simply stops.

The island itself is two volcanoes joined at an isthmus, Tahiti Nui and the smaller Tahiti Iti, with Mount Orohena at 2,241 metres the highest point in French Polynesia. Papeete is the only city in the territory and the airport beside it is where every inter-island flight begins, which is why most visitors pass through Tahiti whether or not they meant to stay.

Quick facts

Currency

XPF

CFP franc

Language

French

+ Tahitian

Power

—

Driving

Right

US-style

Airport

PPT

Faaa International

Emergency

—

Police · Fire

When to go

Monthly breakdown

Storm risk: Moderate

Jan

Rain

Feb

Rain

Mar

Rain

Apr

Rain

May

Best

Jun

Best

Jul

Best

Aug

Best

Sep

Best

Oct

Best

Nov

Rain

Dec

Rain

Best monthsRainy season

Major events

Feb

FIFO

The Oceanian documentary film festival in Papeete, the main showcase for films made across the Pacific by Pacific filmmakers.

Cultural

Jul

Heiva i Tahiti

A month of competitive ori tahiti dance and himene singing at To'ata in Papeete, the event that revived the art forms after they were suppressed by missionaries.

Cultural

Aug

Tahiti Pro Teahupo'o

World Tour surfing at the heaviest reef break on the circuit, run on a waiting period. The village of Teahupo'o has no through road past the contest site.

Sporting

Hidden gems

Waterfall

Fautaua Waterfall

A 135-metre fall in a valley 20 minutes inland from Papeete, reached on a marked trail past a 19th-century French fort. Access is ticketed at the valley entrance.

Historical

Marae Arahurahu

A restored stone temple in Paea, the only marae in Tahiti fully rebuilt, and the site used for cultural performances during the Heiva festival in July.

Nature

Arahoho Blowhole

A lava tube on the north coast that fires seawater through a hole in the roadside rock on a good swell. It is signposted and free, and works best at high tide.

Local food

Poisson cru

Raw tuna cubed and marinated briefly in lime, then folded into coconut milk with cucumber and tomato; called ia ota and eaten daily, not as a treat.

Maa Tahiti

The Sunday meal from the ahimaa earth oven: pork, breadfruit, taro and fish, cooked underground on hot stones since dawn.

Chao men

Tahitian-Chinese fried noodles, a legacy of the Chinese labourers brought for the cotton plantations in the 1860s.

Safety tips

Health

Dengue, zika and chikungunya all circulate in French Polynesia, with occasional outbreaks. Daytime repellent is the practical defence; the mosquito that carries them bites in daylight.

Water-Safety

Water moves fast through the reef passes on an outgoing tide, and the passes are where boat traffic concentrates. Snorkel inside the lagoon and stay clear of the channel markers.

Transport

The coast road around the island is single carriageway with heavy commuter traffic near Papeete. Allow far more time than the distance suggests, particularly in the morning.