Moorea

One of French Polynesia's best kept secrets, the tiny island of Mosorea is the perfect island escape for most. Maintaining a delicate balance between the traditional Polynesian way of life and western influences, this island offers tourists a true Polynesian style vacation. Here soaring mountains meet pristine lagoons with the entire island covered in a rich and lush green foliage of tropical plants and trees. An idyllic island paradise that most people only dream of, Moorea is a fantastic place to kick back and relax.

An extinct volcano, Moorea is a very mountainous island that sits to the west of Tahiti and forms part of the Windward Island group. What is so unique about this island's landscape is that it forms a near perfect equilateral triangle with the two beautiful bays of Baie de Cook and Baie d'Opunohu sitting on its northern end, which actually mark the floor of an ancient volcano crater that has long been silent.

Known as Aimeho or Eimeo in olden times, this island is said to have had a long and rich history of Polynesians rulers before the Europeans arrived here. First sighted by Samuel Wallis in 1767, Moorea was also visited by the great explorers Louis Bougainville and James Cook on their visits to this region. A base for missionaries in the 1800's, much of the indigenous population of this island was killed off by disease in the early 19th century, with only a few thousand Polynesians living on the island today.

Relatively underdeveloped when you compare it to say Tahiti or Bora Bora, what makes Moorea so special is that it still retains much of its original local flavors. Home to some of the best beaches in French Polynesia, the interior regions of this island are covered by a large and dense population of mape or giant chestnut trees. A gorgeous reef surrounds Moorea, while on land huge peaks soar up to over 899 meters into the sky. Offering some truly extraordinary views, a hike up these peaks is an incredible experience.

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