Society Islands Cruise: Tahiti, Bora Bora, Taha'a & Moorea

This morning you wake at Huahine, the lush, sleepy 'Garden Island', one of the most authentic and least-visited of the Society Islands. You tender ashore to explore this beautiful island, with its ancient marae ceremonial sites, sacred blue-eyed eels, vanilla and pearl farms, and strong sense of traditional village life. You might tour the island, snorkel the coral gardens, relax on a beach, or take part in the ship's watersports from the platform, kayaking, paddleboarding and snorkelling in the turquoise lagoon. Huahine's genuine, unhurried Polynesian character and lush beauty offer a wonderful, authentic start to the island-hopping, far from the crowds. As the ship weighs anchor in the evening and glides on towards Taha'a and Raiatea, you enjoy fine dining and perhaps a Polynesian dance performance aboard, and the magic of the cruise, of exploring a new paradise each day, settles over you beneath the stars.

Today the ship anchors at Taha'a, the 'Vanilla Island', and its sacred sister Raiatea, wrapped in a shared lagoon. On Taha'a you visit a vanilla plantation to see how the fragrant pods are hand-pollinated and cured, and snorkel the island's famous coral garden, a shallow channel where the current gently carries you over a dazzling array of coral and tropical fish, one of the finest snorkelling experiences in the Pacific. You might also tour a black-pearl farm and relax on a motu. Nearby Raiatea, the sacred island, was the ancient religious heart of Polynesia, and you can visit the Taputapuatea marae, a UNESCO World Heritage Site of profound significance. These less-visited islands offer an authentic, tranquil and beautiful glimpse of Polynesian island life and history. As the ship sets sail for Bora Bora in the evening, you dine aboard and toast a day of vanilla, coral gardens and sacred history.

This morning you wake to one of the most beautiful sights on earth, the dramatic peak of Mount Otemanu rising over Bora Bora's incomparable lagoon, its water glowing in a hundred shades of turquoise. The ship anchors in the lagoon, and you tender ashore to explore this legendary island. You might take a lagoon cruise to snorkel coral gardens and swim with rays and reef sharks, relax on a palm-crowned motu of blinding white sand, tour the island's lush interior with its viewpoints and wartime history, or simply drink in the beauty. The ship's watersports platform lets you kayak, paddleboard and snorkel straight into the lagoon. Experiencing Bora Bora from the sea, arriving by ship and anchoring beneath Mount Otemanu, offers a wonderful perspective on this most spectacular of islands. As evening falls, the ship remains at anchor in the lagoon, and you dine on deck with the peak silhouetted against a blazing sunset, a magical highlight of the voyage.

Another glorious day at Bora Bora, anchored in its incomparable lagoon beneath Mount Otemanu. You have more time to explore this legendary island and its beauty, perhaps a full-day lagoon excursion snorkelling the coral, swimming with rays and reef sharks, and relaxing on a deserted motu with a barbecue lunch, or a 4x4 safari into the lush interior, or a spa treatment ashore. Equally, you might simply enjoy the ship's watersports platform, kayaking and snorkelling in the turquoise lagoon, or relax on deck taking in the astonishing view of the peak and the water. Bora Bora rewards a second day richly, and the beauty of the lagoon and the dramatic silhouette of Mount Otemanu never cease to amaze. As the ship weighs anchor in the evening and sets sail for Moorea, you enjoy a final dinner beneath the peak, perhaps a motu barbecue under the stars, savouring the beauty of this most spectacular of islands before gliding on to the next paradise.

This morning you wake at Moorea, Tahiti's spectacular heart-shaped sister island, its jagged emerald peaks rising sheer above a sapphire lagoon. The ship anchors in one of Moorea's beautiful bays, and you tender ashore to explore this dramatic island. You might take a boat trip to swim with rays and reef sharks in the lagoon, snorkel vibrant coral gardens, take a 4x4 safari into the lush interior to the Belvedere lookout for breathtaking views over the bays and peaks, tour a pineapple plantation, or relax on the beach. The ship's watersports platform lets you kayak, paddleboard and snorkel in the turquoise lagoon. Moorea's blend of soaring green peaks, deep bays and beautiful lagoon makes it one of the most spectacular islands in the Pacific, and a wonderful stop on the cruise. As evening falls with the ship anchored beneath the pinnacles, you dine aboard, perhaps with a Polynesian dance show, and toast another day in paradise.

A final morning at Moorea to enjoy its dramatic beauty before the ship sails the short distance back towards Tahiti. You might fit in a last lagoon excursion, snorkel, spa treatment or beach relaxation, or simply enjoy the ship's watersports platform and the view of the soaring peaks. As the ship glides across the channel towards Tahiti in the afternoon, you relax on deck, taking in the beauty of the islands one last time and reflecting on the wonderful voyage, from Huahine and Taha'a to Bora Bora and Moorea. This evening brings a farewell dinner aboard, celebrating the beauty of the Society Islands you have explored and the ease and romance of life at sea, perhaps with a final Polynesian performance from the warm crew. As the lights of Tahiti draw near and the stars emerge overhead, you savour the last night of your cruise through some of the most beautiful islands on earth.

This morning the ship returns to Papeete, and after a final breakfast aboard you disembark and are transferred to the airport for your onward international departure (or an extension on the islands). You leave having experienced the very best of the Society Islands in effortless comfort and style, waking each morning in a new tropical paradise, from the lush authenticity of Huahine and Taha'a to the incomparable beauty of Bora Bora and the dramatic peaks of Moorea. The ease and romance of the cruise, the beauty of the islands, and the warmth of the Polynesian crew and culture stay with you long after you step ashore. French Polynesia has a way of capturing the hearts of those who visit, and you depart already dreaming of a return to these islands of jagged peaks, jewel-like lagoons and warm hospitality, among the most beautiful places on the planet.