French Polynesia (Society Islands)

South Pacific, Franceactivities

The Society Islands spoil you badly. Crossing from Raiatea to Huahine on a steady south-east trade wind, a motu sliding past to port and the water shading from sapphire to impossible green over the reef, it becomes genuinely difficult to remember why you live anywhere else. The trade winds blow 15–20 knots from the south-east through most of the May-to-October season, keeping passages comfortable and the anchorages refreshed rather than sweltering. Swell is well-managed inside the barrier lagoons, though the passes — Passe Avatoru, Taravai, Teavanui — demand respect at certain tide stages and you read the water carefully before committing. Raiatea is the logical charter base; Uturoa has the main marina, the chandlers, and the fuel dock. Grab provisions at the covered market and the Carrefour supermarket before leaving, because reprovisioning on the outer islands is charming but thin. Huahine is where you anchor first if you have any sense — calm lagoons, roadside stands selling cold fruit, and almost no one. From there, Bora Bora is the showpiece, its central peak theatrical at dawn, though the anchorage off Vaitape is busier than it once was. Moorea's Cook's Bay is a reliable favourite: volcanic ridges overhead, a reasonable bakery ashore, and depth enough to swing freely overnight. Charter bases offer both bareboat and skippered options; most operators are French-run and paperwork is reasonably straightforward given this is an overseas collectivity of France. Your EU EHIC is not valid here, so travel insurance with medical evacuation cover is non-negotiable. May to July gives the most reliable trade winds and the clearest water; August and September work well but the anchorages fill up with European summer holiday charters.

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