Tahiti Vacations, Tahiti Vacation Reviews, Tourism Guide

Tahiti Vacation Guide

Tahiti is the largest and most heavily populated island in French Polynesia. It has a population of 150,000 out of the 220,000 in all of French Polynesia. Tahiti is essentially two islands, Tahiti Nui (Big Tahiti) and Tahiti Iti (Little Tahiti), joined by an isthmus. The main town, Papeete, has a population on the order of 100,000. Papeete is a bustling city and traffic can be a bit of a snarl but I didn't find it as heavy as I expected based on some other commentaries. I've not yet visited Nice but the waterfront in Papeete reminded me of pictures I've seen. I don't know whether the comparison is really valid. Some didn't like Papeete a lot but I did. Even here where people are crowded together, we found them warm and friendly.

Our drive around Tahiti revealed some magnificent vistas but nothing like those on some of the other islands. There were a number of beaches but none appeared drop-dead gorgeous. Most of the sand is black. While it has all the other properties of white sand, I can't get it out of my head that it looks like dirt. Being volcanic, the center of the island is mountainous and almost always (at least when we were there) shrouded in clouds. It's quite stunning.

Tahiti is a beautiful island but I wouldn't recommend it as a vacation destination in and of itself. The other islands are much better for about everything but shopping and restaurants. However, I strongly recommend a few days there.