A fantastic vacation destination, Tahiti is a superb place to visit especially if you enjoy water based activities. Aside from some of the best scuba diving and snorkeling in the world, Tahiti is also renowned for its excellent surfing. One of the most common beach activities, the surf breaks and swells in Tahiti are top class and entice surfers from all over the globe. A great experience for all to enjoy, surfing in Tahiti is fun for everyone.

Tahiti Surf Destinations

There are several places to go surfing on Tahiti Nui. These Tahiti surf destinations are known for their first-rate swells and breaks. On the northern coast you can find some good surfing at Point Venus and Matavai Point, while in southern Tahiti the best breaks are located at Fisherman’s Point and Papara. All easily accessible, the waves here attract surfers from all over. For the more keen surfing enthusiast, a good idea would be to head out to Tahiti Iti. On the southern coast here some excellent breaks can be found at the Big and the Small Pass.

Tahiti Surf Schools

For those who do not know how to surf or need to brush up on their surfing skills and techniques, there are a number of Tahiti surf schools, in which you can enroll. The surf instructors here are seasoned local surfers with plenty of experience, and who understand the waves and conditions here well. Several surf schools can be found all across town in the capital of Papeete. These schools are an excellent resource and usually have their own surf shops as well from where you can rent out a surfboard and other surf gear like wet suits, board wax, etc.

Tahiti Surf Season

For the enthusiastic surfer, there are two surf seasons in Tahiti. The first surf season is from October to March, while the second surf season lasts from April to September. During the October to March season the waves are smaller but are more consistent, while in the April to September period the surfing is world class with powerful hollow waves to ride. This is the best time to come here, if you are an experienced surfer.

Tahiti Surf Championships

The ideal destination for the competitive surfer, Tahiti offers some truly world class surfing at Teuhupo'o. Meant for professionals only, this beach plays host to the Billabong Pro Championships in May here annually. An international event, with pro surfers attending from the world over, the waves on Teuhupo'o are the biggest and toughest on Tahiti to ride!

By: J Gonsalves
For a more in-depth view of the Tahiti & French Polynesia, visit GoVisitTahiti.com. Offering key travel data on this tropical paradise, GoVisitTahiti.com is dedicated to ensuring you see the very best of the Tahiti vacations and other French Polynasian islands.

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Swim in a fish-filled lagoon, take a jeep safari through the islands' lush interiors or enjoy enchanting landscapes from your private villa on a sun-drenched beach. Whether you do everything or nothing at all, a honeymoon in Tahiti is proof that you don't need to wait until the next life to experience paradise.

Snorkel in the warm azure waters of the lagoon, head to the spa for a coconut and avocado body scrub and an exotic flower bath, or relax on the deck of your private over water bungalow and order another tropical fruit cocktail?

Rarely does life present us with such deliciously difficult decisions. And after months of hectic wedding planning, these are the only sorts of decisions you and your new husband will want to make. For a honeymoon that is truly sublime, head northeast towards the equator until you find Tahiti and its 118 islands.

Scattered across five far-flung archipelagos and covering four million square kilometres of ocean, Bride had the enviable task of sampling this corner of the South Pacific. After a week in this land of warm waters, tropical weather, rich culture and delectable cuisine, we know why it is such a coveted honeymoon destination.

Gateway to the archipelago

As our Air Tahiti Nui plane descends towards Papeete, the capital of Tahiti, a collective gasp rolls through the cabin. Emerging from the emerald sea are cloud-draped mountains, plunging valleys and pristine beaches which appear to run on forever. And if the beauty of the scenery isn't welcome enough, the warmth of the locals is.

Tahiti is renowned for the hospitality of its people. On arrival at our hotel, the InterContinental Resort Tahiti, we are greeted with song and the sounds of the ukulele and guitar. Smiling Polynesian women in traditional dress entertain us with traditional dancing and swathe us with colourful garlands of flowers featuring Tahiti's national flower, the tiare.

A great place to commence your Tahitian sojourn, Tahiti offers visitors numerous treasures including a bustling market where you will discover multi-coloured pareos (sarongs), local handcrafts and luscious vanilla soaps and lotions.

During our stay, the sun rarely leaves the sky and the breeze barely rouses the flat crystal waters. While this is a typical day for this part of the world - the temperature varies between 26 and 28 degrees all year round - our guide warns us of the occasional bout of tropical rain. However, all is not lost if it does rain as there are scores of art and history museums waiting to be explored. Particularly worth a visit is the Paul Gauguin Museum. Located in a spacious garden, the museum is a memorial to the artist famed for his portrayal of island life.

If your idea of a honeymoon involves activity and adventure, you will be hard pressed to find a more extreme excursion than a climb through the lava tubes of Hitiaa. Situated on the rocky east coast, volcanic eruptions have forged channels through the rock. Over time, these have been penetrated by water and stunning waterfalls gush through the eroded sections. You will need a reliable pair of shoes, a guide that knows the area and some quiet determination.

After our extreme hiking experience, it is time to chill out. We fell in love with the laid-back Polynesian approach to life at the InterContinental Resort Tahiti. With two infinity pools, a swim-up bar, dancing shows and choice of restaurants and cuisines, it rarely gets much better than this.

Moreish Moorea

Bidding the mainland farewell, we take a 45-minute ferry ride to the island of Moorea - Tahiti's sister island.

Moorea looks good enough to eat. Literally! On a four-wheel-drive trip around the island, we sample the plentiful papayas, mangoes, wild bananas, breadfruit, limes and watermelons that thrive in the volcanic soil. But the pick of the island's fruit salad is the deliciously sweet pineapple. Best sampled straight off the plant, our guide tells us the sugar content is so high they turn bad within 48 hours. This explains why you won't find them in your local supermarket and is all the more reason to devour as many as your tummy can handle.

Stop at one of the many black pearl boutiques scattered throughout Moorea. While your new husband might think wedding and engagement rings are all the jewellery a woman needs, you can't go home without a Tahitian pearl encircling your finger or dripping from your neck. Unique to the pristine lagoon habitat, the pearls come in a range of colours such as aubergine, reddish-bronze, shimmering green or steel grey.

Moorea is also the home of the InterContinental Resort Moorea's Dolphin Centre, which is located amid the lush surrounds of the InterContinental Beachcomber Resort's estate. You will touch, play and communicate with these magnificent creatures in the shallows of the lagoon before donning a diving mask to observe their grace underwater. Your guide will teach you all about these intelligent mammals and will provide you with a souvenir photo of you and your new flippered friends.

After a tough day playing with dolphins, snorkelling, jet-skiing or scuba diving, you can mollify your muscles with a deep tissue massage or a soothing wrap at Moorea's Hélène Spa. The spa treatments take advantage of Tahiti's plentiful flowers, fruits and plants and are freshly prepared with oils and exotic essences. For a particularly opulent treatment, soak in a traditional Tahitian flower bath set in the green surrounds of one of the spa's private treatment rooms.

The lagoons of Bora Bora

It pains us to leave Moorea. That is, until our light plane lands in Bora Bora. With its sparkling lagoons in all hues of blue, velvety sand and coral gardens filled with rainbow coloured fish, Bora Bora is indisputably Tahiti's most beautiful island.

The island is best experienced from the vantage point of your own over water bungalow. We stayed at InterContinental Moana Beach Resort where each bungalow boasts a glass-bottomed coffee table, which can be opened up allowing you to feed bread to the many fish that swarm beneath.

Lash out and order room service, which is brought to your private deck on an outrigger canoe. Then spend the day exploring the lagoons by canoe, snorkelling or people-watching from a hammock strung between towering coconut trees.

For a memorable experience, take a boat trip to a nearby sandbar where you can hand feed stingray in waist-deep water. Despite what you expect, stingrays rarely sting. And the feeling of these metre-wide grey beauties slipping and sliding up your legs is indescribable. If you are brave enough, offer a morsel of raw fish and watch as one gently accepts it from your fingers.

From there, ask your guide to take you to the deeper waters for some manta ray spotting. Our guide throws fresh meat into the water before directing us to jump in and see the fish. We oblige and join the thousands of fish that come to feed. Our fun is short-lived, however, as we look down and see 10 to 12 sharks circling below. Despite our guide's assurances that reef sharks are not partial to human flesh, our heartbeats don't slow until we are back aboard the safety of our boat.

Even if water sports are not usually your thing, be sure to take a jet ski tour around the island. At first terrifying, you will soon by shrieking with delight as you master the powerful machines. After a few hours bouncing over the waves of the lagoon, we guarantee you will be a petrol head by the time your tour is over.

After all this aquatic activity you will be hungry. A traditional Tahitian picnic on a motu - the Tahitian word for 'little island' - is a must. While we swim in the turquoise water, local chefs cook a feast fit for royalty. And as you might expect in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, seafood is on the menu.

Cooked in earth ovens, we savour fresh and fleshy perch, parrotfish, barracuda, mahi-mahi and more, flavoured with Tahiti's famous vanilla beans and soused in creamy coconut milk. Following the old 'when in Rome' adage, we eat with our hands from hand-woven vine leaf plates. Food seems to taste even better in paradise.

And while on the topic of Tahitian cuisine, be sure to visit the island's best-known restaurant Bloody Mary's. With its sandy floor, tree-stump seating and fire lighting, you'll feel like you are on the set of Survivor. Except this is one island you won't want to be voted off. There is no official menu. Instead, diners choose from a seafood selection delivered daily by local fisherman. While your choice of fish is being cooked to perfection, sip a Bloody Mary - the restaurant's signature beverage.

The only downside of Tahiti as a honeymoon destination is the cost: accommodation, food and drinks are very expensive. But hey, you only get married once - or maybe twice.

And with a smorgasbord of things to see and do including whale watching, snorkelling, scuba diving, playing golf, horse riding, bike riding, sailing, canoeing, kayaking, jet skiing, water skiing, caving, fishing, black pearl and handcraft shopping, swimming with dolphins and manta ray, observing the world beneath in a glass bottom boat - you'll want to extend your honeymoon, forever.

By: Michelle Tesoriero
Michelle Tesoriero travelled as a guest of InterContinental Hotels Group, Air Tahiti Nui and Tahiti Tourisme. For more information visit: www.bride.com.au; tahiti.intercontinental.com; airtahitinui.com.au and tahiti-tourisme.com.au.

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Compared to Mexico or Hawaii, what makes Tahiti a special destination?

Well, that's an easy one! For starters, these are the most beautiful tropical islands in the world thanks to their dramatic geography, lush tropical vegetation and their unique multicolored crystal lagoons.

The weather is a big plus and even during the periods of November through April, Tahiti averages more sunshine hours than Honolulu. The average ocean temperature is in the low 80's.

If you want big hotels, lots of people around and an ordinary vacation, then Tahiti is not for you. Tahiti receives fewer tourists in an entire year than Hawaii gets in a single day!
There are no big resorts in Tahiti and very few tourists or locals to be seen, so you have the entire magical environment basically to yourself.

If you compare a week in Tahiti to a week in Waikiki or Cancun it will not be a fair comparison. For the price, Hawaii or Mexico will not include private bungalows on pristine secluded beaches or overwater bungalows surrounded by turquoise lagoons with glass floors for feeding and viewing tropical fish. Tahiti is not for every budget, but it is an excellent value for extraordinary memories. Also, in Tahiti, there will be no tipping or added taxes.

Where do celebrities like to go?

Tom, Katie and his kids (Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes) were just reported staying in an overwater villa at Le Taha'a Private Island and Spa this past March.

Other favorite resorts of the rich and famous includeBora Bora Nui Resort and Spa, Hotel Bora Bora and Te Tiare Beach Resort.

When is the best time to go to Tahiti?

This is always a big question: "What is the weather going to be like when I take my vacation in the month of _____???" Tahiti enjoys warm, tropical weather year round, but is subject to intermittent rainstorms throughout the year. The rain comes in the form of a tropical storm that usually arrives quickly and disappears just as fast. There is no noticeable temperature variation throughout the year.

Roughly speaking there are two "seasons": the slightly warmer and more humid period between November and April, when rains can fall intermittently (highs of 85F and lows of 70F at night), and the cooler, drier season between May and October (highs of 82F and lows of 70F).

What are your favorite "hidden gems" in Tahiti?

Definitely the private motus (a motu is a small islet on the reef). I would highly recommend taking a lagoon and motu beach picnic, and discover the beauty of the lagoons by catamaran on your way to a secluded relaxing motu. The operator will usually pick you up at your hotel around 9:30am and drop you off at 3:00pm. Typically, your host will set up a table in the lagoon water on a private motu and serve you a feast of lobster, crab, steak, chicken, traditional Tahitian foods, fruit and champagne. You will also have time to enjoy snorkeling around the island, strolls along the beach, or napping under a palm tree.

Where can we expect to get the most for our money?

I find you get the most for your money in Moorea. Less than 10 minutes away from Papeete by air (or less than one hour by ferry) are the deep, spectacular bays and white sand beaches of Moorea.

No one will argue that Moorea is a land of unsurpassed beauty. The majesty of the island rises above its twin bays, to the Belvedere Lookout, where the tops of the soaring peaks dominate the skyline.

Moorea's loveliest beaches are located between the Moorea Village and the Hotel Beachcomber, as well as near the Sofitel Ia Ora (pictured, at right).
Besides relaxing on the beach overlooking multi-hued waters, you can occupy yourself with numerous activities. One unique experience that you won't forget is 'Dolphin Quest', where you can actually swim with dolphins. There is a Tropical Aquarium Center at Cook's Bay, the perfect spot to investigate some of the underwater wildlife prior to a day of snorkeling. Learn about the region's sea life at this exceptional aquarium so you can identify the beautifully colored fish and coral. Be sure to visit Papetoai Temple, a uniquely shaped octagonal church and the oldest European building in the South Pacific, or Moorea Distillery and Fruit Juice Factory, to sample excellent juices, liqueurs and spirits.

Moorea's underwater world is as amazing as well, with coral sea beds and rich sea life. Many of our customers learn to dive in Moorea because of the favorable conditions of crystal clear, fairly shallow water around the lagoon.

By: Michelle Ziettlow
Michelle Ziettlow is one of our top travel specialists, specializing in Tahiti and Fiji. Prior to joining TheBigDay Travel TheBigDay Travel, Michelle worked for one of the largest South Pacific travel wholesale companies. Just recently, Michelle returned from a business trip to Tahiti, where she inspected many of the top resorts first-hand.

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