Aranui Cruise - Marquesas Islands

Tahiti Island is the largest and most populated of the 118 islands and atolls that make up French Polynesia. Most visitors use Tahiti as a base from which to explore the region's many highlights; all the major destinations can be reached from the international airport in Faa'a. With its ubiquitous pearl shops, lively roulottes (food trucks), and occasional traffic jams, the capital city of Papeete is the closest thing French Polynesia has to a metropolis. To truly appreciate the island’s many natural wonders, however, be sure to explore its rugged coastline, myriad historical sites, and mountainous interior. Tahiti also affords visitors their best chance to get a taste of normal everyday Polynesian life by seeking out a beach or market (such as the Marché Papeete) crammed with friendly locals.,

About 490km (300 miles) northeast of Tahiti, Fakarava's rectangular reef encloses French Polynesia's second-largest lagoon. This aquamarine jewel is filled with such a rich variety of sea life that part of it has been designated a UNESCO nature preserve. Needless to say, there is some very good diving and snorkeling here. Unlike most Tuamotu atolls, I find Fakarava interesting from a historical standpoint. The airstrip and the main village, Rotoava, sit at the atoll's northeastern end, but the first European settlement here was at Tetamanu, on the far southern end of the lagoon beside narrow Tumakohua Pass, a 1 1/2- to 2-hour boat ride from the airport. Coupled with fine snorkeling and diving in the pass, seeing the crumbling ruins of a prison and a restored 1834-vintage Catholic church make a visit to the ghostlike Tetamanu one of the more fascinating jaunts in the Tuamotu Archipelago. The administrative center was moved to Rotoava to take advantage of Garuae Pass, the widest in French Polynesia. It's so wide and deep, in fact, that ships as large as the Queen Elizabeth 2 can safely enter the lagoon and anchor off Rotoava. Extraordinarily beautiful beaches border this skinny strip of land that encloses the northern and eastern side of the lagoon. Rotoava has a post office (with public phone), but no bank.,

Free day,

Free day,

The largest and most often visited of the Tuamotu atolls, Rangiroa lies 312km (194 miles) northeast of Tahiti. Its ring of low, skinny islets encloses one of the world's largest lagoons. At more than 70km (43 miles) long and 26km (16 miles) wide. In the early morning and late afternoon, schools of dolphins usually play in Avatoru Pass and Tiputa Pass, the two navigable passes into Rangiroa's interior lagoon, both on its north side. In Rangiroa you get French Polynesia's best scuba diving, snorkeling, and fishing. Rangiroa's airstrip and all but one of its hotels and pensions are on a perfectly flat, 11km-long (7-mile) stretch of sand and palm trees running between Avatoru and Tiputa passes on the northern side of the lagoon.,

Perhaps the most lauded honeymoon spot on the planet, Bora Bora benefits from its natural lagoon that’s monitored by the imposing, majestic Mount Otemanu. The clear, warm waters are filled with colorful fish and majestic rays, and most visitors spend as much time here as possible.,

We disembark in Papeete,