A 10-Day Luxury French Polynesia Island-Hopping Itinerary

The 10-day French Polynesia itinerary I’d build runs in one direction: one night on Tahiti, three on Moorea, two on Taha’a and three on Bora Bora, then a short hop back to Tahiti for the flight home. That uses one ferry, three Air Tahiti flights and a handful of resort boats, and it never sends you back over water you have already crossed. This guide is about the mechanics: which leg uses which transport, how long each one takes, what you can carry, and what to do with the hours in between.

If you are still deciding whether all three islands belong in one trip, start with my Bora Bora vs Moorea vs Taha’a comparison. If you already know you want the full sweep, the plan below is the order I’d book it in.

Quick answer: the route in one line

Fly into Faa’a and sleep at the airport side of Tahiti; take the morning ferry to Moorea; fly Moorea to Raiatea and take a resort boat to Taha’a; fly Raiatea to Bora Bora and boat to your motu; fly Bora Bora to Papeete on day ten and connect to your evening international departure. Book the domestic flights first, then wrap the hotels around the confirmed times.

The 10-day itinerary at a glance

That adds up to nine nights in hotels and a tenth day spent travelling home. If your international flight leaves Tahiti in the morning instead of the evening, take a night off Bora Bora and spend it back near Faa’a; my guide to where to stay in Tahiti before an early flight covers that scenario.

How each leg works: ferries, flights and boats

Only one leg of this route goes by public ferry. Everything beyond Moorea is reached on Air Tahiti, the domestic carrier, plus the private boats that resorts run between their jetties and the airport. Here is how the five legs compare.

Prices are indicative and were last updated in October 2026. Rates change with season, exchange rates and availability, so check live prices before booking.

Ferries. Terevau and Aremiti both sail from the Papeete ferry terminal to Vaiare on Moorea’s east coast several times a day, starting early in the morning. Terevau tends to be slightly cheaper; Aremiti runs a larger fleet. Either is fine with suitcases, which go into a luggage area on board. A mid-morning sailing on day two lets you check out of the hotel unhurried and still reach Moorea in time for lunch.

Air Tahiti luggage. On standard fares the checked allowance is 23 kg per person, with one cabin bag of up to 5 kg measuring no more than 55 x 35 x 25 cm. That 5 kg cabin limit is the one that catches people out, because a laptop, camera and chargers can reach it on their own. Put the heavy electronics in checked luggage if you can live with that, or pack a soft tote for anything that won’t fit. The aircraft are ATR turboprops, so hard-shell cases bigger than about 75 cm are awkward in the hold.

Air Tahiti passes. Air Tahiti sells multi-island passes, including a Bora Bora Pass covering the main Society Islands, and the pass rules were restructured from April 2025. Passes are built around a circuit that starts and ends on Tahiti, and the Moorea to Raiatea sector on this route may or may not fit a given pass. Price your three flights as separate tickets as well as a pass before you choose; with only three sectors, individual fares can come out close.

Day 1: Land in Tahiti and stay near the airport

Long-haul flights land at Faa’a International Airport, and arrivals are spread across the day, often late at night or early in the morning. Trying to make an onward connection on the same day is a gamble: the Hilton on Moorea, for example, says transfers from Tahiti are not available after 5.30pm. A first night close to the airport means a late arrival costs you nothing. Use the evening to repack with the 5 kg cabin limit in mind and change some money into Pacific francs (XPF). For more on how long to give the main island at either end, see how many nights to spend in Tahiti.

InterContinental Tahiti Resort & Spa: the arrival-night base

The InterContinental is about a ten-minute drive from Faa’a, so the gap between the arrivals hall and your room is short even after a twelve-hour flight. It faces Moorea across the channel, which gives you a first look at tomorrow’s island from the pool. The resort has its own overwater bungalows, two infinity pools and a lagoonarium, but on this route its job is simpler: a quiet, reliable night that sets up the morning ferry. Papeete’s ferry terminal is roughly 20–30 minutes away by road, depending on traffic.

• Best for: the arrival night, and a fallback if a domestic flight is cancelled
• Transfer: under five minutes (about 2 km) by road from Faa’a airport
• Nights on this route: one
• Rates: Classic Rooms are priced from around US$340 a night between November and May and nearer US$450 from June to October, room only, with 13% VAT and city tax added

Good to know: standard check-out is 11am, which suits a mid-morning ferry. If your flight lands very early in the morning, ask about early check-in when you book.

Check rates for InterContinental Tahiti Resort & Spa

Days 2 to 4: Moorea by ferry, one land day and one lagoon day

Take the ferry on day two and have the resort meet you at Vaiare. Spend the afternoon in the water and nowhere else. Day three is for the interior: a guided half-day can link the Belvedere lookout, the Opunohu valley, Cook’s Bay and the pineapple plantations, with lunch at a roadside snack or a restaurant on the bay. Day four belongs to the lagoon, ideally on a small boat that combines a coral stop, a stingray sandbank and a picnic on a motu. Choose operators that keep guests from touching or feeding wildlife.

Three nights is the minimum that gives you both a land day and a water day. If you’d like Moorea to carry more of the trip, my guide to how many days to spend in Moorea explains what a fourth or fifth night adds.

Hilton Moorea Lagoon Resort & Spa: the Moorea stop between ferry and flight

The Hilton sits on the north coast between Cook’s Bay and Opunohu Bay, which puts both of the day-three viewpoints a short drive away. It is roughly 25 minutes from the Vaiare ferry dock and about 20 minutes from Temae airport, so it works at both ends of the Moorea leg: you arrive by sea and leave by air without crossing the island twice. The resort’s overwater bungalows look towards the open lagoon, and the house reef is close enough for snorkelling on the first afternoon without booking anything.

• Best for: combining a land tour and lagoon days from one base
• Transfer: around 25 minutes by road from Vaiare, about 20 minutes from Moorea airport
• Nights on this route: three
• Rates: King Garden Pool Bungalows from around US$480 a night in the wet season; overwater bungalows run from around US$700 (November to April) to US$950 (May to October), before VAT, a resort fee of about XPF 1,356 per room and city tax

Good to know: the resort asks for your arrival details at least three days ahead to guarantee a transfer. Send the ferry sailing time when you book, and the Air Tahiti flight number for day five at the same time.

Check rates for Hilton Moorea Lagoon Resort & Spa

Days 5 and 6: Taha’a via Raiatea

Taha’a has no airport of its own. You fly into Raiatea, which shares a lagoon with Taha’a, and a resort boat collects you at the airport jetty. On day five, aim for the earliest direct Moorea to Raiatea flight that runs that day; if the direct sector doesn’t operate, the routing via Papeete or Bora Bora adds over an hour. Leave the resort around 90 minutes before departure: Temae is a small airport, but bags are weighed and the 5 kg cabin rule is enforced.

Day six is the full Taha’a day. A half-day boat tour from the resort typically combines a vanilla plantation (Taha’a grows much of French Polynesia’s vanilla), a rum distillery, a black-pearl farm and a drift snorkel through the coral garden between two motu. The current there runs steadily, so swim with the guide and let it carry you. My piece on whether Taha’a is worth visiting covers what you lose if you skip this stop.

Le Taha’a: the motu stop between two flights

Le Taha’a, part of Pearl Resorts, is on Motu Tautau, right beside the coral garden, so the island’s best-known snorkel is a few minutes’ swim or paddle from your suite. That location matters on a two-night stop: you can spend the arrival afternoon in the water without booking a boat. The resort runs the 35-minute boat transfer from Raiatea airport on both arrival and departure, which keeps the day-seven connection to Bora Bora simple. Overwater suites give direct lagoon access; beach villas trade that for a private garden and plunge pool.

• Best for: a quiet middle chapter with the coral garden on the doorstep
• Transfer: about 35 minutes by resort boat from Raiatea airport, charged per person each way
• Nights on this route: two
• Rates: a Taha’a Overwater Suite with breakfast costs from around US$1,150 a night outside the dry season and about US$1,450 from June to October, with 13% VAT and city tax on top

Good to know: the resort is the only place to eat on the motu, so a half-board rate usually makes sense here even if you go room-only elsewhere on the trip.

Check rates for Le Taha’a

Days 7 to 9: Bora Bora as the finale

Day seven is the most complicated transfer of the trip, though each piece is short: boat from Le Taha’a to Raiatea, a 20 to 25 minute flight, then a resort boat from Bora Bora’s airport on Motu Mute. Ask both hotels to coordinate around the flight number, and plan to arrive at your Bora Bora villa by mid-afternoon. Day eight is your lagoon day: a private boat lets you pick the snorkel stops and lunch spot. Day nine stays empty on purpose, and is the day the long journey pays for itself.

Pick one resort for all three nights. Moving properties within Bora Bora means two extra boat transfers and half a day lost. The two below are alternative finales; choose the one whose layout and setting suit how you want the trip to end. If you’re weighing a motu stay against the main island, see main island vs motu resort in Bora Bora.

Four Seasons Resort Bora Bora: finale option one, for the shortest boat ride

The Four Seasons sits on Motu Tehotu on the eastern reef, and its yachts reach the resort in about 15 minutes from the airport jetty, with staff collecting your bags at arrivals. On a route that already includes a resort boat, a flight and another resort boat on day seven, that short final leg is a real advantage. Most overwater bungalows look towards Mount Otemanu, and the resort has its own Ruahatu Lagoon Sanctuary for snorkelling with a marine biologist on the day you don’t take a boat out.

• Best for: an easy last transfer and a resort you won’t need to leave on day nine
• Transfer: about 15 minutes by resort yacht from Bora Bora airport
• Nights on this route: three
• Rates: overwater bungalow suites with a beach or lagoon view are from around US$1,650 a night in the November to April wet season, rising to about US$2,600 in the dry season, room only before taxes and resort charges

Good to know: give the resort your day-ten flight time when you book, so the departure yacht is timed to the Air Tahiti check-in window.

Check rates for Four Seasons Resort Bora Bora

The St. Regis Bora Bora: finale option two, for more space on the last nights

The St. Regis is on Motu Ome’e on the southeast reef, a short boat ride from the airport, and its villas are among the largest on the island. That suits the end of a ten-day, five-transfer trip: more room to unpack fully for the first time since Tahiti, and butler service that can handle laundry before the flight home. The resort has its own lagoonarium for snorkelling, several restaurants and a spa on its own islet, so day nine needs no boat at all.

• Best for: large villas and on-site dining for the last three nights
• Transfer: resort boat from Bora Bora airport, typically under 30 minutes
• Nights on this route: three
• Rates: for an Overwater Superior Villa, expect from around US$1,250 a night in the wet season and about US$2,200 between May and October, room only, plus 13% VAT and city tax

Good to know: airport boat transfers on Bora Bora are often charged separately and fares are rarely published, so ask for the price when you book and check whether your rate or package includes them.

Check rates for The St. Regis Bora Bora

Day 10: Back to Tahiti and the flight home

Many long-haul departures leave Faa’a in the evening or late at night, which makes a midday Bora Bora to Papeete flight a comfortable fit. Book the domestic sector on the same ticket as your international flight if your airline allows it, or leave at least four to five hours between the two if they are separate. Weather occasionally delays the small aircraft, and a missed long-haul connection is expensive. If the gap is long, a day room at an airport hotel gives you a shower before the flight. If your flight leaves early on day ten, move your last night from Bora Bora to Tahiti.

Why this order, and when to change it

Geography sets the order. Moorea is the only island you can reach by ferry, so it goes first, straight after the arrival night. Raiatea and Taha’a lie between Moorea and Bora Bora, so they sit in the middle. Bora Bora is furthest out and has the direct flight back to Papeete, so it goes last. Reversing the route works just as well on paper, but I’d keep Bora Bora at the end: the quietest, least scheduled days belong at the finish, not the start.

There are three sensible variations. If you want fewer transfers, drop Taha’a and give Moorea four nights and Bora Bora four; you lose one flight and two boat legs. If Moorea to Raiatea doesn’t run direct on your day, fly Moorea to Bora Bora first and visit Taha’a last, flying Raiatea to Papeete at the end. And if the budget is tight, the Bora Bora nights are where the cost concentrates, so trimming one there saves more than trimming Moorea.

Booking checklist

• Book flights first: confirm the three Air Tahiti sectors (Moorea to Raiatea, Raiatea to Bora Bora, Bora Bora to Papeete) before paying non-refundable hotel deposits.
• Send every hotel your flight numbers: each of the four resorts beyond Tahiti arranges your transfer from the dock or airport, and the boat won’t wait for a flight it doesn’t know about.
• Check what transfers cost: ask whether each is shared or private, included or extra, and payable in advance or on departure.
• Pack to the domestic limits: 23 kg checked and 5 kg in the cabin per person, plus water shoes, a rash vest, reef-safe sunscreen and a dry bag for boat days.

Travel insurance that covers missed connections is sensible on a route with this many legs. Meal plans are worth deciding per stop: room-only on Moorea, where restaurants are a short drive away, and half board on the motu resorts at Taha’a and Bora Bora, where every meal outside means a boat.

The hotels on this route compared

Verdict

Ten days is enough for three islands if the route only moves forward: ferry to Moorea, fly to Raiatea for Taha’a, fly on to Bora Bora, fly home via Papeete. Lock in the Air Tahiti flights before anything else, keep each stop to one hotel, and leave day nine empty. For the finale, I’d choose the Four Seasons if a short last transfer appeals most and the St. Regis if villa space and on-site dining matter to you. For a broader planning view, browse the French Polynesia destination guide.

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