Moorea: Tahiti's green sister island

Just minutes by ferry from Tahiti, Moorea offers dramatic volcanic peaks and turquoise lagoons without Papeete's tourist traffic.

A rented car or scooter remains the best way to explore the island.

Cook Bay and Opunohu Bay, both surrounded by sheer volcanic peaks, offer some of the most photographed views in all of French Polynesia.

Heading up to the Belvedere, a viewpoint in the interior, you can see both bays together with Mount Rotui separating them, among the island's most photographed vistas.

In the lagoon, boat excursions allow you to swim alongside rays and small reef sharks in shallow, transparent waters, popular with families on vacation.

In the evening, the island's inland pineapple plantations, cultivated on the volcanic slopes, offer tastings of local juices and liqueurs.

Captain James Cook explored the bay that today bears his name in the eighteenth century, describing it as one of the most spectacular natural harbors he had ever seen in his voyages across the Pacific.

Moorea produces pineapples of particularly high quality thanks to fertile volcanic soil, earning it the nickname of the pineapple island despite the more widespread fame of its lagoons.