Most Australians and New Zealanders taking cheap flights to Tahiti will be on a package holiday, some with a wedding thrown in. Tahiti is a storied isle. Over the years, adventurers, explorers, artists (most famously Gauguin) and writers have pitched up on its shores and then spread the word about this paradisiacal island in the South Pacific.
Tahiti is the best-known island in French Polynesia. French Polynesia consists of five archipelagoes - the Society, Austral, Tuamotu, Gambier, Marquesas. Tahiti belongs to the Society Islands, it's French Polynesia's political, economic and cultural centre and its capital is Papeete.
Tahiti is indeed paradise. It's a volcanic island, lush and green with high, jagged mountains, white beaches and coral reefs. Almost 70 per cent of the population of French Polynesia live here.
Travellers are rarely stuck for things to do in Tahiti. The beaches are the place to live out your Edenic fantasies. There's fantastic scuba diving, surfing, kayaking, boat rides, swimming with turtles, game fishing and hiking. And that's on top of the most popular activities - lazing on the beach and following Tahitian time.
