7 Best Sights in Huahine, French Polynesia

AO Api New World. AO Api New World is located above the Tourism Bureau. It costs 15 CFP for one minute (and 10 CFP per minute if a whole hour is booked) —which is cheap for French Polynesia— and 1500 CFP for the whole day. The connection is quite fast, although the keyboard is French. 68–70–99.

If Fare is sleepy, then Faaie—on the east coast about 2 mi south of Maeva—is in a coma. It only wakes when a tour group or individuals stop to the see the blue-eye eels that live in the river. The eels' favorite dish is tinned mackerel and the constant feeding over the years has turned them into little pets—most tour operators include this on a round-island tour. Beyond the eels, there's a small church and corner store and once you go over the Belvedere hill towards the bridge, there's a town hall and primary school (both painted apricot).

This little town fits the stereotype of a sleepy South Seas port with market stalls lining the road, men fishing from the wharf at sunset, and a few shops and restaurants here and there. However, expect a bit of a traffic jam outside the Fare Super Nui, the island's only supermarket, and a big one at that. There are two parts to Fare: the busy quay or port, which is reached by turning off the main island road, and other businesses, such as the post office, bank, Europcar, pharmacy, restaurant, and Catholic church, which are strung out along the main road for half a mile or so. The quay is the place to watch brilliant sunsets over the distant isles of Tahaa and Bora Bora and pull up a stool to dine at the roulottes (food trucks) that open around 6 pm.

The historic and cultural heart of Huahine is on the southeast shore of Lake Fauna Nui. Here you can stroll through an open museum of ancient marae or walk a mile-long trail on the hillside that's strewn with archeological sites. The town's other significant attraction is several old fish traps located in the eastern corner of the lake. Fish swim into these triangular structures at high tide and are trapped when the tide runs out. There's also a pleasant little church, a school and playgrounds; at 3 pm you may get caught behind the colorful school bus as it drops kids off at their homes along the main road.

Situated on the Maroe Bay, this village has a rotunda on the water's edge, a big billboard style map of the island, a buttercup-colored Protestant church with adjoining church hall, a little restaurant serving fish, and a few baguette sandwiches, and that's about it. It does, however, have a spectacular view over the wide bay where cruise ships dock. Passengers are brought ashore at Maroe at the rotunda site where they then board L'Truck buses for circle tours or meet their 4WD tour operators or rental car agents. If you look to the east you can't miss Te Moa o Hiro, the looming phallus-shaped rock. The restaurant, Rauheama, is a popular watering hole for ship passengers.

With its two sizeable lodgings, a white church, small tidy little houses in secluded lanes off the main road, a restaurant, a roadside snack bar, and the occasional small grocery store, this village—that stretches for a couple of mi with big gaps between most of the infrastructure—could be considered the epicenter of Huahine Iti. The island's best beach is here (at the southern tip) and the Anini Marae (also called the Parea Marae) is virtually standing on the shore. Across the lagoon is Motu Aara'ara.

This tiny village midway down the east coast has a buttercup-yellow church on one side of the road and a small graveyard on the other, which is backed by rain-forest covered hills. Across the lagoon is Motu Murimahora, a lush island where melon growing is the main activity.