The Islands of the South Pacific: Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora, the Marquesas, the Cook Islands, Tonga and Beyond (Unabridged‪)‬

Tahiti is one of the Society Islands which, with the Gambiers, the Tuamotus, the Australs, and the Marquesas, make up French Polynesia. This archipelago spread out over several million square miles of the south central Pacific is a mixture of high volcanic islands and low coral atolls.

Moorea is the second-most popular destination in French Polynesia and with good reason. The most dramatic way to see Moorea is by hiking. The footpaths among the Marae of Opunohu are excellent, but the best walk is the trek from Vaiare west across to Pao Pao at the bottom of Cook's Bay. It's a longish trek, but the abundant flora are delightful and the views magnificent.

Bora Bora - you can see it like a stage drop in the distance from Raiatea - is 160 miles from Tahiti. The pearl of all islands, it has a beauty borne of lagoon, reef, and green mountains. Bora Bora is the scene of paddling, peddling, snorkeling, walking, climbing, dancing, drinking and eating well.

In the Marquesas, Nuku Hiva Island with a population of 1,800 is the administrative center for these 12 islands. Nuku Hiva, like most of the others, is majestically mountainous and beautiful. Growing and export of oranges is the main activity. Hiva Oa, according to Robert Louis Stevenson, was the loveliest and most ominous spot on earth.

The Cook Islands, named after the British Captain who seems to have been everywhere in the Pacific, are scattered like tiny jewels over a large stretch of sea between Tahiti and Samoa.

Tonga too has many attractions – the king's palace, the beaches, lagoons, flying foxes, blowholes, ruins, exquisite outer islands, and convenient transport. There's good food, perhaps the best in the Pacific, and the weather is cooler than many other Pacific islands.

All the detail you will need about these Pacific islands is in the guide - the hotels, restaurants, what to see and do, how to get around, the history and the culture.