Moorea
17 km from Tahiti, 30 to 50 minutes by ferry depending on the vessel. Two great bays, a lookout at 240 m, marked trails, twelve passes in the reef. Highest occupancy rate in the country — people come back.
Comparison · written from Raiatea
Bora Bora, Moorea or Huahine?
Three Society Islands, three budgets, three rhythms. Moorea costs 4 700 XPF return by ferry; Bora Bora needs a flight and more than double the room rate; Huahine is the cheaper of the two flights and the quietest of the three. Here is how to decide.
In one line
Moorea if you are short on time. Huahine if you are short on budget. Bora Bora if the lagoon is the point.
Huahine
Forty minutes' flight, 33 227 XPF return. The largest archaeological complex in French Polynesia at Maeva, stone fish traps still in use, guesthouses rather than resorts.
Bora Bora
Fifty minutes' flight then a fifteen-minute boat. A 78 km² lagoon and the densest luxury hotel supply in the country — 30.5 % of all rooms sold in French Polynesia.
The trap
Trying to fit all three into two weeks. Each extra island costs a full day and a fare. Two islands lived properly beat three islands crossed.
The facts
The table that settles it
| Bora Bora | Moorea | Huahine | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Area | 38 km² | 133 km² | 75 km² |
| Population, 2022 | 10 856 | 18 332 | 6 325 |
| Access from Tahiti | 50-min flight + 15-min boat | Ferry, 30–50 min (or 15-min flight) | 40-min flight |
| Return cost of getting there | from 40 246 XPF | 4 700 XPF (ferry, visitor adult) | from 33 227 XPF |
| Average room rate, Q3 2025 | ≈ 137 000 XPF | 60 266 XPF | not published separately |
| Occupancy, Q3 2025 | 73.9 % | 84.4 % — the highest | — |
| What people come for | The lagoon and the overwater bungalow | Two bays, a lookout, marked trails | The Maeva marae and the quiet |
The Moorea ferry changed in 2026
Terevau has ceased operations. The Papeete–Vaiare crossing is now shared between Aremiti (Aremiti 5 and 6), Tauati Ferry and Vaeara'i. Aremiti's visitor fare is 2 350 XPF one way, 4 700 XPF return; residents pay 1 650 XPF; a vehicle under 4.10 m starts at 5 440 XPF. Allow 30 minutes on the fast catamaran, about 50 on the mixed ferry.
Moorea in detail
The only one of the three you can reach without flying
The island owes its trident shape to two great bays — Cook's Bay and Opunohu Bay — separated by Mount Rotui. The Opunohu Belvedere, at 240 m inside the crater, opens onto both at once.
Two hikes start there, waymarked and walkable without a guide: the Three Coconut Trees pass (3 hours return, 7 km, 200 m of ascent, river crossings then a steep climb to a clifftop viewpoint) and the Three Pines pass (1 h 30, 3.5 km, 200 m, passing a marae and a notable banyan). The Opunohu valley also holds ancient marae and pineapple fields.
By the numbers: 60 266 XPF average room rate in Q3 2025 — 2.3 times less than Bora Bora — with the highest occupancy in the country at 84.4 %.
Huahine in detail
The one people keep to themselves
Two landmasses joined by a bridge: Huahine Nui to the north, with the village of Fare, and Huahine Iti to the south with its white-sand beaches. The airport sits on motu Maeva, about fifteen minutes' drive from Fare.
The archaeological site of Maeva is the reason to come: one of the largest archaeological complexes in French Polynesia, open daily and free to enter, with a cultural trail on the Mata'i'rea hill. Four marae line the lake beside the fare pote'e: Fare Ro'i (the chiefdom's family altar), Fare Tai (dedicated to Tāne), Vai-'ōtaha (linked to the fish traps) and Rauhuru (turtle petroglyphs). Carbon-14 dating goes back to the 12th and 13th centuries. The stone fish traps in the lagoon are still in use.
33 227 XPF return from Papeete — 17 % below Bora Bora. ISPF publishes no room rate for Huahine alone; the island is folded into "Leeward Islands", a figure dominated by Bora Bora. Distrust any average quoted for Huahine.
Bora Bora in detail
What the price buys, and what it does not
38 km² of land for a 78 km² lagoon: the ratio explains everything. The island holds the country's densest high-end hotel supply and, in Q3 2025, 30.5 % of all rooms sold in French Polynesia.
What the price does not buy: hiking (Moorea and Tahiti do it better), heritage (Huahine and Raiatea do it far better), and spontaneity — the airport on the motu means a fifteen-minute shuttle for every movement, and it leaves Vaitape ninety minutes before flights.
Common questions
Bora Bora, Moorea or Huahine: FAQ
Can I do all three in two weeks?
Technically yes, sensibly no. Each extra island costs a full transfer day and a fare. Fourteen days leave about eleven usable ones; spending three of them on transfers to gain half a day of lagoon is a poor trade.
Which is cheapest?
Moorea, by a distance: 4 700 XPF return by ferry against a 33 227 XPF flight to Huahine and 40 246 XPF to Bora Bora, and an average room rate of 60 266 XPF against roughly 137 000 XPF at Bora Bora in Q3 2025.
Is Huahine worth the flight?
If heritage interests you, yes. Maeva is one of the largest archaeological complexes in French Polynesia, free and open daily, with marae carbon-dated to the 12th and 13th centuries. It is also the cheapest Leeward flight after Raiatea.
How much is the Moorea ferry, and how long does it take?
Two thousand three hundred and fifty XPF one way for a visiting adult, 4 700 XPF return, with Aremiti as of 19 August 2026. Allow 30 minutes on the fast catamaran and about 50 on the mixed ferry. Since Terevau closed, the line is shared between Aremiti, Tauati Ferry and Vaeara'i.
Sources
Check before you book
ISPF
Quarterly tourism dashboard: room rates and occupancy by island.
ispf.pf ↗Air Tahiti
Durations, fares and inter-island passes.
airtahiti.com ↗Aremiti · DPAM
Ferry fares and the official operator list.
aremitiexpress.com ↗ · DPAM ↗ISPF 2025 figures, Air Tahiti and Aremiti fares checked 19 August 2026 · written in Raiatea.
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