Ten days is enough for a satisfying first trip to French Polynesia if you accept that two or three islands is the limit. Arrival and departure each take a night on or near Tahiti, and every island change uses part of a day. Below is a base plan with three variations, so you can pick the one that matches what you want from the lagoon.
The base plan: Tahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora
Day 1: arrive on Tahiti. Most long-haul flights land late in the day or overnight, so stay near Faa’a or Papeete. If you arrive in the evening, the Vai’ete food truck area on the Papeete waterfront serves dinner nightly from 6 pm.
Days 2 to 4: Moorea. Take the ferry from Papeete, about 30 minutes, and spend three nights. Drive or cycle the coast road, hike to the Belvedere lookout over Cook’s and Opunohu bays, and take a lagoon tour or snorkel from shore. See our Moorea guide.
Days 5 to 8: Bora Bora. Fly from Moorea or back via Tahiti, depending on your ticket. The airport is on a motu, so your resort boat or a shuttle boat takes you across the lagoon. Four nights allows a lagoon excursion, a day around Matira beach and a buffer for weather.
Day 9: back to Tahiti. Fly to Tahiti, see Papeete’s market or the east coast, and stay a final night if your flight leaves on day 10.
Day 10: depart. Check your departure time: an evening flight leaves most of the day free, while a morning one may mean flying back from Bora Bora on day 8.
Three variations on ten days
Quieter Society Islands
Swap Bora Bora for Huahine and Taha’a. Huahine has the marae at Maeva, small villages and lagoon swims; Taha’a, reached by boat from Raiatea, is known for vanilla farms and its coral garden. This version has fewer resorts and more family-run pensions.
Lagoon and atoll
Keep Moorea, then fly to Rangiroa or Tikehau for four nights instead of Bora Bora. The atolls offer drift snorkeling and diving in the passes, and dolphins are often seen at Rangiroa’s Tiputa pass. Our Rangiroa guide explains the passes.
Two bases only
Spend four nights on Moorea and five on Bora Bora, Taha’a or an atoll, with arrival and departure nights near the airport. It means less packing and fewer early starts, which suits families and anyone who wants rest more than variety.
Honeymoon pace
Couples often prefer three nights on Moorea and six on Bora Bora or Taha’a, with an overwater bungalow for the second half. Put the special dinner or private lagoon tour on a middle night rather than the last, so a rainy evening can be moved. Our honeymoon guide has more ideas.
Making the dates work
Settle the international flights first, then the domestic sectors, then rooms on the smaller islands. If you are flying between several islands, an Air Tahiti pass can cover the circuit; under the current rules Moorea must sit at the start or end of the pass, and you cannot stop back on Tahiti midway. That suits this plan: Moorea first, Bora Bora or an atoll next, then home through Tahiti.
Weather and season
From May to October the weather is drier and the trade winds steadier; from November to April expect warmer days and heavier showers. Keep weather-dependent outings such as a lagoon tour or a hike to the middle of each stay, so a rainy day can be swapped.
Which pieces to book early
Overwater bungalows, pensions on small islands and specific dives fill first. Leave most lagoon tours to book on arrival, once you can see the wind and sea conditions.
Stretching it to two weeks
With fourteen days, the base plan can take a third island without feeling rushed. A good order is Tahiti (1 night), Moorea (3), Huahine or Taha’a (3), Bora Bora (4), then a final night on Tahiti. Alternatively, swap the middle island for an atoll such as Tikehau and fly from Bora Bora to the Tuamotus, which keeps the lagoon theme while adding pass snorkeling and a very different landscape.
Another option is to spend the extra days on Tahiti itself. The island is often treated as a stopover, but Tahiti Iti, the smaller peninsula, has quiet beaches, the Teahupo’o coast and walking trails, and the east coast has waterfalls and blowholes. Two nights there make the trip less about transit; see our Tahiti island guide.
Time spent travelling
Expect each island change to take half a day once you count check-out, the transfer to the airport or dock, waiting time, the flight or ferry and the transfer to the next property. On a ten-day plan with two island changes, that is a full day of travel in total, which is why a fourth island rarely pays off.
Make the visit respectful
Choose locally guided activities where context or safety matters, such as marae visits, pass snorkeling or a 4x4 tour into Tahiti’s Papenoo valley. Many land and coastal paths cross family property, so stay on marked routes and ask before entering. Keep shell collecting to photographs, as Tahiti Tourisme asks visitors to buy local crafts instead.
Common planning mistakes
Squeezing four or five islands into ten days, booking a dawn domestic flight after an overnight arrival, and treating a sample plan as a fixed timetable.
Accessibility and individual needs
Families and travellers who tire easily may prefer the two-base version, which cuts transfers and early starts. Ask each resort about step-free access to bungalows, since overwater walkways can be long.
After booking
Once flights are booked, compare the domestic arrival times with each accommodation’s check-in and transfer arrangements so no base starts with a long wait.
On the day
Keep one unscheduled day in the middle so a rained-out lagoon tour or a delayed flight can be absorbed without dropping an island.