Tetiaroa Atoll: An Unforgettable Day Trip from Tahiti

While Moorea is famous for its crystal clear waters and Tahiti for its jet-black sands, Tetiaroa Atoll is the type of place that is most synonymous with my imaginings of the Pacific. Paradisiacal and remote, it is an isolated ring of white sand lined with palm trees and surrounded by coral gardens.

Tetiaroa’s isolation gave me the feeling that I was journeying to the end of the Earth. Aside from Arno Atoll in the Marshall Islands and And Atoll in Micronesia, I’m not sure if I’ve ever been anywhere so off-the-beaten-path and far-flung. 

The atoll—famed for being the private island of actor Marlon Brando—is neither touristy nor deveoped. Currently, the island has no permanent residents and, thus, those arriving on day trips from Papeete are often the only people within 50 kilometers.

 

DAY TOUR OF TETIAROA ATOLL

While snorkeling at the Lagoonarium in Moorea, a fellow traveler recommended that we take a day trip to Tetiaroa Atoll on our penultimate day in French Polynesia. And though we had never heard of the island before, we needed little convincing. 

Our day trip to Tetiaroa with Poe Charters began with a two hour journey from Tahiti on a catamaran. For most of the ride, our boat cut through the open waters of the Pacific. The waves were relentless and the winds strong enough to create swells that would periodically pour over the sides of the boat and shower us with water.

I began to worry that the grey skies would bring rain and that our stay on the island would be met with adverse weather conditions.  

But when we arrived in Tetiaroa, the sun peaked through the clouds just in time for our walk around the atoll to motu Tahuna Iti, more commonly known as Bird Island. 

 

BIRD ISLAND ON TETIAROA ATOLL

Beyond its breathtaking beauty, Tetiaroa is a natural haven for avian life. Despite its tiny size, Bird Island is a seabird sanctuary that is home to a large and diverse array of avian species, including brown boobies and grey-black terns.

Each day, thousands of migrating birds make the journey from Tahiti—choosing to nest amongst the dense vegetation of the predator-free island.

We stayed on the strip of soft white sand for a while and swam in the warm waters of the shallow lagoon, watching the seabirds fly overhead. 

The scenery was incredible—in many ways reminiscent of Panama’s San Blas Islands, with its snowy-colored sand, its vibrant turquoise waters and its lack of large hotels and resorts. 

After lounging around on Bird Island and walking out to the shallow islands of the lagoon, our group headed back to the boat for a tasty lunch of seared swordfish and poisson cru.

 

SNORKELING IN TETIAROA

For the second half of our day trip to Tetiaroa, we had the opportunity to explore the underwater world of the island’s lagoon. As with the snorkeling in Moorea’s Lagoonarium, Dan and I had the opportunity to swim amongst colorful species of tropical fish, admire the intricate coral and come face to face with docile lemon sharks.

The reef surrounding Tetiaroa provides a perfect place for marine life to flourish.  At least 167 fish species—including colorful parrotfish, spotted eagle rays and reef sharks—frequent the island’s waters.

The reef around Tetiaroa is among the best I’ve ever seen. In terms of visibility and preservation, it rivals those in Micronesia’s And Atoll and Palau’s South Rock Islands.

While its coral gardens are perfectly preserved, the fish are plentiful and the visibility is unparalleled, what struck Dan and I most about swimming in the reef, was that we found ourselves at the edge of an ocean shelf, where the shallow reef dropped off into a dark abyss. From the water’s surface, we were able to see the varying shades of blue representing the depths of the ocean floor.

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Our day trip to Tetiaroa Atoll was worth every penny of the hefty $120 price tag. Marlon Brando’s uninhabited island is nothing like Moorea or Tahiti, but it is no less beautiful.

With its swaying palms, its powdered shores and its far-flung appeal, the beautiful Polynesian atoll provided the exact paradise I’d imagined when planning a trip to the South Pacific.

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