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Women wearing traditional dress of the South Pacific.

Tuamotu, the Marquesas Islands, & Bora Bora

Example 14 Day Cruise
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Embark an adventure cruise in the Marquesas Islands aboard the Aranui. This special 14-day South Pacific voyage cruises Tuamotu, Marquesas Islands and Bora Bora, accompanied by a dedicated crew. This is South Pacific voyaging at its best.
Scuba diving in the reefsSnorkel the clear, tropical watersKayaking in the CaribbeanSnorkel with sea turtles Women wearing traditional dress of the South Pacific.
Places Visited
  • South Pacific
  • Tahiti
  • Atuona
  • Bora Bora
  • Fakarava
  • Fatu Hiva
  • French Polynesia
  • Hiva 'Oa
  • Marquesas Islands
  • Nuku Hiva
  • Oceania
  • Papeete
  • Polynesia
  • Rangiroa
  • Society Islands
  • Tahuata
  • Tuamotu Islands
  • Ua Huka
  • Ua Pou
Activity Level: Relaxed
Involves minimal physical effort and is typically associated with leisurely activities. Activities are low-intensity or last less than a few hours each day.
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Full Itinerary

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Day 1: Depart Papeete, Tahiti

  • 1 Dinner
Morning departure.

Day 2: Takapoto, Tuamotu Archipelago

  • 1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
Takapoto is a small, ring-shaped reef formed of coral in the Tuamotu Islands. Walk along a magnificent white sand beach and enjoy a picnic lunch with your fellow shipmates. You can swim and snorkel in the translucent lagoon to watch the colorful ballet of tropical lagoon fish. You can also make some arts & crafts at the beach.

Day 3: At Sea on the Aranui

  • 1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
Relax with a book on one of the sun decks, swim in the small pool or enjoy the immense South Pacific. Balmy evenings mean reading in lounge/library or chatting with an authority on Marquesan culture or archaeology. You’ll probably spend many evenings socializing on the upstairs deck/bar with your fellow adventurers from around the world. The spirited Polynesian crew treat you like welcomed guests and proudly introduce you to their rich culture. Almost every night, they sing and strum hypnotic Polynesian rhythms on their ukuleles and will teach you to move your hips to hypnotic beat of the tamure.

Day 4: Nuku Hiva

  • 1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
Sail into Taiohae’s spectacular bay, a giant volcanic amphitheater dominated by towering cliffs streaked with waterfalls. As the Aranui unloads, you can explore Taiohae, the tiny Administrative capital of the Marquesas. Taiohae Bay is where a 23-year-old sailor, Herman Melville and a buddy jumped a whaling ship in 1842. Follow their escape route by jeep along steep, winding dirt mountain roads to the village of Hatiheu to visit an archeological site. Have lunch at Yvonne’s Restaurant, one of the best restaurants in the Marquesas, where the specialty is pig baked in an underground oven. You’ll meet the owner-chef, Yvonne, who also happens to be the town’s energetic mayor. After lunch, travel to the valley of Taipivai. The area is dotted with stone tiki gods and sacred ritual sites (me’ae) and immense stone platforms (paepae) where the Taipi built their houses. Enigmatic petroglyphs of birds, sacred turtles and fish are carved on huge boulders. The Aranui’s whaleboats will sail down the river to return you to the Aranui, which is anchored in the bay.

Day 5: Ua Pou-The Marquesas Archipelago

  • 1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
From the deck, you observe the soaring mountain spires of Ua Pou. Whenever the Aranui stops, villages greet it. As the muscular crew unloads supplies - from cements to sugar - and loads sacks of copra (dried coconut meat), you can explore the tiny town of Hakahau with its church lined with hand-carved wooden dais. You can meet some talented woodcarvers and hike up a hill for a breathtaking view of the distant cloud-covered mountains. At Rosalie’s Restaurant, you’ll taste your first Marquesan lunch: breadfruit, a marquesan staple, along with curried goat, barbecued rock lobster, poisson cru (raw fish marinated in lime juice and soaked in coconut milk), taro and sweet red bananas.

Day 6: Hiva Oa (Atuona)

  • 1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
Today, take time to explore Atuona, the second largest village in Marquesas. This is where Paul Gauguin lived and did some of his best work. You can visit the colonial store where Gauguin shopped and go into a replica of the Impressionist’s infamous “House of Pleasure.” As you walk up the hill to the cemetery, you’ll have sweeping views of the harbor. Beneath a huge frangipani tree is a tombstone with the simple words: Paul Gauguin 1903. Nearby is the grave of another famous European who also was seduced by Hiva Oa: Belgian singer-composer Jacques Brel, who died in 1978. You’ll also enjoy another lavish Marquesan lunch at Hoa Nui Restaurant.

Day 7: Fatu Hiva

  • 1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
Fatu Hiva is the most lush and remote island of the Marquesan. It’s also a center of Marquesan crafts. As our guides lead you through the village of Omoa, you’ll see women hammering mulberry, banyan or breadfruit bark on logs. They dry it and then paint ancient Marquesan designs on their famous tapa cloth. Fatu Hiva is also well-known for its hand-painted pareus (sarongs) and monoi, a perfumed coconut oil scented with tiare blossoms and sandalwood. Skilled woodcarvers will invite you into their home/studios.

The Aranui sails to the other inhabited village. Hanavave is on the Bay of the Virgins, which is one of the world’s most beautiful bays. Some athletic passengers may choose to make the trip by foot. On this unforgettable ten mile hike you’ll have unforgettable views of towering cliffs and majestic waterfalls.

Day 8: Hiva Oa (Puamau)

  • 1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
Travel by foot or by jeep to the most important archeological sites for tikis (ancient, human-like religious sculptures) other than Easter Island. Trained guides will show you these mysterious jungle ruins of Puamau and tell the stories of these haunting statues of an ancient civilization.

Day 9: Tahuata (Vaitahu)

  • 1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
On this leaf-shaped island, the air is thick with fragrant scent of tiare, frangipani and history. In the tiny village of Vaitahu, Spanish explorers landed in 1595 and opened fire on a crowd of the curious islanders, killing about 200. Tahuata also is the site of the first French settlement in the Marquesas in 1842. The huge church built by the Vatican, is decorated with beautiful Marquesan carvings. Picnic in the Valley of Hapatoni and swim and snorkel at a nearby beach.

Day 10: Ua Huka

  • 1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
Visit a museum with exquisite replicas of Marquesan art. Some Aranui passengers will explore the island by four-wheel drive; others will ride the Marquesan horses. For three hours, explore the mountain landscape with heart-stopping views of the Pacific. The wild horses (brought from Chile in 1856) thrive here, outnumbering the islands 476 residents. Have a Marquesan lunch at local restaurant and have plenty of time to visit studios of woodcarvers. Visit the arboretum and the garden of fruits and flower. Back on the Aranui, it’s Polynesian night with dancing and buffet dinner on the deck.

Day 11: Nuku Hiva, Ua Pou

  • 1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
The Aranui will dock in Nuku Hiva at Taiohae in the morning. You may take the Le Truck back to the town center and spend free time there. At noon, the ship will sail to Ua Pou, returning to your first stop in the Marquesas, Hakahau. This is your last chance to buy Marquesan crafts.

Day 12: At Sea

  • 1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
Enjoy sun bathing on the deck, sipping exotic drinks while watching the crystal blue waters en route to Rangiroa.

Day 13: Bora Bora-Society Islands

  • 1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
The Aranui will anchor in the magnificent blue lagoon of Bora Bora. Here, you can spend the day at the white sand beach, snorkling and picnic. At the small cost, additional excursions will be available, including walking or bus island tours by the lagoon, swimming with rays and small sharks, a helicopter tour, and more!

Day 14: Papeete, Tahiti / Disembark

  • 1 Breakfast
Disembark this morning for your continued journey home.

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  • 13 Breakfasts, 12 Lunches, 13 Dinners

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This was my first experience with Adventure Life - and I couldn't have been more pleased with the trip. The guides and local staff in both Buenos Aires and Uruguay were terrific - extremely helpful and accommodating. I really enjoyed meeting the friendly staff in Buenos Aires in person (I left my bags with them for the afternoon).
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