Stays at ocean-side resorts in French Polynesia mean you're well-positioned for relaxing afternoons and picture-postcard-worthy photographs. But even if you decide on less costly digs down the street it's easy to take advantage of what the beaches -- the public beaches in particular -- have to offer. Providing variety aplenty, they range from black-sand crescents to pink-sand numbers and lily-white shores. The bottom line is wherever you land, a sunbathers' paradise awaits.
Here are just a few spots that promise to lull you into a vacation-y state of mind -- stat.
Tahiti -- though less known for its sandy stretches than neighboring islands -- is home to some picturesque, coral reef-fringed black and white-sand beaches. A memorable one is Lafayette Beach in Arue, one of the area's most spacious and inviting spots to spread a towel. It's situated at the tip of Matavai Bay, the site where European explorers arrived way back when. For adventure-seekers, however, there's Teahupoo Beach, a serious-surfers' haven with waves -- breaking at Hava'e Pass -- that reach upwards of eight feet.
Mile-long Matira Beach, on the island's south end with Matira Point at its heart, offers breathtaking views of the glistening turquoise water and a white-sand slipper of land that's ideal for passing the day. It's also the site of numerous resorts, though the beach is open to the public. There are restaurants nearby, too, as well as opportunities to sign up for excursions, making this a catch-all (and quite popular) locale.
The main public beaches on the island -- Teavora and Temae -- are linked, running just beyond the ferry dock to the airport and along the Sofitel Moorea Ia Ora Beach Resort in Moorea. They're populated by surfers, who catch waves at Temae; however, locals come here -- especially toward the extra-aesthetic stretch between the resort and airport -- to relax, too. Motu excursions (boat trips to tiny island beaches) are a popular way to take in outlying beaches as well. Typically, they include a lunch of fresh-grilled mahi mahi and citrus-marinated raw fish salad (poisson cru), plus nurse-shark and stingray swims.
This atoll -- a string of 415 tiny motu -- affords an array of choices for beach bums: lagoon beaches, wild beaches with crashing waves and motu beaches only accessed by boat. Among the stars of the show is Les Sables Roses, a private, pink-sand atoll -- the result of eroded coral -- to the southeast. It's important to note, however, that reaching it means taking a lengthy boat ride, which can be costly. Another popular spot is Blue Lagoon. Coconut-lined with white sand, it requires visitors -- who arrive by boat -- to walk through the shallow, coral-dotted sea to reach ground. Alternatively, there's Ile aux Recifs -- quite literally an "isle of reefs." It's home to tidal pools and raised coral, which looms above the lagoon. (Surf shoes, naturally, are required).
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