French Polynesia Cruises: Small Ships, Lagoons and the Marquesas

Yes, especially in the Society Islands, where Huahine, Raiatea, Taha’a, Bora Bora and Moorea sit within a night’s sail of each other. You unpack once, skip inter-island flight check-ins and baggage limits, and wake to a new lagoon most mornings.

The trade-off is depth. A ship gives you a day or two per island and evenings on board rather than on your own deck over the water. Many travelers do both: a week at sea, then three or four nights in an overwater bungalow. Our island-hopping guide shows how land-based routes compare.

Only a handful of ships are based here year-round, which keeps the experience intimate and the departures limited.

The classic week is a Papeete round trip: Huahine, then Raiatea and Taha’a (which share one lagoon), two days at Bora Bora, and a final stop at Moorea before returning to Tahiti. Ten- and eleven-night voyages add Tuamotu atolls such as Rangiroa or Fakarava, where drift dives and snorkels through the reef passes are the highlight.

The Marquesas are a different trip altogether: high, jagged islands with almost no lagoons, ancient tiki sites and the graves of Paul Gauguin and Jacques Brel on Hiva Oa. It takes days at sea to get there, so choose it for culture and remoteness, not beaches. See our Marquesas guide.

Ships sail all year. May to October is drier and less humid, with steady trade winds that can make open-water crossings a little livelier. November to April is warmer and wetter, with short, heavy showers and calmer spells between them; cyclones are uncommon but possible in this season.

Humpback whales are usually around from roughly July to November, and July brings the Heiva festival in Papeete. Our month-by-month guide covers weather, events and demand in detail.

Book a balcony if you can: lagoon sail-ins at dawn and sunsets over Bora Bora are the moments you came for. The Paul Gauguin’s fares have traditionally covered most drinks, gratuities and watersports, and the Aranui includes meals and many guided visits ashore; confirm current inclusions when you book.

With few cabins and limited departures, book 9 to 12 months ahead for July, August and the holidays. Flights from Los Angeles take about 8 hours nonstop; plan a Tahiti hotel night before embarkation to absorb any delay. On Virtuoso partner sailings, amenities often include shipboard credit, and they vary by sailing.