Alternatively, you can build Tahiti in to a trip to New Zealand and back, or a round-the-world itinerary.If you are heading only for Tahiti, a new route is available via New York. Air Tahiti Nui (0870 066 2050; www.airtahitinui ) flies non-stop from New York JFK to Tahiti. The route connects with Virgin Atlantic (0870 380 2007; www.virgin-atlantic ) for the Heathrow-New York leg. Return flights during November start at £713 and in January from £773 Stopovers can be made in New York at no extra charge. From the airport in Papeete, a taxi into the town centre will cost around 1,500CFP (£8.60).
The Visitors' Bureau in Papeete is in Fare Manihini on Boulevard Pomare (00 689 50 57 10; www.tahiti-manava ).SHOULD I SPEND TIME IN PAPEETE?It's an interesting little town, and also a good base for an exploration of the island. The sheltered entrance to this part of the coast made it attractive to mariners, and the town had developed as a whaling port by the early 19th century. The whalers were followed by British missionaries and Chinese traders, but little is left of the colonial buildings constructed during that time.Most of the activity in Papeete continues to be around the waterfront, along Boulevard Pomare. At the western end is the Paofai church, on the site of the first Protestant church which was built in the early 19th century but reconstructed in 1981. Even if you are not religious, it is interesting to experience a Sunday service, when a large proportion of the population turns out, dressed in Sunday best and singing with great enthusiasm.Further east is Bougainville Park, named for Louis-Antoine de Bougainville, an early Pacific explorer who returned from Tahiti to France with tales of the primitive people he had met on the island.
The plant, bougainvillea, was also given his name after it was first sighted in Brazil by a botanist travelling with de Bougainville.A couple of blocks along the Boulevard, in the Vaima centre, is the Pearl Museum on Jeanne d'Arc Street (00 689 45 21 22), an interesting explanation of pearl cultivation, with the inevitable opportunity to buy some black pearls at the end of the visit. It opens 8am-5pm Monday-Saturday, admission 600CFP (£3.40).A couple of blocks inland is the market, a lively affair that takes place 5am-5pm every day (except on Sundays, when everyone goes home at 8am). In addition to a colourful selection of tropical fruit, vegetables, fish and other Tahitian foods, it also has a section selling crafts. Caf?and roulettes - mobile restaurants - line the waterfront, making it a good venue to watch the world go by.HOW DO I GET AROUND?You may want to hire a car, but otherwise there is a public transport system known as le truck, a fleet of converted lorries with a long bench seat down each side.