Te Tiare Beach Resort
French Polynesia

Thursday

The lagoon we've been snorkeling around beneath our overwater bungalow is an opal Bora Bora blue. And the jungled mountains that rise from the soft-white sands at the edge of the surrounding bay look like a Hollywood movie set from The Bounty, the one filmed at Moorea. And the food, a tropical garden mix of mango and papaya delights blended with French bread and Italian seafood, is all Tahitian.

Bora Bora, Moorea and Tahiti are the triple crown of posh escape islands in French Polynesia. But we're not on any of these islands. Instead, we're at the Te Tiare Beach Resort on Huahine, a delightful volcanic island hidden among French Polynesia's Society Group.

Hoo-ah-where? is what I first said when Thom suggested we get off the beaten path a little on our travels around French Polynesia. After all, this archipelago just a seven-and-a-half-hour flight southwest of Los Angeles might be known for its three most famous islands (and often simply called Tahiti), but there are another 115 tropical paradises fringed with coconut palms and sugar-sand beaches.

Friday

We're on an island, within an island. Getting this far off the beaten path was easier than I imagined. We hopped a 35-minute Air Tahiti flight from Papeete (the capital, on the international gateway island of Tahiti) and barely had time to be awed by the passing island and atoll scenery before we arrived in Huahine. Much to my delight, the resort is not accessible by road; we had to catch the resort's launch at the docks for the 15-minute ride along the pristine coast.

The resort is fantastic. Forty-one bungalows—15 overwater ones—all set in a completely idyllic little bay surrounded by nothing but our own private beach and the verdant hills of Polynesia. No condos, no hotels, no high-rises. Nothing in our view has changed since Captain Cook sailed these waters.

After a fabulous fruit breakfast—delivered by a traditional Tahitian couple in a canoe right to our overwater deck—Thom and I spent this morning exactly as one should on Huahine: exploring the world around our overwater deck. We snorkeled with butterfly fish, waved at passing kayakers, and just soaked up the warm sun.

The bungalow is beautiful—with red tile floors that seem almost Mediterranean and a traditionally thatched roof—everything kept cool with either the ceiling fan or the air conditioner.

Lunch roused us out of our laziness to the Ari'i Restaurant, the same one Millionaire Magazine called "one of the most romantic and scenic in Tahiti." Chef Jean Frédéric Markacz happened to be there and urged us to try the tuna steaks with wasabi potatoes, which was the perfect blend of seafood and spice.

Tonight was the regular Polynesia buffet and dance show where we were able to sample all sorts of local delicacies like barbecued pork and grilled chicken. After dinner, with a flourish of lit torches, we were treated to the thumping beats and exotic hip-wiggling hula of a local dance troupe performing the tamure—the same dance that was rumored to bewitch the men from the HMS Bounty.

Saturday

We ventured out today on an incredible island tour with Dr. Paul Atallah, who runs Island Eco Tours. Paul took us all around the twin islands that make up Huahine in his comfortable SUV. Huahine, it turns out, was one of the most sacred of the islands—a retreat for several royal clans who gathered here and fought off outsiders for centuries. He took us to one marae (temple) where we were able to see the leg bones and skulls of human sacrifices stashed among the limestone altar.

Sunday

Thom and I are back in the easy rhythm of exploring our own island within an island—our overwater bungalow. We wake up, go for a swim in the clear, turquoise shallows, order some lunch, lounge around reading with short dips to cool off, and before we know it the sun has dipped into a fiery show, and the beat of the tamure drums is thumping across the bay. We won't hit Bora Bora this trip, and we won't make it to one of my favorite islands—Moorea. But are we missing out? Not a bit. We're too busy discovering this new Polynesian paradise.

Te Tiare Beach Resort