New Zealand's biggest and most cosmopolitan city, Auckland, is a year-round destination.
28.09.2023 - 19:05 / forbes.com / Bora Bora / Cruises / Windstar Cruises
Is the northern hemisphere’s approaching winter chill making you shiver and crave a tranquil trip to the tropics? Look no further than Tahiti. French Polynesia is easier than ever to reach with more direct flights from the US and the destination’s incredible tropical islands are best explored on a small-ship sailing cruise with Windstar Cruises.
French Polynesia is pretty much the stuff of dreams. Clear water laps over healthy coral reefs and turquoise lagoons surround sandy, palm-treed islands and atolls. Surfing waves crash off shore and waterfalls tumble down the bigger islands’ lush mountains.
Bora Bora and Tahiti—names associated with vacation perfection—are part of the Society Islands and perhaps the best known islands of French Polynesia. Technically a French overseas territory, you may also hear it referred to as The Islands of Tahiti. French Polynesia’s 118 islands and atolls are in five archipelagos spread over an area in the South Pacific that’s about the same size as Europe. Tahiti is considered the main island as the capital, Papeete, is here.
With all these islands dotting the South Pacific, the best way to get a taste of French Polynesia is on a cruise. Small ships like Windstar’s can go into the islands’ tiny harbors and anchor near the atolls but also have the speed and stability to travel longer distances not only between the larger islands but between archipelagos.
Windstar Cruises has been sailing French Polynesia for more than 35 years and currently sails there year-round with a sailing every week of the year. Windstar’s Tahiti cruises visit a minimum of six islands on each cruise and you can choose from week-long voyages as well as longer ones from 10 to 21 days. How’s this for enticing: a two- or even three-week roundtrip cruise amongst the Society Islands, the Tuamoto archipelago as well as the rarely-visited Marquesas, which are more than 900 miles from the start and end port of Papeete.
Prone to FOMO? Insiders’ tip: book two back-to-back cruises that do the same route so you’re sure to see everything you want and have plenty of time for relaxing too.
Windstar has two ships in French Polynesia: the four-masted motor sailing yacht Wind Spirit which has just 148 passengers and the newly renovated, all-suite yacht Star Breeze which has 312 passengers.
The small ships are the ideal mix of relaxed luxury and casual elegance. There are no formal nights, no need for dinner reservations or sharing tables (unless you want to, of course), and no Vegas-type shows. Yet you have extraordinary levels of service and thoughtfulness, fantastic food featuring local ingredients, a top-notch spa, enrichment activities with local experts who provide insights into destinations’ history and culture,
New Zealand's biggest and most cosmopolitan city, Auckland, is a year-round destination.
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