Last updated on January 5th, 2025
If you have a day or two on Tahiti and want to do more than explore Papeete or relax at your hotel, a road trip is a good way to see the island. Explore the natural beauty of Tahiti’s east coast, dive into history on Tahiti’s west coast, enjoy a mix of it all on a Tahiti circle tour! You can easily rent a car or book a tour that will immerse you in Tahiti’s beauty, history, and culture.
Keep reading for a guide to the sights you’ll find on a Tahiti east coast road trip!
There’s plenty to see along Tahiti’s east coast even on a cloudy day!
On our 2009 trip to French Polynesia, we had just one day to explore the island of Tahiti. To do that I mapped out a tour that followed Tahiti’s coast around almost all of the island. For that trip we started at the Royal Tahitian Hotel on the east end of Papeete, traveling clockwise around the island.
While you can drive all around Tahiti in a day like we did (it’s only about 75 miles or 120 km to drive all around Tahiti Nui, and just a little further if you venture down to Tahiti Iti), the drive time alone is usually well over two hours. That doesn’t leave a lot of time to check out scenic overlooks, wander black-sand beaches, enjoy a bite to eat, hike to a waterfall, or explore a historic site.
So, when we returned to Tahiti in 2023, we gave ourselves a couple days to explore. That still wasn’t enough time to fully explore the island, but it allowed us to break our coastal road trip into more manageable segments with more stops. This is a better way to explore the island, but — if you are short on time, you can still see a lot in a day!
You can see all of our stops (and more) from both my 2009 and 2023 road trips on my map:
Click to see the sights mentioned here and a few more.
It may not look like there is that much to see along Tahiti’s east coast. However, this part of Tahiti has almost no development (or traffic) and is absolutely gorgeous. It’s basically all a scenic drive along the sea.
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Road trip along Tahiti’s east coast
Tahiti’s east coast offers dramatic mountain scenery, black sand beaches, a few villages, and lots of waterfalls. The beaches here are often better for a picnic or boogie boarding and surfing than for swimming. You’ll see the most waterfalls after a rainy spell, but there are always waterfalls.
Tahiti’s east coast is mostly undeveloped — and beautiful!
During the rainy season you’ll see waterfalls all along Tahiti’s east coast, but particularly in the south.
It’s cheap and easy to rent a car and drive this route on your own, but you can also book tours directly through local agencies (ask your hotel for a recommendation) or via Viator and Get Your Guide.
Belvédère du Tahara’a
The first stop on my 2009 Tahiti road trip was an overlook near the top of One Tree Hill that is said to offer “one of Tahiti’s most magnificent vistas.”
At the time, the guidebook told me the pull-out is actually the entrance to a closed luxury hotel. That sounded tricky to find, but I easily spotted the hotel. (And Lane agreed that the view should be fabulous since it was fabulous when he stayed in that hotel some 20 years earlier!) But we never found the entrance to the overlook.
Today that hotel is the very fancy Pearl Resorts Le Tahiti. . . . the very hotel where we spent the night at after our cruise was canceled! (Yeah, we were in Tahiti in 2023 for a cruise through French Polynesia that was canceled after one night.)
View from our balcony at Le Tahiti just before dawn.
So, if you can get to the viewpoint (which used to be in the now-closed park by the hotel, but was relocated to a tricky-to-access hill across the road) the view SHOULD be good. But the hill isn’t that high and it was raining when we finally found it, so I didn’t see much and I’m not entirely convinced it’s still a good stop. (If you get there, let me know what you think!)
Point Venus
In 2009 we weren’t planning to stop at Point Venus, but we knew it would give us a good view of Mo’orea and the turn-off was well-marked. So, why not?
View over Tahiti to Mo’orea from the beach at Venus Point on a gorgeous day in 2009.
Yeah, Tahiti’s northernmost point offered a stunning view over Tahiti to Mo’orea.
We didn’t have as lovely weather in 2023. (Mo’orea was mostly shrouded in haze, so the view wasn’t as impressive.) But now there is MUCH more to see and do at Point Venus!
Most of the area was closed in 2009. We could admire Tahiti’s only lighthouse, but everything else was a giant construction site with a few small boats stashed along the shore.
Tahiti’s only lighthouse in 2023. It ooks like it did 2009 – but now it’s in a lovely park!
Small boats rested in pockets along the beach in 2009. (Today there are more boats.)
But the mess we saw in 2009 resulted in gardens, shady paths, picnic areas, more areas to store and launch boats, and renewed monuments to various components of the island’s complex history. And the craft shop was now open!
Tropical landscaping at Venus Point.
The craft shop at Venus Point uses traditional Polynesian architectural forms.
Venus Point got its name because this is where Captain James Cook observed the transit of Venus in 1769. (A big deal — and a big failure — at the time.) But others came ashore here as well, including Captain Samuel Wallis (the first European to arrive on Tahiti) in 1767 and the crew of the Bounty in 1788. (Few of the Bounty’s crew were eager to leave Tahtiti and the mutineers later made a brief return. On their return visit, some chose to remain on Tahiti, while the rest kidnapped women from the island and fled to Pitcairn.) Less than a decade later, the London Missionary Society arrived and massive changes in island life and culture began.
Monuments on the site commemorate these events.
Memorializing the crew of the Bounty and the Tahitians who — by choice or by trickery — joined them.
However, few people come here see the lighthouse, buy local crafts, or contemplate British expeditions and mutinies. Tahitians come to picnic, fish, row, and play on the beach. This is a community gathering place more than a tourist stop.
Venus Point still has plenty of small boats.
There are lots of modern outrigger canoes here now, but some of these look like the same boats I saw in 2009!
Access to the Papenoo Valley
If you really want to get to Tahiti’s beautiful heart, book a tour that will take you into the rugged Papenoo Valley.
(This is not a quick side trip you can easily make as a tourist. It requires a 4×4, a skilled and knowledgeable driver, and a lot of time. Book a tour if you want to see it.)
We did not venture into the Papenoo Valley on either trip. There wasn’t time (if you could even get back there) when we visited in 2009. In 2023 rain washed this off the “things to do list.” The Papenoo Valley is almost inaccessible even when the weather is dry; it’s even more difficult to visit when it’s wet.
Arahoho Blow Hole
There’s a turn-off to a parking area with an overlook along the sea just before the turn inland to go to Fa’aruma’i Waterfalls. On a day with rough seas water pounds into a cavern below the road and blasts up through the rocks along the shore like a geyser.
We’ve didn’t stop here on either trip. I suspect the seas were too calm in 2009. This time we just skipped it. (We’ve seen blow holes before.) But if the waves are good, this looks like a fun (wet) stop.
Fa’aruma’i waterfalls
You feel like you’ve stepped back in time a bit once you leave Point Venus and start driving south along the coast. But you really get that lost-in-time feeling once you are on the road to Fa’aruma’i waterfalls.
Both times we visited, this narrow road took us through a lush valley with a few homes and plenty of children and dogs. (Drive slowly.) Aside from a few modern vehicles along the road, this area probably looked pretty much the same 50 years ago.
The road into the Fa’aruma’i Waterfalls seems very far from the streets of Papeete.
The Fa’aruma’i Waterfalls actually refers to three separate waterfalls in the Fa’aruma’i Valley:
- Va’imahuta Falls is the easiest to get to and has a vertical drop of more than 260 feet (80 meters). This is the only one I’ve visited.
- Ha’amaremare Rahi falls nearly 320 feet (100 meters).
- Ha’amaremare Iti falls about 130 feet (40 meters).
The amount of water falling over all of these waterfalls varies depending on recent rains.
Va’imahuta Falls was flowing pretty well in 2009.
Fall 2023 was very wet, so Va’imahuta Falls had more small falls along the main waterfall.
An easy walk to Va’imahuta Falls
The Fa’aruma’i Waterfalls are at the center of a well-known ledgend and have long attracted both Tahitians and foreign visitors. It had ok paths when I visited in 2009, but the parking, paths, and signage were upgraded by the time I returned in 2023.
The path to Va’imahuta Falls begins with a neat little bridge.
The packed dirt paths I remember were improved, making for an easy stroll through the forest.
You know Va’imahuta Falls is nearby before you get there!
Photographers want close-up views of waterfalls!
Va’imahuta Falls starts up there somewhere!
In both 2009 and 2023 we largely had this beautiful place to ourselves as noisy groups quickly visited the waterfall, took their selfies, and then headed off to see the other waterfalls here while we enjoyed the sound of falling water in peace.
La cascade de Pape’ana’ana and Va’ihi Waterfalls
I haven’t been to either of these.
I wish I had known more about La cascade de Pape’ana’ana before this trip. This small waterfall is just off the road (across from a park) and has beautiful carvings cut into the rock around it. One site I found says it’s on private property, but no one else says that. If you stop, just be aware and, if there is a fence, stay out.
Vaihi Waterfalls is just a little farther south. A small waterfall is clearly visible from the road (at least from one direction), but there are more waterfalls hidden above it. We planned to stop at this one in 2023, but missed it after the rain started.
Belvédère de Taravao (Taravao Plateau Overlook)
Here’s another spot I missed, mostly because it was late in the day with impending rain. You get up here via a steep, winding road. But it looks well worth the drive on a clear day.
Plage de Tautira (Tautira Beach)
Before turning west to drive along Tahiti’s south coast (or retracing your route back to Papeete), continue on to Tahiti Iti (Little Tahiti). This is the last stop on your Tahiti east coast road trip and well worth a few extra miles.
The main “town” here is the beachy village of Tautira. It’s noted for surfing and outrigger canoe racing. While it looks like a lovely place to chill out for a week or a month, there aren’t a lot of tourist facilities here.
The exception is the large landscaped park on Tautira Point. While it offers a variety of recreational facilities mostly of interest to residents, you need to stop here! The park itself looked a little neglected in 2023, but the view from the beach absolutely cannot be beat.
View from the park looking toward the Vaitepiha Valley.
Tautira is also the end of the road.
Now you can retrace your east coast route back up to Papeete OR continue on across the south end of Tahiti and head back up to Papeete along Tahiti’s west coast.
West Coast road trip – coming soon!
Plan your road trip along Tahiti’s east coast
Driving Tahiti’s east coast is an easy day trip. Unless you get hung up in traffic leaving Papeete, you should be able to drive all the way down to the end of the road in Tautira in just over an hour. But you’ll need most of a day if you want to do more than make a few quick stops along the way.
Rent a car or book a tour?
A car gives you flexibility
Rental cars are usually abundant and relatively inexpensive in Papeete. You can find plenty of options at the airport, but you can also get cars through international and local agencies downtown. (We had a great experience renting from Avis in downtown Papeete. They even met us at the ferry terminal.) Automatic transmission vehicles are available, but harder to find and more expensive to rent. You’ll save money if you can drive a manual with a stick shift.
Driving in Tahiti is pretty straightforward for Americans, Canadians, and most Europeans as you drive on the right side of the road — just like you would in the rest of France or at home. Directional signs are generally in French, but international symbols are also used. Traffic in and to the southwest of Papeete is terrible, but the rest of the island is pretty quiet.
Tours take care of everything for you
As a photographer I like to go where I want and stop where, when, and for as long as I want. That means I’m not really a fan of group tours.
But if you want a guide or simply want to avoid driving in an unfamiliar place, consider booking a tour. I recommend supporting local businesses by booking directly with them. (Ask for a recommendation at your hotel or consult reviews online to find a good match.) However, if you can’t find something that works for you, Viator and Get Your Guide also offer a few half- or full-day tours that include some of the sights described on my driving tour of Tahiti’s east coast.
Eating along Tahiti’s east coast
Looking at the map, you may think you’ll just stop at some little village along the way for lunch whenever you get hungry. That is a bad idea. There are a few places to eat along the way. However, there are very few and many keep rather limited (and unpredictable) hours.
If you want to visit a cafe or restaurant, your best bet is Taravao. It’s located right where you either head further south to Tahiti Iti or turn west to follow Tahiti’s south shore. You’ll find a handful of restaurants here, at least one of which is likely to be open for lunch. But, even here, don’t expect a lot of options. And keep in mind that it can be difficult to find something open outside regular lunch and dinner hours.
A picnic is a better option. You’ll find lots of beautiful places to stop and eat whenever you are hungry.
It’s best to shop for your picnic items before you leave. But, if there isn’t a grocery store near your lodging, you can find a few along this route. (Local residents don’t eat in restaurants very often, but they do buy groceries regularly.) Options might be limited, but you should be able to find something along the way that is open and has good bread and a few things to go with it.
West Coast road trip – coming soon!
Tahiti looks like a paradise! Would love to be there right now!