Moorea is a thirty-minute ferry from Tahiti and it looks nothing like it. The island is the eroded remains of a volcano, with a jagged ridge running across it and two deep bays cut into the northern coast — Cook's Bay and Opunohu Bay — separated by a headland with a lookout on it.
Those bays are the reason people come here rather than staying on Tahiti. They are steep-sided, green to the waterline, and Mount Rotui rises 899 metres between them.
Bays or ring road
Moorea has one road around the island, about 60 kilometres, and the accommodation sits either on the northern bays or along the flatter western and northeastern coast.
The bays, Cook's and Opunohu, have the drama: mountains straight out of the water, calm protected anchorages and the pineapple fields inland. They have less beach.
The northwest coast, around Hauru Point and Tiahura, has the sand, the lagoon swimming, the overwater bungalows and the snorkelling. It has the view of Mount Rotui rather than being underneath it.
The northeast, around Temae, has the best natural beach on the island and the airport.
The honest constraint on this article: Moorea has a small number of hotels at four or five stars. Much of the island's accommodation is pensions, family guest houses and rental bungalows, which is part of its appeal and which this guide does not cover. It was planned at seven and it is five.
The northwest coast
The lagoon, the beaches and the overwater bungalows.
Sofitel Kia Ora Moorea Beach Resort occupies a stretch of the northwest lagoon with overwater bungalows, a beach and a garden of palms, with Mount Rotui across the water. It is the most complete resort on the island.
Sofitel Kia Ora Moorea Beach Resort
Northwest lagoon · 5★ · $$$$
Overwater bungalows with Mount Rotui across the water
Check availabilityHilton Moorea Lagoon Resort & Spa sits at Hauru Point with overwater and garden bungalows, two pools, a spa on a small islet and the best snorkelling of the resorts.
Hilton Moorea Lagoon Resort & Spa
Hauru Point · 5★ · $$$$
A spa on its own islet and the best snorkelling here
Check availabilityManava Beach Resort & Spa Moorea occupies a beachfront position on the same coast with overwater bungalows, a pool and rates well below the two above.
Manava Beach Resort & Spa Moorea
Northwest coast · 4★ · $$$
Overwater bungalows well below neighbouring rates
Check availabilityCook's Bay
The eastern bay, under the ridge.
Cook's Bay Hotel and Suites sits on Cook's Bay with rooms and suites looking across the water at the mountains, a pool and a small beach. The setting is the product and the swimming is from a dock.
Cook's Bay Hotel and Suites
Cook's Bay · 4★ · $$$
Rooms facing the ridge across the bay
Check availabilityThe hills
Le Fare Tianee, Résidence Légends, BEST VIEW occupies a hillside above the northwest coast with villas, each with a private pool, looking down over the lagoon and across to Tahiti. It is the best value on the island for space.
Le Fare Tianee, Résidence Légends, BEST VIEW
Above the northwest coast · 4★ · $$$
Hillside villas with private pools over the lagoon
Check availabilityWhat we have left off
The pensions de famille are excluded and they are the heart of how French Polynesia accommodates visitors: family-run, inexpensive, often on the water, and the best way to meet anyone. They are guest houses rather than hotels.
The overwater villa rentals along the northwest coast are also excluded.
What to do
Drive or cycle the ring road, which takes a couple of hours with stops and passes both bays.
Go up to the Belvedere lookout, which sits on the ridge between Cook's and Opunohu bays with the marae archaeological sites on the way. It is the view of Moorea.
Snorkel the lagoon. The stingray and blacktip shark shallows off the northwest coast are a standard boat trip and the animals are entirely used to people.
Whales pass between roughly July and November and humpbacks come inside the reef here, which is unusual and means they can be seen from shore.
Hike the Three Coconut Trees pass or the Rotui ridge with a guide, and buy pineapple and vanilla from the roadside stands inland.
Practical notes
The ferry from Papeete takes thirty minutes and runs frequently; there is also a seven-minute flight. Most visitors take the boat and arrange a transfer from Vaiare.
May to October is the dry season, cooler and less humid, and the best window. November to April is warmer, wetter and inside the cyclone risk period.
French Polynesia is expensive. Almost everything is imported and restaurant prices reflect it. A hire car for a day or two is worth it.
Explore 4 & 5 Star Moorea Hotels
Questions people actually ask
Moorea or Bora Bora?
Bora Bora for the lagoon and the overwater bungalow experience. Moorea for the mountains, the accessibility and considerably lower prices. Many trips do both.
Why are there so few hotels?
Most of Moorea's accommodation is family pensions and rental bungalows rather than hotels, which is a large part of the island's character.
Bays or beach coast?
The bays for the scenery, the northwest for the swimming and the bungalows. They are twenty minutes apart.
How many nights?
Four, or three as part of a longer French Polynesia trip.