Tahiti's jagged, green neighbour
Moorea lies just across the water from Tahiti, a short ferry ride away, and is one of the most beautiful islands in the Pacific. Its jagged volcanic peaks rise above Cook's Bay and Opunohu Bay, best seen together from the Belvedere Lookout. The lagoon is shallow and clear, with sandbanks where you can swim with stingrays and blacktip reef sharks, and humpback whales visit in the southern winter. Pineapple plantations and walking trails fill the valleys inland.