Visiting Huahine, Tahaʻa, and Raiatea

We left Moorea on the afternoon of 6 July 2026 and were in Avea Bay at daybreak. We left the Taha’a pass for Bora Bora on 23 July. The visa from Nuku Hiva ran out on 31 July.

Most of this circulates by word of mouth among cruisers. We pulled it together, organized it, and share it free. It is not official guidance, so don’t rely on it as such.

Things to do on Huahine, Tahaʻa, and Raiatea From Some Tuesday

Huahine

Fare, the main town, was fine for a few days of provisioning. Hotel Le Mahana is a dinghy ride from Avea Bay. Baie de Faie is where the sacred eels are, the puhi tari’a, blue eyes, up to a couple of meters. A local feeds them mackerel.

Tahaʻa and Raiatea

Tahaʻa smells like vanilla in the bays. One vanilla farm had empty moorings. The owner didn’t want a tour, so we left. On Raiatea, Uturoa’s Carrefour is a short walk, and a dock café did coffee and a sandwich, the first café since Tahiti. This was the last big grocery stop before Maupiti and the Cook Islands.

Huahine From Some Tuesday

Overnight from Moorea I tried to catch Sailing Solis. They had left about an hour ahead. I could not close a gap of about five miles. At daybreak they looked about three miles away on AIS, only because they had already gone through the Huahine pass and turned south inside the reef. The Windward Society Islands.

Avea Bay is the southwest corner. The first hook went down in about 16 feet, on the edge of a mile of sand. The wind shifted, both keels touched lightly, and we moved about 100 feet. No damage beyond a little sand on the keels. Blacktips in the shallows. Hotel Le Mahana is a dinghy ride. We scrubbed the waterline and cleaned the bottom there. Fare, the main town, was fine for a few days of provisioning.

Then outside the reef, around the north end, into Maroe Bay, and south to the Motu Muhimaroa moorings. It blew 28 knots from the south and the water behind the reef was glass. We were alone for four days. Those were our first moorings of the trip, and most of the others were empty.

Baie de Faie is where the sacred eels are, the puhi tari’a, blue eyes, up to a couple of meters. A local feeds them mackerel. Even with the outboard tilted we hit coral twice and walked the dinghy. The quiet Leewards.

Taha’a and Raiatea From Some Tuesday

Taha’a smells like vanilla in the bays. We stopped at Motu Ceran and the Point Toamaro moorings. One vanilla farm had five empty moorings. The owner didn’t want a tour, a mooring, a radio, or a generator, so we left.

On the work days we tied to a public dock on Raiatea and went back to the Motu Ceran anchorage every night. The dock swell shoves the boat into the pier all day, and there are rat holes in the grass about ten feet inland. A boat had been damaged there, so we did not stay overnight. Uturoa’s Carrefour is a short walk, and a better boat shop than the one in Bora Bora, including an aisle of American goods. A dock café did coffee and a sandwich, the first café since Tahiti. This was the last big grocery stop before Maupiti and the Cook Islands. Strip the cardboard before it comes aboard. We learned that the hard way after Fakarava.

Also in this group: the Society Islands · Moorea · Bora Bora and Maupiha’a · Clearing in