World Travel Guides

French Polynesia
Tahiti

A guide to Tahiti and French Polynesia, featuring reviews of island resorts, hotels, restaurants and inns. It explores the water sports available, including scuba diving and whale- and dolphin-watching, as well as the land activities and where to go for the best Tahitian feasts.

From Antarctica to Zimbabwe, if you're going there, chances are Lonely Planet has been there first. With a pithy and matter-of-fact writing style, these guides are guaranteed to calm the nerves of first-time world travelers, while still listing off-the-beaten-path finds sure to thrill even the most jaded globetrotters. Lonely Planet has been perfecting its guidebooks for nearly 30 years and as a result, has the experience and know-how similar to an older sibling's "been there" advice. The original backpacker's bible, the LP series has recently widened its reach. While still giving insights for the low-budget traveler, the books now list a wide range of accommodations and itineraries for those with less time than money.

If the magical islands of French Polynesia are on your itinerary, here is the perfect traveling companion. Its 29 maps highlight 4WD vehicle tracks, walking routes, and dive sites. The guide features a thorough history section, food section, accommodations for any budget, and useful Tahitian and French language sections. This book also includes all the archipelagos: the Societies, Tuamotus, Marquesas, Australs, and Gambiers--with extensive information in inter-island travel. The authors have personally tested all of the dive sites. --Kathryn True

Each guide in the This Way series offers information on the highlights of not only the world's most popular tourist regions, but also more unusual destinations such as Crete, Tahiti, and Istanbul. Designed to provide the maximum of cultural, historical, and practical information in a minimum space, each guide offers a variety of street, subway, and regional maps. From cosmopolitan cities and towering skyscrapers to small villages and natural wonders, each guide is filled with valuable recommendations and addresses for monuments, parks, markets, restaurants, and cafs, whether for a weekend getaway or an extended adventure.

Combining unique travel choices, outdoor adventures, and little-known locales into guides where vacations meet adventures, each title in the Hidden series also offers readers the comfort of detailed maps, internet information for each listing, author picks, suggested itineraries, and walking and driving tours. Hidden Tahiti and French Polynesia is the ultimate insider's guide to the wonders of this South Pacific paradise. Whether your dream island vacation includes a stay at a top resort like the Hotel Bora Bora, where the accommodations are thatched bungalows perched on stilts above a calm lagoon, or an escape to a local inn like Pension Papahani, where owner Vilna Tuheiaua adorns each room with home-grown flowers and her brother Tehu serenades the guests with Tahitian songs, Hidden Tahiti and French Polynesia will lead you to adventures above and below the water. Information on 74 diving sites, 35 swimming spots, 21 snorkeling areas, 30 surfing breaks and 41 tropical hiking trails is included. The guide also features numerous cultural attractions, from ancient Polynesian temples and traditional tattoo parlors, to the Gauguin Museum and black pearl shops.

Tahiti Report 2003 is a completely updated guide to the Island of Love and its sister island, Moorea; the Bali Hai of the South Pacific. Some of the highlights: Kilometer by kilometer tours around both islands. Latest information on cruise ships to the outer islands, scuba diving, deep-sea fishing, sports, and helicopter trips. An exciting tour by 4x4 through the jungles of Tahiti s interior. A list of luxury resorts, budget and dormitory accommodations. Calendar of events for 2003. Weird tales of tikis that kill when moved. Sex and the Tahitian vahine past and present. Flying saucers that use caves in the hills for their hangers. A list of things to do on these fascinating islands. Entertaining reading, too, for the armchair traveler.

Pre-order only - Will be released October 2003

A sweeping cluster of archipelagoes tossed into the Pacific like a handful of pears, French Polynesia is the dream of millions of tourists and thousands of divers: the clearness of its waters, the richness of its sea beds, and the diversity of its sea flora and fauna make the 115 islands--amazing coral or volcanic atolls-an underwater paradise.

Full-color, three-dimensional maps of each dive site offer what no book has ever before provided: the information needed to plan your dive down to the last detail. You can review the exact layout of the site--including depths, sizes, and distances between reefs and wrecks or any hazards--and even the lighting conditions for optimum underwater photography. -The short chapters covering the 27 dives in this book provide crucial data bout depths, currents, water variables, and plant and animal life, and each book ends with a full-color visual encyclopedia of the most common fish that inhabit the area.

Tahiti, Morea, Bora Bora - names that evoke warm South Pacific fantasies. French Polynesia boasts legendary topside beauty and a variety of diving adventures. Join a shark feed, swim with manta rays or snorkel alongside humpback whales. Pelagic encounters top a list of underwater highlights, including dramatic topography, prolific marine life and even a few shipwrecks. From the ripping passes at Rangiroa to the sheltered lagoon of the Society Islands, this book details nearly 50 of French Polynesia's best sites, with full-colour photos throughout.

You'll get specific information on:

• Dive site topography and conditions
• Diving services and live-aboards
• Common and hazardous marine life
• Topside attractions from Polynesian dancing to pearl farms
• 14 easy-to-read maps