Things to do around Haapiti, our corner of Moorea

Surf the pass out front, kayak a lagoon flat enough for children, drive up to the Belvédère, walk the pass at Trois Cocotiers, eat at Hauru. We live here, on the sand at PK 23,9 in Haapiti on the quiet west side of Moorea. The reef is a few hundred metres out. Here is what we actually tell guests: what you can reach on foot or by kayak, where to buy food, how the surf really works, how to get here, and how to pick a place to stay on this coast.

What is right here on our beach

Step off your terrace and you are on the sand. The lagoon here is shallow and protected by the reef, so it stays calm most days: easy water for swimming, and easy for children. Our kayaks are free. We show you how they work before your first outing, children go out with a parent, and we ask you to tell us if you are heading past the reef. Take one along the shore in the morning, or out towards the reef when the wind drops. A mask and fins go in the same direction.

There is a pool, and a jacuzzi on the beach where most people end up at sunset. Breakfast is included and we serve it here. The Haapiti church, the Église de la Sainte-Famille, is a short walk up the road: two coral bell towers, built in the 1890s, and worth seeing before dinner.

The Haapiti pass: surfing from our beach

Straight out from our beach is the Haapiti pass, a gap in the barrier reef, and the left that breaks on it is the reason surfers find us. You can watch the sets from the sand with a coffee.

It wants a south or south west swell, and an easterly blowing off the land holds it up. The best of it arrives in the austral winter, roughly April to October, with flat weeks in between.

Then there is the reef itself. A pass wave means shallow coral, a quick take-off and current running out through the gap. Surfers who already know reef passes have a very good time here. If your experience is beach breaks, this is not the wave to learn on, and we would rather say so now. There is more on all of it further down: the paddle out, the current, and what we tell surfers who write to us.

The lagoon, snorkelling and whales

Because the reef does the work, snorkelling here is a swim rather than an expedition. There are hundreds of reef fish species in Moorea's lagoon and you do not have to go far to meet plenty of them.

The surf pass and the water where dolphins come in are both straight out from our beach, not a drive away. Humpback whales pass Moorea from August to October, close enough to the reef that in a good year you hear them before you see them. Rays turn up too. We will not promise you any of it: they are wild animals with their own plans.

Lookouts and hikes: Belvédère, Magic Mountain, Trois Cocotiers

The Belvédère de 'Opunohu is the view people come to Moorea for. From 240 metres up you look down on both north coast bays, Cook's Bay and 'Opunohu, with Mount Rotui in the middle. You drive the whole way, about half an hour from us. The valley below is full of marae, the old stone worship platforms.

From that same valley a path climbs to the Col des Trois Cocotiers, a pass at 385 metres between Mou'aroa and Tohiea, up through mape forest and fern slopes. Around an hour each way. Wear shoes.

Magic Mountain, the lookout above Papetoai, is the other one guests ask about. Access there is not always open to everyone, so check locally before you drive up. On the far side of the island, the Belvédère de To'atea looks over the Temae lagoon towards Tahiti. Inland behind Afareaitu there is a waterfall that runs hard after rain and thin when it has not. Ask us for the turning.

Eating around Haapiti

No restaurant strip out here, which is part of the point. The grocery is across the road, and there is a smoothie stand and a pizza roulotte a couple of minutes away for the evenings when nobody wants to drive. We can also cook dinner for you here, which is what most guests end up doing.

For any real choice you take the car north. The first cluster is at Hauru, about fifteen minutes up the coast: Le Lézard Jaune and La Paillote side by side, and Holy Steak House for when someone in the group has had enough raw fish. A little further round at Papetoai, Snack Mahana sits right on the water.

The one worth planning properly is Coco Beach, out on a motu off Hauru: you go by boat and it takes an afternoon. Further round near Cook's Bay, Rudy's and Moz Café are both worth the trip, but that is a forty minute drive each way. Opening days move around out here, so tell us where you fancy eating and we will book the table for you.

The rest of Moorea, and getting around

Moorea is small: one paved road, 62 kilometres, all the way round. Take a car for a couple of days at least, because taxis are thin and the bus is not built for visitors.

Nearest of the island's set pieces to us is the Tiki Village, ten minutes up the coast, with Polynesian dance and an evening show. They do not open every day, so check before you go. Tiahura, about fifteen minutes north, is the closest of the island's public beaches. On the east side, Temae has the big one and the To'atea lookout sits just above it. Ta'ahiamanu, on 'Opunohu Bay, is an easy stop if you are already up that way for the Belvédère.

The road is one lane each way for most of the circuit, with people walking along it, dogs on it and pickups stopping without warning. Nobody drives fast here and there is no reason to. Scooters and bicycles are fine for short hops along our stretch, though the full 62 kilometres is a long day on a bike in this sun.

Getting to Haapiti, and how long it takes

Haapiti has no airport and no ferry wharf of its own. Everyone arrives on the other side of the island and drives round, which sounds worse than it is: no two places on Moorea are much more than forty minutes apart.

Almost everyone comes by boat. Aremiti runs the crossing from Papeete to Vaiare, about thirty minutes, several times a day, and the published fare is 2,350 XPF for an adult visitor. From the wharf it is roughly 25 minutes by road to our gate at PK 23,9. The alternative is the short hop by air into Temae, the small airport on the north east corner, about 30 minutes away.

The one thing to plan around is the night. There are no ferries in the small hours, and long haul flights into Tahiti tend to land late. Land after the last boat and you sleep on Tahiti and cross in the morning, which is worth knowing before you book the flight, not after.

Set a phone to -17.561682, -149.871232 and it will bring you to our gate. Côté mer means the sea side of the road, which is the side we are on, and out here that is the address: there are no street numbers. Send us your flight number or the boat you mean to catch and we will have a taxi waiting at the wharf, or a rental car ready if you would rather drive. Our getting to Moorea guide has the fares, the operators and the timings in full.

Buying food: the shop across the road

There is a shop across the road from us, Magasin Yilian, at PK 24 on the mountain side, between the church and the pizza roulotte. It opens early, and it is why nobody here has to plan breakfast the night before. Bread, water, cold drinks, beer, ice, tinned and dry basics, and phone credit if you want a local top up. It is a village shop, not a supermarket: stock is what it is on the day, and hours move. For a full trolley you take the car north, and we will tell you which of the bigger stores is worth the drive.

Every one of our six Fare has its own kitchen, which is what makes any of this useful. People here really do cook: fish, a chicken, pasta for tired children. Breakfast is included every morning, so it is only dinner you are ever thinking about.

Two minutes along the road there is a smoothie stand, and Family Pizza, the roulotte at PK 24 that also does burgers and crêpes and will deliver to the house. Between them they cover the evenings when nobody wants to get back in the car. Stalls along the coast road sell fruit, better than anything sitting in a chiller cabinet.

The pharmacy is up the coast at Tiahura, opposite the public beach, about fifteen minutes north of us.

Surfing the pass: what surfers ask us

The short version is further up this page. Here is the long one, because surfers write to us with the same questions every year.

What is it. A left that breaks on the barrier reef at the pass, straight out from our sand. It is the best known wave on Moorea and a serious one: fast, hollow when it is on, and it holds size. Small days are a fun wall. Big days are not for learning anything on.

When. April to October, broadly, on a south or south west swell with an easterly holding it up. Some weeks inside that window are flat and the odd week outside it is not. We read the forecast like everyone else, then we look at the water.

The paddle. This is the bit people underestimate. The wave breaks out at the reef, not off the beach, so getting there is a proper paddle rather than a walk into the shorebreak. Go with somebody. Plenty of people take a boat instead.

The reef. Shallow coral, a quick take-off, and current running out through the gap. That current helps you get out and it is the thing to think about on the way back in. No lifeguard, no patrol boat, and help is not close. Never surf it alone, and if you are here on your own, tell us where you are going.

Who it suits, and the manners. Surfers who arrive with reef pass experience get a lot out of this wave. If you have only surfed beach breaks, learn somewhere else on the island and come back to this one another year: we would rather say that now than fish you off the reef later. This is also a local wave, ridden by people who grew up on it. Get there early, watch a couple of sets, say hello, wait your turn.

Staying in Haapiti: choosing a place on this coast

Most people do not pick Haapiti first and then pick a house. They have booked somewhere out here already and are working out what to do with the week, which is most of why we wrote this page. If you are still deciding, here is what genuinely varies along this stretch of road.

Which side of the road. Addresses here are a PK number followed by côté mer or côté montagne: sea side or mountain side. Côté mer means you walk out of the door onto sand. Côté montagne means crossing the road to reach water, and it is worth asking what you reach when you get there.

What the water in front is like. The lagoon changes inside a few hundred metres. Some stretches are sand, shallow and warm. Others are rock, or thick with seagrass, or drop away faster than you want with a five year old in your hand. Ask for a photograph taken from the water rather than from a drone.

Whether there is a kitchen. No restaurant strip out here means that without somewhere to cook you are driving for every meal, and the nearest of those drives is fifteen minutes each way.

Whether anybody is there. Some places on this coast are hosted and some are let remotely with a key box, and neither is wrong. But a question about the swell, a table on a Saturday night or a doctor at eight in the evening gets answered differently by a family who live on site.

Whether it fits your group. Bedrooms spread across separate units suit some families and split others up.

So you know where we stand: six Fare on the beach sleeping twenty four between them, one of which is a four bedroom Main House with its own pool. A kitchen and air conditioning in every one, fibre wifi, breakfast every morning, free kayaks, a pool, a jacuzzi on the sand, and the two of us living here. There are good places all along this coast, and we would rather you found the right one than the nearest one.

Questions we get asked about Haapiti

How do you get around Moorea from Haapiti?

By car, realistically. One paved road runs 62 kilometres around the island and everything sits on it. Taxis exist but they are thin on this coast and not cheap, and there is no bus network built for visitors. Most guests hire a car at the wharf or the airport, or we have one waiting at the house. Scooters and bicycles do fine for short hops along our stretch. If you would rather not drive we can arrange transfers, and a fair amount of Haapiti is walkable: the shop, the church, the roulotte, the beach.

Do I need a car if I stay in Haapiti?

Not every day. The beach, the shop, the church and something to eat are all a few minutes on foot, so a day of doing nothing needs no car at all. The Belvédère, Cook's Bay, the restaurants at Hauru and the east coast beaches all do. What we suggest for a week: take a car for two or three days, do your outings in those, and give the rest of the time back to the lagoon. Hiring for part of a stay is normal here and we can set it up.

Where can you eat in Haapiti?

On our stretch there is a smoothie stand and Family Pizza, the roulotte at PK 24, which delivers. We cook dinner here on request. For a real choice you drive fifteen minutes north to Hauru: Le Lézard Jaune and La Paillote side by side, and Holy Steak House. Snack Mahana at Papetoai is on the water. Coco Beach sits on a motu off Hauru, reached by boat, and takes an afternoon. Rudy's and Moz Café near Cook's Bay are worth the forty minute drive. Opening days move, so tell us where you fancy going and we will call ahead.

Is the lagoon at Haapiti safe for children?

It is about as good as lagoon water gets for small children: shallow, held calm by the reef a few hundred metres out, and warm. Children walk into it off the sand. It is still open water with no lifeguard, so the ordinary rules hold: somebody watching, reef shoes for coral and the odd urchin, and nobody drifting towards the pass, where the current runs out. Children take a kayak with a parent, and we show everyone how they work before the first outing.

When is the best time of year to come to Haapiti?

May to October is drier and cooler, with steadier trade winds and clearer water. August is the busiest and books a long way ahead. November to April is warm and green and wetter, with rain that usually arrives hard and leaves quickly, and it falls inside the official South Pacific cyclone season, 1 November to 30 April, so insure the trip. Two things pin the calendar: humpback whales pass Moorea from August to October, and the surf on the pass is at its best from about April to October.

Can you surf Haapiti if you are not an experienced surfer?

Honestly, no. The wave breaks over shallow coral at the pass, the current runs out through the gap and the paddle is long. It suits surfers who already know reef passes. That is not us being precious, it is the reef. Learn somewhere else on the island and come back to this one later. You lose nothing meanwhile: watching a good day from the sand with a coffee is one of the better things about staying here, and the lagoon inside the reef is yours all week.

Ask us. We live here.

The good part about staying with a family instead of a hotel is that you can ask a real question and get a real answer. Which day the swell is coming. Which snack is open on a Sunday. Whether the Belvédère is worth the drive in the rain. Kathy and Franck are on site all week. Book direct and just ask us.

Written by Kathy and Franck, who live on the beach at PK 23,9 in Haapiti.

Checked on the ground in July 2026. Opening days move around out here, so ask us before you set off.