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 are 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.
- Kayaks are free. We show you how they work first, children go out with a parent, and check in with the team before you set out: we will tell you the day's conditions.
- The Haapiti pass is a shallow reef break with current. Experienced surfers only, and never surf it alone.
- Humpback whales pass Moorea from August to October. Some days you can see them from the beach.
- Hire a car for two days at least. The ring road is 62 km; the wharf is 20 minutes away and the airport 30.
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 Kathy will cook dinner at the property if you ask before four in the afternoon, which is what most guests end up doing.
Closest to us, without leaving Haapiti: Snack Autea, opposite the Atiha basketball court, serves raw fish the owner catches locally and prepares on site, and will deliver to the door, though it closes on Sundays and Mondays. Daddy's Truck is a few minutes further along, just past the Chez Toa Vaiane store, and builds its burgers on local produce; order ahead at the weekend unless you like queueing.
Ten to fifteen minutes north, around the Petit Village and Tiahura, is where the real choice is. A l'Heure du Sud is a roulotte, which is what a food truck is called here, and it has a following: generous local cooking, vegetarian plates, and the Asian-style beef and the uru fries are the order. It fills up, so go early. Sea You Soon, which everyone calls Le QG, is at the Petit Village and is as much a bar as a kitchen, with an early happy hour and live music or karaoke often enough to be worth asking about. Casa Vincenzo does wood-fired pizza and fresh pasta, and takes reservations through its website or by email. Holy Délices sits by Legends Resort, with a lagoon view and a wine bar. On the way home, Les Sorbets de Moorea is on the ring road north of us, before you reach Hauru, and the tiare and mango sorbets are the ones to ask for.
A little further round at Papetoai: Taoahere Beach House looks over the lagoon from a quiet road behind the main one, with live music on Friday and Saturday evenings; Tropical Garden is up on the heights above Opunohu Bay, where the access road is an adventure and the Sunday Polynesian lunch is worth booking; and Snack Mahana is right on the water, generous, and cash only.
The one worth planning properly is Coco Beach, on a motu off Hauru, reached by boat and taking an afternoon; book it online well before you come, because that is the only way they take a table.
A word on which days things open, because the answer surprises people: Sunday is rarely the problem, most places are open. It is Monday that closes a few of them. And the good ones almost always want a reservation, often that morning for that evening. Tell us where you fancy and we will call 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 20 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, a little way along from the church. It opens from 5am to 7pm, every day of the year, Sundays and public holidays included. That 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. 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 a few minutes south of us Snack Autea will bring raw fish straight to the house, though not on Sundays or Mondays. Between them, and the kitchen you already have, 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 are on the property every day.
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 here every day. There are good places all along this coast, and we would rather you found the right one than the nearest one.
Boats, diving and getting out on the water
Most of what brings people to Moorea happens on the lagoon, and the boats leave from close by. Moorea Expedition goes from the Coco Beach dock, the nearest departure to us. Captain Taina and Moorea Deep Blue both run from Tiahura, ten minutes north, for lagoon tours, snorkelling stops and whale watching in season.
For diving, Nemo'z at Tiahura guides and teaches both scuba and freediving, and Moorea Blue Diving works the north coast from Maharepa. Two other things are worth knowing about. Corail Gardeners, over at Paopao, take guests out to plant coral on the reef they are restoring, and children remember it long after the snorkelling has blurred together. Lakana Fly teaches kitesurfing and wing-foiling in the flat water inside the reef.
On land, Tiki Parc at Papetoai is the answer to a wet afternoon with children: a treetop adventure park up the Route des Ananas. Several agencies run 4x4 trips into the interior, to the Belvédère and the pineapple plantations, and will collect you from the property. Bikes can be hired at Tiahura if you would rather take the coast road under your own steam.
Tell us what you fancy and we will make the booking. In season most operators want a day's notice.
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. Avis and Hertz are the two we rely on: they are the most dependable on the island, and the ones we point you towards. 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 beach.
Do I need a car if I stay in Haapiti?
Not every day. The beach, the shop and the church 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 Snack Autea, opposite the Atiha basketball court, which will deliver raw fish to the door except on Sundays and Mondays. We cook dinner here on request, ordered before four. For a real choice you drive ten to fifteen minutes north to Hauru: A l'Heure du Sud for local plates and uru fries, Casa Vincenzo for wood-fired pizza, Sea You Soon (Le QG) for a grill and live music, and Holy Délices for a lagoon view. Snack Mahana at Papetoai is on the water and takes cash only. Coco Beach sits on a motu off Hauru, reached by boat, and takes an afternoon. 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 are here every day.
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 the Fare Oaoa team, on site at PK 24 Haapiti every day.
Checked on the ground in August 2026, and every restaurant we name here is one we keep in our own guest guidebook. The shop's hours we stand behind. Restaurants are the moving part: nearly half close on Mondays and a handful on Sundays, so ask us before you set off.