AMasterpiece

Marché Municipale, Papeete’s public market, is a must-see slice of Tahitian life brimming with fruits, vegetables, meats and bakery goods. For souvenir hunters, popular items include coconut and vanilla products, shell and wood handicrafts, and the colorful, tie-dyed pareu, a wraparound sarong favored by resort guests.

The Gauguin Museum, next to the Botanical Garden, chronicles the Post-Impressionist’s life in the islands he called home from 1891 until his death in 1903. The Museum of Tahiti and Her Islands is a superb showcase of flora and fauna, culture and history.

Soon after landing on Tahiti and perhaps spending a night or two there, most visitors head to one of the other Society isles for a relaxing resort stay away from the hubbub. Your thatched bungalow might be on a palmstudded beach, in a tropical garden or perched above a crystal clear lagoon. Overwater villas, built on stilts over the coral reefs, are the most prized accommodations, featuring decks with steps that lead to a shallow lagoon; some units have glass floor panels for viewing marine life.

Islands like Moorea and Bora Bora are surrounded by protective barrier reefs that create calm lagoons ideal for diving and snorkeling. A crashing surf is usually not part of the picture. Excursions to the lagoons’ outlying motus (uninhabited islets) provide snorkel gear, lunch with wine, and most importantly, an escape from civilization. Four-wheel-drive expeditions explore the major islands’ lush, mountainous interiors.

Moorea, blessed with travel-poster scenery, is a favorite Hollywood backdrop, even for plots that don’t take place in the South Pacific. Its jagged peaks and spires reach into the clouds, forming a spiny, dinosaur-like profile. Belvedere lookout point affords panoramas of Moorea’s two great bays and valleys rich in breadfruit, pineapple, guava, mango and papaya. The coastline’s 36-mile circle road makes for a comfortable day trip, with time for stops in villages along the way.

Tiki Theatre Village, a key Moorea attraction, offers a sumptuous dinner buffet and Tahitian dancing, plus demonstrations of tapa-cloth making, tattooing and other crafts. Aside from dance shows, nighttime entertainment in the islands is limited.

Besides scuba diving and snorkeling among the reef-dwelling manta rays, turtles and iridescent fish, Moorea and Bora Bora hostelries offer a wide range of water sports. Choices range from kayaking and sailing to waterskiing and windsurfing. Traditional outrigger canoes are

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