The 5 best destinations you can visit on a Paul Gauguin Cruises ship
For a line with just one ship, Paul Gauguin Cruises offers a wide range of itineraries.
The cruise line's single vessel (the 330-passenger Paul Gauguin) only operates in one region, the South Pacific, yet it often boasts a sailing schedule that includes nearly a dozen different itineraries.
The voyages range in length from seven to 16 nights and touch a variety of destinations, from the iconic South Pacific island getaways of Tahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora (all part of the Society Islands) to the far-flung islands of the Marquesas island chain and the Tuamotus.
Occasionally, the Tahiti-based Paul Gauguin will sail across the Pacific to Australia, Indonesia or even Singapore. Voyages to the Cook Islands and, at times, sailings to Fiji are also on the ship's schedule.
Indeed, no other cruise ship or line offers as diverse an array of South Pacific cruise itineraries — and it's been that way for years. While it's a relatively small brand, Paul Gauguin Cruises has long been the leader in South Pacific cruising.
Here, we offer our picks for the five best destinations you can visit on a Paul Gauguin Cruises ship.
Tahiti and the Society Islands
At the core of the Paul Gauguin cruise schedule are sailings that focus on the Society Islands. This cluster of 118 islands and atolls includes some of the most stunning and best-known islands of the South Pacific, such as Tahiti, where the ship is based, as well as Moorea and Bora Bora.
The sprawling archipelago is known for being the hideaway for the line's namesake, the artist Paul Gauguin. Other artists and writers who spent time in the islands include Henri Matisse, Herman Melville and James Michener.
Seven-night "Tahiti & the Society Islands" sailings out of Tahiti to the islands of Moorea, Bora Bora, Huahine and Taha'a are at the core of the Paul Gauguin Cruises schedule.
Each of these stops in the Society Islands, which are part of French Polynesia, offers something different.
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The voyages include an overnight stay in Moorea, which boasts a postcard-perfect backdrop with lush, soaring mountains rising from the sea. During the visit to Bora Bora, passengers have access to an exclusive white-sand beach set up for volleyball, snorkeling, kayaking and paddle boarding. Alternatively, they can head off across the island on an optional four-wheel-drive safari.
During the stop at Taha'a, passengers can spend the day at Motu Mahana, Paul Gauguin Cruises' private islet, complete with white-sand beaches, swaying palm trees, a barbecue lunch, drinks served in coconuts and a floating lagoon bar. Laid-back Huahine is home to some of French Polynesia's best-preserved archeological sites and a lagoon famous for its snorkeling.
A second seven-night Society Islands-focused itinerary, dubbed "More Society Islands & Tahiti," adds a stop at the island of Raiatea, the ancestral homeland of the Maori people. Among highlights of the call is a visit to the UNESCO-listed Marae Taputapuatea archaeological site.
The Marquesas Islands
For an even more in-depth exploration of French Polynesia, Paul Gauguin Cruises offers longer, two-week sailings that combine an exploration of the Society Islands with a journey more than 800 miles northeast to the little-visited Marquesas Islands.
Among the most remote islands on Earth, the Marquesas are true island paradises home to fewer than 10,000 people. They offer a landscape of rugged, natural beauty that hides historically important archaeological ruins and ancient petroglyphs.
The "Marquesas, Tuamotus & Society Islands" sailings, as Paul Gauguin Cruises calls these voyages, include stops at four of the best-known islands in the Marquesas.
These include Hiva Oa, where a stunning landscape of deep valleys, rugged peaks and dense velvet rainforests harbors the burial place of artist Paul Gauguin and large stone sculptures linked to the famed tikis of Easter Island.
Before arriving at Hiva Oa, Paul Gauguin will visit Fatu Hiva, the southernmost island in the chain. The spectacularly beautiful island has just 500 residents and is particularly known for jungle greenery that begins right at the water's edge, sheer cliffs and deep, indigo waters.
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At the small leaf-shaped volcanic island of Tahuata, which is home to just 600 residents, passengers will be welcomed into the main village of Hapatoni, where the locals create hand-carved tikis to sell to visitors.
A fourth stop, Nuku Hiva, is the most populated and biggest island in the archipelago (in all of French Polynesia, only Tahiti is bigger). It offers adventure touring options, including a guided hike to hidden valleys and exploration by 4x4 vehicles.
This itinerary also includes a single visit to Fakarava in the Tuamotus (an island on the way to the Marquesas).
The Tuamotus
Yet another set of French Polynesian islands visited on select Paul Gauguin Cruises sailings is the Tuamotus, also known as the Tuamotu Islands.
Located hundreds of miles to the northeast of Tahiti, the Tuamotus are a relatively sparsely populated collection of 80 low-lying islands and atolls spread over an area roughly the size of Western Europe. Heavily made up of atolls — it has more in one area than anywhere else in the world — it's known as a place of translucent lagoons surrounded by vibrant coral reefs teeming with diverse marine life.
As noted above, the line's main Marquesas Islands itinerary, the 14-night "Marquesas, Tuamotus & Society Islands" itinerary, includes a day visiting the Tuomotus island of Fakarava.
But Paul Gauguin Cruises also offers two more specialized itineraries — an 11-night "Society Islands & Tuamotus" and a 10-night "More Society Islands & Tuomotus" routing — that include visits to a second major island of the Tuomotus: Rangiroa.
Known as a diver's paradise, Rangiroa offers passengers the chance to dive in Rangiroa's famed lagoon, which draws divers from around the world for its diverse array of tropical fish, sharks, rays, turtles and dolphins.
Other popular outings available to visitors include a tour of a local black pearl farm, a visit to a local village (Avatoru) and an excursion to the only winery in French Polynesia (the Dominique Auroy Winery).
Unspoiled Fakarava is known as a sanctuary for rare birds, plants and crustaceans and is designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. There, visitors can spot wildlife during strolls on the island's beaches and also take in local villages, ancient temples and spectacular churches made from coral.
The Cook Islands
A few times every year, Paul Gauguin Cruises offers a long-distance voyage from Tahiti to the far-off Cook Islands, a cluster of 15 islands that is its own country while also in free association with New Zealand.
The 11-night "Cook Islands & Society Islands" itinerary pairs visits to several of the best-known islands in the Society Islands grouping (Huahine, Bora Bora, Taha'a and Moorea) with stops at two of the Cook Islands' best-known islands: Rarotonga and Aitutaki.
Located more than 700 miles southwest of Tahiti, the Cook Islands is known for its diverse scenery, and these two island getaways won't disappoint in that regard.
In Rarotonga, passengers will find jagged peaks and deep, fertile valleys. Visitors can take in the views on a tour with a well-known local, Pa, or a drive around the island on a rented scooter.
Aitutaki, by contrast, is a low-lying island home to one of the world's most spectacular lagoons. During this stop, excursions include a trip to what's known as One Foot Island, a spit of palm tree-lined sand in the middle of Aitutaki's stunning blue lagoon.
Cross-Pacific sailings
In addition to all the above, Paul Gauguin Cruises occasionally offers sailings even further afield to the islands of Fiji, Tonga and Melanesia, or clear across the Pacific to Australia, Indonesia and even Singapore.
Only offered every couple of years, these sailings often coincide with a scheduled dry dock for the line's one vessel, Paul Gauguin, and are some of the most unusual itineraries available in the South Pacific.
A 16-night "Crossing Melanesia: Australia to Fiji" sailing from Darwin, Australia, planned for April, for instance, brings stops at Australia's remote Thursday Island, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands (for a stop at Guadalcanal, site of a six-month-long World War II battle that changed the course of the war) and the island nation of Vanuatu before ending in Fiji.
Highlights include experiencing the culture of the Milne Bay people during a stop at the town of Alotau in Papua New Guinea.
In Vanuatu, two stops offer a chance to visit the country's iconic Champagne Beach, known for its effervescent "bubbles," and swim in crystal-clear waters.
Bottom line
Paul Gauguin Cruises offers the most diverse array of itineraries in the South Pacific of any cruise brand, with nearly a dozen itineraries that can get you to the Society Islands (home to such iconic destinations as Tahiti, Bora Bora and Moorea), the Marquesas Islands, the Tuomotus and the Cook Islands. Some sailings go as far as Fiji or even Australia. If you're looking to explore the South Pacific in depth, there is perhaps no better choice than a sailing with Paul Gauguin Cruises.
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