Trip readiness checklist for French Polynesia

What to pack

French Polynesia is 118 islands, five archipelagos and one overwater bungalow in every honeymoon photo. Pack for sun, coral and a Sunday when everything closes.

• Reef-safe sunscreen

  The lagoons are shallow and the sun is equatorial. Mineral formulas, reapplied, and a rash guard for the long snorkelling sessions.

• Water shoes

  Coral, sea urchins and stonefish all live in the shallows. Covered feet for every lagoon entry that is not from a bungalow ladder.

• Mosquito repellent

  Dengue circulates year-round and the mosquitoes bite in daylight. Repellent on, every morning, especially on the greener islands like Moorea.

• A pareo

  The local wrap works as a skirt, a towel, a shawl for the ferry and a cover-up for town. Buy one in Papeete's market on day one and wear it all trip.

When to go

May to October is the dry season and peak, with July's Heiva festival in Papeete the cultural high point and the resorts fullest from June to August. November to April is warmer, wetter and cheaper, with cyclone risk from January to March. May, June, September and October are the sweet spot: dry, calm and a little less expensive.

Money & getting around

French Polynesia uses the Pacific franc (XPF), pegged to the euro at about 120 to one. Cards work at resorts, in Papeete and on the main islands; the outer islands and small pensions want cash, and ATMs run out. Tipping is not customary and is sometimes politely declined. Between islands it is Air Tahiti flights or, for Moorea, the half-hour ferry from Papeete. Everything is expensive; budget as for Switzerland with better beaches.

Local quirks worth knowing

The islands are French in their bread and Polynesian in everything else, with a gentleness that visitors mistake for slowness. It is not slow; it is correct.

• Ia ora na and mauruuru

  Hello and thank you in Tahitian. Everyone speaks French and the resorts speak English, but the two Tahitian words change how you are received.

• Sunday is church and family

  Shops, many restaurants and most of Papeete close. Stock up Saturday, and if you are invited to a Sunday meal, say yes.

• The flower behind the ear means something

  Left ear, taken; right ear, available. Wear it wherever you like, but now you know what you are saying.

• Shoes off indoors, cover up in town

  Pensions and homes are shoes-off at the door, and swimwear belongs on the beach or the boat, not in the market.

• The pace is the point

  Service is unhurried, ferries leave when they leave, and the fruit stand may be closed because it is a nice afternoon. Fighting it loses every time.

A week in French Polynesia, the list starts here

Quantities scale with your dates, the weather groups arrive once we have your travel days, and your own plans add their gear on Trip Pass.

• Passport & travel documents1
• Phone charger & adapter1
• Wallet, cards & some local cash1
• Toiletries bag1
• Any daily medicationsenough for the trip
• Underwear7
• Socks7
• T-shirts / tops5

• Everything in my carry-on, and why each thing earns its spot
• The packing trick that got me through 3 countries with one carry-on