Paul Gauguin Cruise – Huahine

After a night of sailing from our embarkation port in Papeete, our first full day on the m/s Paul Gauguin had us waking up on the shores of Huahine.. Huahine is one the Society Islands in the French Polynesia and is almost 75 sq km in size with a population of just over 6,000 people.

Every evening, as part of their turn-down service, we received a copy of the Ia Orana (YO-RAH-NAH) “Hello”, which was a 4 page booklet providing information the Island we were visiting the next day with details of the island itself and the detailed timetable of the activities being offered onboard the ship that day.

We started our day by heading to La Vernada, where we enjoyed a buffet breakfast prior to leaving on our shore excursion.

Every day, if we were interested, there was a wide selection of shore excursions to choose from at an additional cost. We highly recommend that you plan and reserve these in advance before leaving home for your cruise to ensure you are able to do the ones that you are most interested in. You can always cancel or make changes once onboard (by noon the fday before the excursion is to take place). As you see above, on your first night, alpng with Ia Orana, you receive a envelope with the vouchers for all of the shore excursions you booked from home.

On this day, we chose to do a “Day at the Beach” at Hotel LaPita on Huahine. I will list all of the shore excursions that were offered in Huahine at the bottom of this blog. We took the Tender Boat to the Island and they a short drive on a bus close to where the hotel was located:

It is important to note in the picture above that every day the schedule for the Tender Boat was clearly indicated both on the ship and at the dock of each Island every day. It is your responsibility to ensure you are aware of the schedule as not to be left behind…

After th short bus ride, we arrived at a very small area of the Huahine with a few shops selling locally made crafts as well as souveniers. We then followed a small path along the beach to Hotel LaPita:

As part of our “Day at the Beach”, we were provided with full use of the pool and beach as well as a complimentary lunch and beverage:

We really enjoyed our day at Hotel LaPita and in the late afternoon we took the Tender Boat back to the cruise ship.

We spent the remainder of the afternoon sunning ourselves on the pool deck enjoying the views of Huahine and sipping on the drink of the day:

Having had a beautiful lunch on Huahine, we decided to skip dinner this day and instead grabbed a small snack at the piano bar.

Every evening in the Grand Salon on Deck 5 there was acomplimentary event/show to attend . On this evening it was the Captain’s Welcome Party where Captain Tony Mirkovic made a special introduction to the guests and introduced us to his senior crew.

Our first full day aboard the m/s Paul Gauguin was fantastic and we retired that evening looking forward to our next day in Taha’a.

Here is a list of the differ Shore Excursions/Courses offered on this day in Huahine (they have an additional cost and I have not included pricing as these may change over time):

• • Scuba Refresh Certified Divers
  • Discover Scuba Diving part 1 & 2 – No dive licence needed
  • Day at the Beach – Hotel LaPita
  • Island Tour by Waverunner
  • Private Tour – Island tour and snorkeling
  • Lagoon Cruise and Snorkeling
  • Motu Picnic (Motu = Island)
  • Cultural Highlights of Huahine
  • Huahine Safari Expedition
  • Huahine ITI by 4×4
  • Sacred Sites & Legendary Places

If you would like to learn more about schedules and different Paul Gauguin Cruises, please visit my Virtuoso page here.

If you would like to receive more information, or book a Paul Gauguin Cruise, you can contact me here.

As a Paul Gauguin Cruises PEARLS Accredited Partner and having experienced the cruise myself, I can provide you with the intimate knowledge to help you get the most out of your Paul Gauguin cruise.