French Polynesia
/ Island ou Atoll / Tahaa

Tahaa, also known as Vanilla Island, has just over 5200 inhabitants spread over 53km². Smaller and more authentic than its sister island, it is the only Leeward Island without an airfield. Accessible only by sea, time seems to have stood still. Its luxuriantly vegetated mountains dominate a lagoon of transparent turquoise waters, from which emerge dozens of motus giving access to sumptuous coral gardens accessible by snorkeling. The islands of Raiatea and Tahaa are surrounded by a single coral reef, suggesting that they were once a single island.