Everyone has heard of Tahiti and Bora Bora, and these are both amazing places, but The Society Island chain also has so much more to offer. There are about 12 islands in the chain spread out over 400 miles in a WNW to ESE direction. They are mostly volcanic islands with fringing reefs, so they are in between The Marquesas and The Tuamotus in their life cycle, and geographically are the best of both worlds. The passes in and out of the reefs are far less daunting than in the Tuamotus, but once inside, the anchorages are flat and calm, unlike The Marquesas, since the reef protects you from the swell and fetch from the ocean outside. The volcanic islands are worn remains of once tall volcanic islands, so they aren’t quite as breathtaking as The Marquesas, but they still offer a dramatic landscape, and there are many opportunities for walking and hiking.
The islands are roughly broken up into 2 groups: the windward islands, including Tahiti and Moorea, and the leeward islands, including Huahine and Bora Bora. These names originate from the fact that they all lie in the trade wind belt where the winds predominantly blow east to west.
In all, we visited 6 of these islands in the following order: Tahiti, Moorea, Huahine, Bora Bora, Maupiti, and Maupihaa (aka Mopelia). We skipped Raiatea and Tahaa, which are both common stops on the cruising circuit. We traded our time for stops at Maupiti and Mopelia, which are lesser visited islands, partly due to their remoteness, and partly due to the reputations of the passes, which unlike the rest of the society islands, can have a wicked current and can be dangerous at times.
Gresham Family Exodus 