Meet Teiva: A Moorea Local on Why Tourists Keep Coming to the Wrong Beach
Teiva Teriitahi has lived on Moorea for fifteen years. Born in Papeete, he moved to the island after marrying a woman from Haapiti village on the west coast. He fishes in the mornings, runs lagoon tours in the afternoon, and spends his evenings maintaining the family's pension — three beachfront bungalows that his wife's grandmother built in the 1980s.
We sat on the dock behind his house at 6 AM, watching the first light turn Cook's Bay pink, while he talked about the island he calls home.
What's the biggest thing tourists get wrong about Moorea?
They go to Temae Beach because the guidebook says it's the best beach. It IS a beautiful beach — white sand, clear water, view of Tahiti. But it's a public beach next to the old Sofitel site, and on weekends it's packed with people from Tahiti who take the morning ferry over. They blast music, they bring coolers, it's a party.
If you want that, great. But if you want the Moorea beach experience — quiet, Polynesian, nobody bothering you — go to the west coast. Haapiti. There are beaches between the villages with nobody on them. You walk five minutes from the road through coconut palms and you're alone. My family goes every Sunday after church.
Where specifically?
(Laughs) I'm not giving you GPS coordinates. But drive the west coast road past the InterContinental, keep going south past the little Haapiti cemetery, and look for the beaten paths through the trees toward the water. You'll know because there will be zero signs and zero people.
What about the lagoon tours? You run them — are they worth it?
Honestly? Yes. I know I'm biased because I run one, but the lagoon is Moorea. You can't understand this island from the road. You need to be in the water.
The big companies charge 8,000-10,000 XPF ($70-88) and pack 15 people on a boat. My tour takes maximum six people for 7,000 XPF ($61). We go to the same spots — shark and ray feeding in the shallows, snorkeling on the reef, lunch on a motu — but I take people to my spots. The coral garden off the northwest reef that the big boats don't go to because it's too shallow for their hulls. The channel where I've seen eagle rays every morning for three years.
But the important thing — and I tell all my guests this — is that you don't NEED a tour. Grab a mask and snorkel, walk into the lagoon from almost anywhere on the north or west coast, and you'll see fish, coral, maybe a small shark. The water is chest-deep for 200 meters out. It's nature's aquarium.
The shark experience — is it safe?
Completely. These are blacktip reef sharks, maybe one meter long. They eat small fish. They have never attacked a human in recorded history in Moorea. The stingrays are the same — they've been fed by guides for decades and they come to boats like dogs come to dinner.
Is it "wild" wildlife? No. It's semi-habituated. Some purists hate that. But for most visitors, wading in waist-deep water with sharks circling your legs is the memory they'll never forget. I've done it thousands of times and I still enjoy watching people's faces the first time a shark passes between their legs.
Tell me about the pineapples.
Moorea pineapple is the best pineapple in the world. I'll fight anyone who says otherwise. The volcanic soil in Opunohu Valley gives it a sweetness you don't get from Hawaiian pineapple or anything from a supermarket.
Visit the Rotui Juice Factory — it's free, they give you tastings, and you can buy juice and fruit liqueurs. But the real move is buying a pineapple from a roadside stall. Old aunties sell them from their cars — 300-500 XPF (~$2.60-4.40) for a perfectly ripe one. Cut it with a knife on the beach and eat it with your hands. That's the Moorea experience.
What's a tourist trap that people should avoid?
The ATV tours. They charge 12,000-15,000 XPF (~$105-132) to drive noisy ATVs through the valley and up to Belvedere Lookout. You can drive to Belvedere yourself for free. The road is paved. Any rental car can do it.
Also, the dolphin interaction programs. I won't name the company. But keeping dolphins in a pen in the lagoon for tourists to swim with is not something I support. Go snorkeling and see wild spinner dolphins offshore instead — they're there almost every morning off the north coast. Free. Wild. Better.
Best restaurant on the island?
For tourists? Rudy's in Cook's Bay. Great poisson cru, beautiful lagoon view, reasonable prices for French Polynesia.
For me? The roulottes near the ferry terminal. Chao Mein for 1,200 XPF ($10). Poisson cru for 1,500 XPF ($13). Crepes for 800 XPF (~$7). Local food, local prices, no pretension.
But the best meal on Moorea is at someone's house. If you stay at a pension and your host invites you to a Sunday tamaaraa (feast), say yes. Poisson cru, taro, uru (breadfruit), pua'a (pork), coconut bread. This is real Polynesian food and you can't get it in any restaurant.
What do tourists consistently get wrong?
Three things.
First, they don't learn any Tahitian. Even "ia orana" (hello) and "mauruuru" (thank you) make a difference. People here notice.
Second, they underestimate the sun. The UV in French Polynesia is brutal. I see lobster-red tourists every single day. Wear reef-safe sunscreen — the reef is everything here, and chemical sunscreen damages coral.
Third, they come for three days. Moorea needs five minimum. The first two days you're doing the tourist things — Belvedere, lagoon tour, shark feeding. Fine. But days three, four, five are when you start actually seeing the island. You find the quiet beaches. You stop at the roadside fruit stands. You watch the sunset from the same spot twice and notice different things. Moorea rewards slow travel.
If you had one day to show someone your Moorea, what would you do?
5:30 AM: Meet me at the dock, we're going fishing. Nothing fancy — hand-line fishing inside the reef for parrotfish and grouper. We'll catch breakfast.
8 AM: Cook the fish on my grill. Coffee. Fresh baguette from the Haapiti bakery (they open at 5 AM, the best croissants on the island).
10 AM: Lagoon tour. My boat, my spots. Sharks, rays, coral garden, motu picnic.
2 PM: Rent a scooter and drive the island road. Stop at Belvedere. Stop at the Rotui factory. Stop wherever looks interesting.
5 PM: Magic Mountain for sunset. The hike takes 30 minutes. The sunset from the top — you can see the whole island, the reef, the sun dropping into the Pacific — it's the best view in French Polynesia. Better than any resort lounge.
7 PM: Roulottes for dinner. Poisson cru and a Hinano beer.
That's my Moorea. No resort. No spa. No overwater bungalow. Just the island.
Planning a wider Pacific trip? Combine Moorea with the raw adventure of Vanuatu or the Fijian hospitality of the Yasawa Islands.
