Where is Tahiti?
Tahiti, the biggest island (1042 km2), is located at 17°32 latitude South and 149°34 longitude West.
At a distance of 6520 km from California, 5390 km from Australia, 9500 km from Tokyo, 8000 km from Santiago, Chili and 17 700 km from Europe.

French Polynesia covers superficies close to 5 millions km2 of ocean, the equivalent of the surface of Europe without Russia, but the land surface (118 islands) represents only 4200 km2.

How long does it take to get there?
There are direct (non-stop) flights from Los Angeles (LAX) and New York (JFK):
From Los Angeles, the flight is approximately 8 hours.
From New York, the flight is approximately 13 hours (the return flight is about 11.5 hours)

Polynesia is composed of 5 archipelagos quite different from one to another:
-the archipelago of Society is composed of the Windward islands ( includes Tahiti) and the Leeward Islands (includes Bora Bora). This archipelago is an ensemble of high islands surrounded by lagoons.
-the archipelago of Tuamotu is a group of low islands or "atolls". Propice to pearl farming with their lagoons encircled by a ring of corals.
-the archipelago of the Australes, at the extreme South, has high islands, with still a wild nature.
-the archipelago of the Marquesas, the closest of the Equator to the North, has a group of high islands with no lagoons and steep mountains.
-the archipelago of the Gambiers, at the extreme East, has some high islands and is very rarely visited. Also propice to pearl farming.
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