Tahiti Private Island Tour: Waterfalls & Black Sand Beach

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/20

Duration5h

GroupPrivate

LanguagesEN · FR

PickupAt your hotel

Drive Tahiti's Coast in Five Hours: Waterfalls, Grottoes & a Stevenson Lighthouse

You drive Tahiti's coasts in a private air-conditioned van, stopping at six landmarks: an archaeological site, a freshwater grotto, tropical gardens, waterfalls, a blow hole, and Venus Point with its Stevenson lighthouse and black sand beach. Your guide provides commentary at each stop, water is included, and restrooms are available throughout. The five-hour loop covers both sides of the island without requiring you to arrange separate transport or entry tickets.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Tahiti's natural and historic sites

Visit Marae arahurahu archaeological site
Explore Maraa Grotto and freshwater pools
Walk through Vaipahi Gardens
See Faarumai Waterfalls near Tiarei village
Visit blow hole near the coast
Discover Venus Point and lighthouse
Relax at black sand beach

The Experience

You're driving out of wherever you started, heading east along Tahiti's coast with a guide who knows which stops matter and how long to linger. The van holds up to six people max, air-conditioned, and the route covers both sides of the island in a single morning or afternoon — six distinct stops packed into five hours without feeling rushed. Your guide talks as you move, pointing out the landscape, the history, the names of things you wouldn't notice alone. Water's included. You don't have to think about logistics.

The first real stop is Marae Arahurahu, an archaeological site that sits quietly in the island's past. Then the Maraa Grotto — freshwater pools ringed by ferns, small caves dripping with moisture, the kind of place Paul Gauguin wrote about when he wasn't complaining about money. The grotto itself is lush in a way that feels almost impossible, and you get time to actually stand there instead of snapping a photo and moving on. After that comes Vaipahi Gardens in Mataiea, seventy-five plant species marked with signs in English and French, lily ponds, streams threading through the grounds. It's maintained well enough that you can walk without thinking about your footing, and the trails are easy. People come back from this one saying they felt the quiet of it.

Faarumai Waterfalls are next — you walk a couple of hundred metres through mape trees to reach them, and the waterfall itself is the kind of thing that justifies the detour. Then the blow hole, which does what its name suggests. Venus Point sits on the north coast, a peninsula with black sand beach, emerald water, and a lighthouse designed by Robert Louis Stevenson's father — the one who wrote the books, his father built lighthouses. Cook came here on his first voyage. The beach is large enough to actually spend time on, not just photograph. You get to explore it instead of watching it from the van.

The vehicle is air-conditioned and there's a restroom at every stop, which matters on a five-hour loop in tropical heat. Luggage capacity is four large suitcases and two carry-ons if you're coming straight from the airport or heading there after. The guide provides live commentary as you drive, so you're not sitting in silence between stops. It's the kind of tour where you see the west and east coasts of Tahiti Nui without arranging transport, timing, or entry fees yourself — everything is already decided, which is what makes it possible to fit this much into one afternoon.

What’s included

Your tour includes air-conditioned transport in a private van, live commentary from your guide, entry to all six attractions (Marae Arahurahu, Maraa Grotto, Vaipahi Gardens, Faarumai Waterfalls, the blow hole, and Venus Point), fresh water throughout the day, and restroom access at every stop.

Good to know

Easy physical levelStroller friendlyNot for heart conditions

Operated by Tahiti Eden Tours

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to see Tahiti's main natural and historical landmarks in one morning or afternoon without arranging separate transport, entry fees, or timing — the five-hour loop and small group size (max 6 people) mean you spend time at each stop instead of rushing between them.