Don’t be surprised if after a day — or even an hour — in Tahiti, you find yourself wondering if someone created the island just for you. Take away the stunning private resorts and French cuisine, and you’d still have a place where you can almost drink the sweet scents of tiare, plumeria and ylangylang flowers from the warm, wet air. You’d still be able to dive into water that looks like Bombay Sapphire and feels like the nicest shower you’ve ever had. And you’d still wake up in a place where no one minds getting up early, because the days are too beautiful to miss.

There’s a reason why the ancient Polynesian navigators — and the English, Spanish and French who followed them — were convinced the island had been made just for them. Tahiti is the embodiment of almost anyone’s definition of perfection.

Tahiti is one of the 118 islands that make up French Polynesia. The island group, about halfway between California and Australia, also includes the Tuamotus (known for producing the world’s finest black pearls), the Marquesas (known for art and untamed beauty), the Australs and the Gambiers (known for not being known much at all). Although it encompasses an area that’s roughly the size of Europe, there’s very little land in French Polynesia — with about 1,544 square miles, it’s slightly smaller than the state of Delaware — and about 75 percent of its population lives in the Society Islands, comprising Tahiti, Bora Bora, Moorea, Huahine, Raiatea and Taha’a.

Where its people came from — and when — remains a mystery, but by 200 B.C., the Society Island of Raiatea had become the spiritual capital of a Pacific community that stretched from New Zealand (Aotearoa) in the west and Hawaii in the north to Easter Island in the east. Visit the international marae (a kind of open-air cathedral, debate hall and community center rolled into one) at Taputaputea on Raiatea, and you can almost feel the mana, or spiritual power, still flowing through the ground. The chunks of coral and massive volcanic rocks — said to have been levitated there by ancient priests — that make up the marae were witness to royal pageants, ritual human sacrifices and the beginnings of great journeys. While some of the marae on Raiatea and Huahine have been restored in recent years, most have fallen into ruin since the first European explorers — and the Christian missionaries who followed them — reached the islands in the 16th century.

To European sailors and whalers, Tahiti and the other Polynesian islands seemed a paradise: warm weather, plentiful food and people more inclined to dance and make love than work or fight. To the missionaries, the islands looked like a gathering of the damned, for the same reasons. One missionary even ordered Tahiti’s groves of bread-fruit trees to be cut down, believing that having so many good things in abundance made people lazy and therefore sinful. The islands certainly brought out the worst in the crew of the H.M.S. Bounty, who mutinied when their captain tried to leave Tahitian waters in 1789.

Other Europeans found Tahiti just as difficult to pass up: the French and British fought for control of Polynesia throughout the 19th century. The French won, joining the islands together as the French Pacific Settlements in 1903 and French Polynesia in 1957.

A century of French rule has brought nuclear weapons testing (in the Tuamotu islands of Moruroa and Fangataufa) and high taxes to Polynesia. It’s also brought Polynesians a standard of living many Americans might envy: free, high-quality health care, cheap housing, well-maintained roads and schools, and huge subsidies for local agriculture and industry. More importantly, it’s left French Polynesia a country more Polynesian than French. While only 9.4 percent of Hawaii’s population is native Hawaiian, and about 9 percent of New Zealand is Maori, about 83 percent of French Polynesians are ethnically Polynesian.

Until recently, that population seemed t o have accepted the argument that their economy could not survive without French support. On March 4, however, after a year of bitter and sometimes bizarre political wrangling, pro-independence candidate Oscar Temaru became president of French Polynesia. This has worried some members of the tourism industry, who fear the president might try to make up for a loss of French subsidies by levying heavy taxes on Polynesia’s hotels and resorts. Since the election, however, Temaru seems to have tabled talk of secession. With the falling American dollar cutting into tourism profits, it’s unlikely he’ll do anything that might harm the country’s golden goose.

Tourism is the lifeblood of Polynesia’s economy. While Tahiti does have its share of family boarding-houses, or pensions, the relatively high cost of traveling to the islands from anywhere else means that most accommodations are on the upper end of the scale: 80 percent of Polynesia’s rooms are in about 50 international-class hotels. Many are located on private islands (such as the motu that ring many of the Societies) accessible only by boat. They offer an experience that is distinctly Polynesian.

If you’re one of those lucky travelers, you may find yourself waking up in an over-water bungalow: a thatched-roof, air-conditioned palace on a pier. You might spend the morning watching bright yellow angelfish and purple parrot fish nibble on the reef below your room through a window in the floor. Finish a breakfast of French baguettes, baked breadfruit and papaya juice (delivered by outrigger canoe, of course). Strap on a snorkel or scuba tank and immerse yourself in the lagoon, where you’ll be surrounded by fish so vibrant that the colors will almost hurt your eyes. Dry off, put on your hiking shoes and visit a vanilla plantation — your nose will thank you forever — or an underwater pearl farm, or the remnants of a Polynesian marae. Feast on mahi-mahi and poisson cru, that thoroughly Tahitian combination of raw fish, diced vegetables, coconut milk and lime juice. Watch a performance by fire dancers or ukulele players or — if you’re really lucky — a true disciple of tamure, the rapid-rhythm hip-shaking explosion of dance that all of the missionaries put together weren’t able to destroy. Then fall asleep to the sound of the waves, and do it all over again tomorrow.

Every paradise has its drawback, and Tahiti’s is the price. A modest lunch at a roadside cafe costs $20 to $35; an evening at one of the island’s exclusive resorts can come to $1,000 or more. Inter-island airfare is especially expensive, a problem some travelers solve by booking passage on the Paul Gauguin or another of Tahiti’s ultra-luxurious cruise ships.

It’s hard to complain: once you’ve seen the sun rise over Bora Bora, you’ll agree that your honeymoon or incentive trip was worth every penny you paid for it. But it’s worth noting that many of Polynesia’s lesser-known islands (Raiatea in particular) are just as beautiful, somewhat less expensive and overflowing with the kind of hospitality that has made Tahiti and its sister islands famous.

It’s possible, too, that prices may become more reasonable as Tahiti’s tourist industry continues to broaden its scope to meet demand. Polynesia may be part of France, but Americans are the most frequent visitors to Tahitian shores, with the Japanese a distant second. Air Tahiti Nui is hoping to change that by offering thrice-weekly flights to New York, beginning in July — a move that will connect Papeete, the Tahitian capital, with 27 European cities via flights through the United States. Backed by the rising euro, many Europeans may soon find out what so many others have known for centuries: the pleasures of Tahiti are there to be discovered over and over again.

LODGING

LE TAHA’A PRIVATE ISLAND AND SPA
At the pinnacle of Polynesian luxury sits Le Taha’a, an exclusive Pearl Resort hotel that occupies its own motu near the “vanilla island” of Taha’a. Almost every Polynesian hotel has over-water bungalows, but Le Taha’a takes them to another level. Its quarters include 1,076 square feet of fenced-in sundeck and air-conditioned comfort. Two glass “lagoon-o-scopes” allow guests to watch or feed fish from the bathtub or the foot of the sumptuous platform bed. Three gourmet restaurants, a lighted tennis court, the Marea Spa and some truly beautiful white-sand beaches (a Polynesian rarity) are just some of the available activities; those who need to work will find their rooms equipped with giant desks, Internet access and both 120- and 220-volt outlets. Don’t miss Thursday ni ght’s Polynesian dance show. $$$$
LE TAHA’A PRIVATE ISLAND AND SPA
B.P. 67
Patio, Taha’a
tel 689 60 84 00, fax 689 60 84 01
www.letahaa.com

BORA BORA LAGOON RESORT AND SPA

If you aren’t already on a honeymoon when you arrive at the Bora Bora Lagoon Resort, you might be by the time you leave. The Orient-Express hotel’s $4 million renovations, completed in March 2004, include the construction of three beach bungalow suites with their own private pools, a treetop spa and a meeting facility designed for incentive groups. The 79 bungalows (44 over-water) include indoor and outdoor showers, claw-foot bathtubs, TV/DVD players and sundecks with spectacular views of Bora Bora’s Mount Otemanu. Snorkeling and scuba diving in the island’s “lagoonarium” is the most popular activity, but there’s also shark feeding, kite surfing and swimming in a 25-by-18-foot “infinity pool”. The Otemanu Restaurant is perfect for a candlelight dinner, and the less formal Café Fare makes the best poisson cru in the islands. $$$$
BORA BORA LAGOON RESORT AND SPA
Motu Toopua
B.P. 175
Vaitape, Bora Bora
tel 689 60 40 00; fax 689 60 40 01
www.boraboralagoon.com

TE TIARE BEACH RESORT
The name of the Te Tiare Beach Resort refers to the white, fragrant flower that’s become the symbol of Tahiti. But it could just as easily refer to “family”: it’s remarkable to find a luxury beach resort with the warm, friendly feeling of home. The Outrigger hotel’s 41 bungalows (19 garden, six beach and 16 overwater) surround a reef of mesmerizing beauty and offer sunset views of nearby Raiatea and Taha’a. Take advantage of the kayaks and outrigger canoes available for guest use, but be sure to come back in time for dinner: the Ari’i Restaurant is fantastic, though you may hurt your neck turning between the Polynesian performers onstage and the swarms of beautiful fish gathering in the lights beneath your table. $$$$
TE TIARE BEACH RESORT
B.P. 36
Fare, Huahine
tel 689 60 60 50, fax 689 60 60 51
www.tetiarebeachresort.com

RADISSON PLAZA RESORT TAHITI

If you’re looking for the pampered peace of a world-class hotel within reach of the shopping and nightlife of downtown Papeete, the Radisson Plaza Resort Tahiti is the place for you. The 165 large, comfortable rooms offer modern décor (the hotel opened last July) and terrific views of Tahiti’s black-sand beaches. The indoor/outdoor Hiti Mahana restaurant is a nice place to unwind, and one of the hotel shops allows you to buy directly from local artisans. The business center offers secretarial, interpreter and computer services; in-room Internet access is also available. $$$$
RADISSON PLAZA RESORT TAHITI
Lafayette Beach, PK 7
B.P. 371
Arue, Tahiti
tel 689 48 88 88; fax 689 48 88 89
www.radisson.com/aruefrp

RAIATEA HAWAIKI NUI HOTEL
More cozy and casual than some of the other major island resorts, but no less comfortable, the Hawaiki Nui is so relaxing that it almost feels like a vacation from the rest of your vacation. The nine over-water bungalows don’t have air conditioning, but with room-sized sliding doors that open to a sundeck and swim platform, you won’t miss it. Kayaking and snorkeling equipment is available for free; scuba divers will appreciate the Pearl Resort hotel’s proximity to the wreck of the Nordby, a 57-ton schooner that sank in 1900 and lent its name to the Hawaiki Nui’s restaurant. $$$$
RAIATEA HAWAIKI NUI HOTEL
B.P. 43
Uturoa, Raiatea
tel 689 60 05 00, fax 689 66 20 20
www.pearlresorts.com/hawaiki

DINING

The best way to describe Polynesian cuisine is fresh: fresh fish, fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh combinations of spices and flavors, and even fresh ways of eating. Almost all of the island’s major hotels come with world-class restaurants attached. If you’d like to try something different, however, check out “les roulottes,” Papeete’s food court on wheels. You’  ll find them along the waterfront in Tahiti’s capital. Each is a mobile mini-restaurant, offering seafood, Asian food, fast food and a tempting array of desserts.With the lights of the harbor behind you and a moonlit bandstand next door, a visit to les roulettes can be the perfect beginning to an evening’s stroll.

LA RESTAURANT SAIGONNAISE
This isn’t just the only Vietnamese restaurant in Tahiti — it’s one of the best Vietnamese restaurants anywhere. Lightning-fast service, generous portions of spicy vegetables, and delicious food (the porc caramel doesn’t just melt in your mouth — you melt with it) are offered in an atmosphere that’s one part melancholy beauty to two parts peacefulness: you feel you’ve stepped back into 1950s Hanoi. $$$
LA RESTAURANT SAIGONNAISE
Prince Hinoi Avenue
Papeete, Tahiti
tel 689 42 05 35, fax 689 42 86 44

JADE GARDEN

Sleepy little Raiatea is more cosmopolitan than it looks — it’s possible to have a wonderful Chinese dinner at Jade Garden while listening to a Tahitian band sing a Polish song in French. The menu combines local favorites such as taro and mahi-mahi with traditional Chinese dishes in a quiet, friendly atmosphere. Be sure to plan ahead if you’re eating a late dinner: Raiatea’s taxi drivers are in bed by 9 p.m. $$$
JADE GARDEN
Uturoa Center
Uturoa, Raiatea
tel 689 66 34 40, fax 689 66 13 60

PIRATE’S BAR AND RESTAURANT
What’s better than watching a Bora Bora sunset? Watching a Bora Bora sunset with a tall, fruity drink in your hand, of course — and the best place to do that is at Pirate’s Bar. The view of the lagoon is terrific, the mahi-mahi burgers are hearty, and the bar’s selection of unusual beverages would make any pirate proud. $$
PIRATE’S BAR AND RESTAURANT
Centre Commercial Helene Pothier
Vaitape, Bora Bora
tel 689 60 52 52, fax 689 67 70 34

DAY TRIPS

While in Tahiti, spend the morning at Papeete’s bustling Marche de Papeete (Rue du 22 Septembre), the island’s public marketplace. The first floor is packed with fruits, flowers, fish and souvenirs for sale; the second has a selection of clothing, arts and crafts at the island’s most reasonable prices. Look for brightly colored pareus, sarong-like wraps that can be worn by men or women, and monoi, a scented oil made from coconut and tiare flowers that’s great for a massage (it is not, however, a sunblock). Just next door is the Tahiti Pearl Market (25 Rue Colette, tel 689 54 30 60, fax 689 54 30 62), three floors of black pearls in different sizes, shapes, and levels of quality.

The marae on Raiatea are justifiably famous and worth a visit, as are the somewhat more restored ruins of the royal city of Maeva on Huahine. While you’re there, check out the tiny village of Fare for one of the strangest sights in the islands: giant, tame blue-eyed eels who slither in the shade of a banyan tree, waiting to be fed by local children. They’re one of the highlights of guide Paul Atallah’s Island Eco Tours (tel 689 68 79 67, www.island-eco-tours.com).

Many of the other Society Islands offer tours of the interior — by bus, Land Rover or even helicopter. One of the best is Dave’s Tours (Haamene, Taha’a, tel/fax 689 65 62 42), which covers the island of Taha’a.Two to 14 travelers can visit a vanilla plantation and pearl farm, taste tropical fruits in the shadow of Mount Ohiri, and wish injured sea turtles well at the Hibiscus Foundation. Some lucky visitors may even hear a few Tahitian songs and leave with a crown of flowers.

INFO TO GO

Tahiti Fa’a International Airport (PPT) is the point of arrival for all international travelers to French Polynesia. Air Tahiti Nui provides regular service between Tahiti and Los Angeles; beginning in July, the airline will operate three weekly flights connecting Tahiti and New York. Air New Zealand and Air France also fly to Los Angeles. Hawaiian Airlines offers service to Honolulu.

Fa’a is also the departure point for flights to the other Polynesian islands. Air Tahiti Nui operates regular flights to 41 islands. Air Moorea flies a 10-minute shuttle between Tahiti and Moorea every 30 minutes to an hour. The airport is 3.11 miles west of Papeete, the capital city. Across from the airport terminal is a stop for Le Truck, an informal, semi-frequent method of transportation throughout the island; its fare to Papeete is about $1.30. Taxi fare to Papeete is about $10. A tiare blossom insignia on the cab’s taxi light indicates that the driver speaks some English. Several car rental agencies, including Avis, Hertz and Europcar, are also available; expect to pay $65 to $100 per day.