punaauia beach

You have to wear your fins out to the water (walk backwards) and watch for stone fish. There are a lot of coral and fish. Also watch the current and don't let it sweep you out of the pass into the ocean!This is within walking distance to Te Miti pensione.

OK. I read a review from a member stating the confusion about Punaauia Beach. To be clear, you drive from Papeete to Punaauia, you pass the Meridien Hotel and around 2 kms further you will see a brown sign saying VAIAVA Plage, around PK18. It's at the end of Punaauia district. There is a free parking lot on the beach side. Come early in the morning or around 3pm otherwise parking is full. Another option is the cheap parking lot on the mountain side (I think it's around 300CFP/day). Walking towards the beach, you will find showers and toilets, fixed tables on grass.Lots of locals with kids come here. Excellent snorkeling spot and swimming for kids. Don't forget your snorkeling gear, sunscreen, food and drinks (there is no food stalls ). You can spend the whole day @ the beach, local style!Best spot to lay down your beach towel is on the right hand side, past the corals on the beach. Fewer people. Also you will find there a renting spot for Stand Up Paddle boards (1000CFP/hour very cheap for Tahiti). This is the place to SUP (all the way to the Meridien hotel on your right side is the best). Stay here until sun sets behind Moorea. Speechless...Parking lot closes at 7pm so you have plenty of time.The best local and public beach in Tahiti.

Fabulous sunsets over the island of Moorea, but not a beach for laziong around on. The nearby public beach at Le Meridien is better.

There is waaaay too much confusion with the reviews on here. Everyone has a different opinion on this beach. First, let me say that I'm a tourist from the U.S. I come from Massachusetts and always use tripadvisor wherever I go in the world. I think someone needs to clarify WHICH beach is really being reviewed here. For those who have not been to Tahiti, there are like 3 beaches near PK 17 and PK 18. If you review the other reviews, some people have said the beach is near PK 17; others PK 18. Some have said the beach has black; others white; some said it was full of pebbles, some say not. There is Rohotu beach, a beach that has Manaa Park, and a beach called Vaiava. Therefore; I can't really do a review on a beach I'm not really clear about. I can say that my wife and I did stop at a beach that had a sign that said "Welcome to Punaaui" which was near PK 18. There were quite a few folks in wheelchairs on the grassy area and no one in the water. A sign read Manaa Park was part of the beach. It was very rocky. We also went to Rohotu beach which was near PK 18. This beach was also pretty rocky. Sorry, I can't be of more help, but what I can say is I DID NOT SEE any signs for Punaaui Beach. There are quite a few in Punaaui, so I don't know how to change the profile to this beach, but there needs to be a clarification on which beach is being reviewed since everyone is reviewing a different beach. It's like me writing "Florida Beach". There's a million in Florida. The heading needs to be specific, so tourists like myself don't go batty looking for specific signage that isn't there.

I came here to walk and jog along the beach. I wore sneakers since the beach is not of a powdery sand and is rough on bare feet. I swam just offshore. I wish I had brought snorkeling gear as there were lots of colorful fish to see. This is an okay beach, not a great beach, to me, being from Florida. There are showers and restrooms.

I love it there! White sand beach, turquoise lagoon & a view of Moorea. Above all, you can rent paddle boards and just go with the flow.Yes it is crowded on weekends (especially Sundays) but crowded in Tahiti doesn't have the same meaning than crowded in Hawaii.

This beach has pretty good snorkeling for Tahiti - we followed a school of fish and saw a huge fish. This beach has white sand and was quite popular with the locals. There were showers and washrooms which was beneficial.

The beach is nice but a bit abandoned. See floor is full of corals and sea urchins. It is great for a snorkelling but do not forget your swimming shoes. Views are great, take your camera.

This is not a sand beach but it has a spectacular sunset. There are only few areas of sand you can lay on.

Just aa couple of hundred yards off the road, through a small public park. Free showers available to wash off after being in the ocean.Calm water, protected by a reef about half mile offshore. Good snorkelling and very safe area.

I didn't think of reviewing a beach but it came up as one of the "what else have you done" after my last review. but as the title says. it's a beach. lots of sand, lots of water. you have to be careful where you step heading out as there's lots of coral but other than that it was very nice

After trying to search out good places to snorkel my husband and I came across this gem. The parking space is limited, yet, there were few people at the beach so parking didn't become an issue. In all, there were probably less than 10 people at the whole beach. The beach itself isn't super nice, but the real gem is in the water. Drop your towel, get on your snorkel gear, and walk into the water. Within 10 feet of the shore, we spotted multiple, multi-colored fish. The water was calm and with few people at the beach, the water is all yours. We payed for a snorkel/lunch tour and saw five times more fish, plants, etc. at the public beach then through the tour. And it's all FREE!

You can walk along this beach for hours, just beware of the dogs who act like they own the place. They will not bother you if you stay calm and walk slowly. The sunsets are just amazing, and in the early morning, you will walk on carpets of fragants flowers.

If you are looking for a white or black sand beach that stretches on along deserted coast this isn't the beach for you. This is a nice public beach 18 km from downtown in a resdiential area with a nice grassy area for the kids to play on and pebblely (sp?) beach and the water is great. It is clean and well kept and a nice place to hang out for the day. It was almost empty while i was there.

The beaches on the east coast are much better. The beach at Papenoo is fun - black sand and clear water. We also like Tautira at Tahiti Iti.