Tahiti is the tropical-paradise for Europeans. Tahiti is, in fact, just one island in one of the five island groups that make up French Polynesia. It's the region's biggest, most famous and historically interesting island, but the glossy pictures of aqua-blue seas and palm-fringed beaches that you see in travel agents' windows are almost certainly some other French Polynesian island.

Tahiti is dominated by Mount Orohena at 2236m (7337ft) and Mount Aorai at 2068m (6786ft). Papeete, the capital of Tahiti, is an attractive and colourful port set in magnificent scenery. The Lagoonarium de Tahiti offers four fish parks (including a shark pen). There are many opportunities for watersports, such as deep-sea fishing and trips by glass-bottomed boat around the lagoons.

If you eat at the cheap snack bars, stay in bottom-end accommodation, catch le truck and fill your days with snorkelling and exploring the archaeological sites and island interiors on foot, you'll probably get by on US$80-100 a day. If, however, you want to eat in restaurants, stay in comfortable rooms, hire a car or scuba equipment, take a tour and dabble in the nightlife, you can easily multiply these numbers by three or four.

Best place to stay is probably Teamo, aka Papeete Youth Hostel, (689) 42-00-35.

Tentative plan: thinking about going to Fiji instead