Why this ride
Out of Papeete and back again: 144 km, roughly 2 h 24 in the saddle. On the way it passes Pointe Venus, Tiarei waterfalls, Teahupoo and Taravao. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Tahiti Coastal Circle Road from Papeete
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 144 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 24
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Tahiti Coastal Circle Road
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 13 km this is Tahiti Coastal Circle Road, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 13 km
- Named road
- Tahiti Coastal Circle Road
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Papeete
Papeete is not the Tahiti of the posters, and that is rather its charm. It is a busy, slightly shabby, humid Pacific capital of some twenty-six thousand people, with another few hundred thousand in the sprawl around it on the north-west coast of the island, and it works hard at being a normal French town. Scooters weave through the traffic, bakeries sell baguettes at dawn, and the harbour is full of ferries heading for Moorea, which lies like a jagged green wall on the horizon.
Read the complete Papeete write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Papeete is where the day begins. Next is Pointe Venus.
2. Pointe Venus
Pointe Venus is a low finger of black volcanic sand poking into the Pacific just north of Papeete, and it is the gentlest start you could ask for on a lap of Tahiti. The coast road, the RDO as locals call it, runs straight through Mahina, and a short side lane leads out past the casuarina trees to a car park by the beach. Arue and Pirae, the suburbs of the capital, are a few minutes behind you, so you arrive here still half in town traffic and with the whole island ahead.
Read the complete Pointe Venus write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Pointe Venus comes up about 13 km into the recorded legs. Next is Tiarei waterfalls.
3. Tiarei waterfalls
Past Mahina the coast road swings away from the lagoon and starts to feel like proper east Tahiti, with the mountains standing straight up on your right and a roar of surf on your left. Tiarei sits in that long strip of narrow plain, and the waterfalls above it are the reason to pull over. They are the Faarumai falls, reached by a short drive inland from the main road and then a walk through dense, wet forest of tree ferns, hibiscus and tall mape trees. The falls drop from the high ridges that hold the rain coming in from the sea, so the water is rarely absent, and in the wet months from November to April they thunder.
Read the complete Tiarei waterfalls write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 31 km into the recorded legs you reach Tiarei waterfalls. Next is Teahupoo.
4. Teahupoo
The road to Teahupoo ends rather than finishes. You run down the south side of Tahiti Iti, the small round peninsula hanging off the main island like a second thought, through villages with names that sound like a drumbeat, and at the end the tarmac simply gives up at a river mouth and a patch of grass. Beyond is the bush, a footpath and then the cliffs; nobody drives around the far side.
Read the complete Teahupoo write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Teahupoo, about halfway. Next is Taravao.
5. Taravao
Taravao is a neck of land, and you notice it the moment you arrive. Tahiti is two volcanoes joined by a narrow isthmus, a figure of eight lying on its side, and this is the waist. The coast road from Papeete splits here: one arm heads on around Tahiti Nui toward Teahupoo, the other climbs to the plateau and the viewpoint over the isthmus. For a rider it is the island's junction, supply point and breathing space all at once.
Read the complete Taravao write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Taravao sits at 84 km, late in the day. Next is Papeete.
6. Papeete
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Papeete write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 144 km.
Leg by leg
Papeete to Pointe Venus
Papeete → Pointe Venus is 13 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Pointe Venus to Tiarei waterfalls
Pointe Venus → Tiarei waterfalls is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Tiarei waterfalls to Teahupoo
Tiarei waterfalls → Teahupoo is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Teahupoo to Taravao
Teahupoo → Taravao is 15 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Taravao to Papeete
Taravao → Papeete is 55 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.