In short
Moorea is thirty minutes by ferry from Papeete. Two deep bays — Cook and Opunohu — cut into a volcanic island twelve hundred metres high, with a lagoon closed by the reef.
It is the most accessible Polynesian island from Tahiti and the cheapest of the large ones.
What it really costs
French Polynesia is expensive and Moorea less so than Bora Bora: family pensions and rentals replace the overwater hotels, at a fraction of the price.
The Pacific franc is pegged to the euro at a fixed rate. Imported food costs fifty to a hundred per cent more than on the French mainland.
What nobody tells you
The ferry from Papeete is frequent, fast and cheap — far cheaper than the seven-minute flight. Many people book the plane without knowing.
There is no useful public transport: a car, scooter or bicycle is needed to go round the island's sixty kilometres.
Humpback whales pass from August to October and are watched from the shore. Swimming with them is regulated and permitted only with licensed operators.