You will board the Aranui III in Tahiti then sail almost 800 miles to the most spectacular and remote islands in French Polynesia. The 1st stop on this 16 day Voyage begins with the Tuamotu islands, where you'll see Pearl Farmers harvest rare Tahitian Black Pearls.

The Marquesas' 6 inhabited islands are so remote that the Aranui III is their lifeline to the Outside World, bringing supplies and picking up copra, dried coconut and noni fruit. With 15 stops there is plenty of time to explore. Time has almost stood still in these untouched islands, which have few roads or cars. Visitors are very rare and very welcome.

The 1st view of the Marquesas are the mountain spires of Ua Pou, "High volcanic towers like the pinnacles of some ornate church," as Robert Louis Stevenson wrote in 1880.

When the Aranui III docks, villagers gather on the pier to greet us. As our crew unloads supplies -- from cement to sugar -- and loads sacks of copra (dried coconut meat), our well-trained, multi-lingual guides bring you to meet traditional artists and take you on breathtaking hikes to hidden jungle marae (sacred ruins).