The Society Islands have something for everyone. Whether you prefer luxury or simplicity, seclusion or a bustling tourist scene — you can find your dream vacation here.

Yet, visitors to Polynesia often seem to overlook Huahine. That’s precisely what gives the island its unspoiled and peaceful charm. From Tahiti, we sail overnight until we glide through the pass and drop anchor in the turquoise waters.

Stingrays patrol the water, and the coral reefs teem with life. The beach looks like something out of a picture book, and the road winds its way around the island through a lush, flower-filled jungle. Finally, we find Nemo. Not just one, but many. The clownfish stare at us from countless anemones. We wonder who’s watching whom here?

We skip Raiatea and Taha’a. Little did we know that we would end up spending more than enough time on both islands in the not-too-distant future. For now, after another night’s sail, we reach Bora Bora. Much to our surprise, we discover that sailing between the islands is actually really fun from time to time, not just annoying cross-waves.

Bora Bora is exactly as you’d imagine. It has green volcanic cones surrounded by an atoll and a blue lagoon, with hotel bungalows scattered across the water. It’s like we’re sailing through a travel agency’s brochure. On one side is a perfect beach, and on the other are the striking peaks of Bora Bora. This stunning scenery is the reward for navigating the eerie passage through the reef labyrinth. As is customary in the Society Islands, the mooring logistics are a bit confusing. But a children’s birthday party with pizza, as well as friendly cats and dogs, await us on the beach.

After a few wonderfully leisurely days, we’re back on the other side of the island and ready to head out. With our bellies still full of cheese fondue and raclette, we find a spot at the Bora Bora Yacht Club where we can bring our time on Bora Bora to a close.

Bora Bora is the perfect setting for a short vacation in paradise. Other islands offer glimpses into everyday life and island charm, revealing more about the character of the Society Islands. On Taha’a, many people commute daily to the hotel complex on the motus, with their stunning coral gardens in front. The park-and-ride lot is full of scooters. We hike from the lot through the sleepy village and into the mountains, where we come across many small vanilla plantations. A larger plantation, which is open to visitors, is located in the south of Taha’a. We learn that high-quality vanilla is used whole because the flavor is in the entire pod, not just the pulp. For this reason, the pods are harvested after nine months of growth when they fall off on their own. Then, they are dried and massaged for three months. After being used in cooking, the pod is preserved in alcohol and can be reused up to four times. Preserved this way, the pod lasts up to forty years.

For our trip to the vanilla farm, we moor at a pearl farm’s buoy in a picturesque cove. We walk to the farm’s main building to check in and take a look at the pearls and jewelry. Any jeweler in Germany would have heavily barred windows given the value of the items on display. Here, however, bracelets costing 400 euros lie in bowls like items in a bargain bin at a discount store. The room is completely filled with pearl jewelry of every kind. Our eyes, however, are drawn to the cushions on the seating. They are sewn from molas from Guna Yala.

The last island on our tour of the Society Islands is Raiatea. It’s only a few nautical miles away, and we don’t even have to leave the atoll to get there.