Fodor's Expert Review Vaitape

On the west coast, this is Bora Bora's main town and will be the first port of call for those staying on the main island. It has a marina and public wharf (where transfer boats come and go), a tourist office, police station, three banks, two gas stations, a post office with public phones, pharmacy, and a medical center. Boutiques and eateries are strung along the one main road, which doesn't have a name. Near the police station (the Gendarmerie) is the grave of French yachtsman Alain Gerbault, who single-handedly sailed his yacht around the world in 1923–29, and lived here in the 1930s. There are also a bus stop, taxis, a cyber café, and two charming churches (Catholic and Protestant) painted in pastels with red roofs and steeples.