A modest, open-sided motu beach kiosk, La Plage is famous for its poisson cru —raw tuna marinated in coconut and lime juice. Open for lunch only, it's a lovely place to linger and enjoy the views across the lagoon to Moorea. Though packed on weekends with locals in swim trunks, the place is off the radar for most tourists—possibly because it's only reachable by boat. Unless you're game to paddle over yourself, hop on one of the launches that leave regularly from the dock at the InterContinental Resort on the northwestern coast.

The family-owned Hotel Hibiscus is a bit worn around the edges, but its café is well worth a visit. At lunchtime, you can grab a seat at a rubber tree–shaded picnic table overlooking the lagoon and dig into simple salads and entrées inspired by the cuisines of Tahiti, France, and Italy. The standout choice is the pizza, served fresh out of a wood-fired oven.

Known locally as Edna's—even though former owner Mme. Edna Flohr sold the property in 2004—this unassuming, ramshackle building at the end of a wharf serves up some of the best gourmet treats in South Polynesia. The house specialties include a tangy and rich poisson cru and small island lobsters (langoustines) in a chili-coconut curry.

French Polynesia is littered with little huts serving fast food—all with names beginning with "Snack"—that offer hearty open-air meals on the go. Snack Matira, little more than a set of whitewashed gates with a roof (you'll spot it right away with its border of red Coca-Cola flags), is conveniently located on the beach between the Hotel Bora Bora and Matira Point, and serves up especially fresh and tasty regional staples, including chop suey, rare steak, grilled fish with vanilla sauce, and ice cream.

Is any place a better antidote to the rigors and rush of modern life than spellbinding French Polynesia? Alexandra Marshall slips into the blue, where troubles melt like lemon drops

First step: Make your choice from remote idylls to sumptuous new resorts. Then make sure to get an agent who knows the territory

People often make comparisons between Tahiti and Hawaii; by that model, if Bora Bora has the upscale gloss of Maui and Tahiti the bustling energy of Oahu, Moorea has the verdant, rootsy soul of Kauai. The feeling is maintained by this hotel's small scale—a Hilton since January 2009, it includes 54 overwater bungalows and 52 garden and beach bungalows. Then there's the simple but luscious food: You'll never get tired of the fresh fish and vegetables in vanilla sauce at the beachside restaurant. Even the spa, where you can get a vigorous pounding by a Tahitian masseuse, feels refreshingly down to earth. Overall, the vibe here is more authentic than at other Moorea resorts; and there are quirky details, like the fat and friendly giant eel that lives under the floating bar and gets fed a regular diet of merguez sausage.

It's not exactly budget-friendly, but this property, newly renovated in summer of 2006, has the most reasonably priced over-water bungalows on Bora Bora (high-season prices start at about $680 per night). Thirteen of the 64 units here are OWBs with all the same bells and whistles you'll find at other resorts—peek-a-boo glass floor panels, enclosed patios, outdoor showers, swim-off decks—only they cost about half what the almost-identical ones at nearby five-star resorts do. The other, landlocked units, which face either the lagoon or the tropical garden, are also very pleasant; all have mod-Indonesian decor, with cane ceilings, wood or tiled floors, and neutral-colored fabrics offset by bright-colored cushions and native flowering plants. The common areas are a bit playful, and acknowledge the hotel's rather tacky beginnings: It was built as a film set for the 1979 Dino de Laurentiis–produced film Hurricane (which was something of a box-office turkey). Black-and-white stills from the film decorate the lobby walls, and the hotel's safety orange-colored bar (also called Hurricane) serves tropical drinks with names like "Black Pearl" and "The Bounty." The fact that it was one of the first chain hotels in Bora explains the primo location, on a private beach in Matira Bay.

Black pearls are the number one souvenir for tourists in French Polynesia. In the United States, a single gem can cost upwards of $1,200, but the highest quality black pearls in Tahiti go for half that. The Robert Wan stores you'll see throughout the country are like the Tiffany's of black pearl shops—just about any other outfit is less expensive. Your best bet is to visit a pearl farm, where you can cut out the middle man by buying directly. The Manihi atoll in the Tuamotus launched black pearl tourism and is a great place to see how they're produced and harvested.

You'll likely notice that to call these pearls "black" is sort of a misnomer. When placed under the light, a pearl's true color may be steel gray, blue, pink, green, purple, brown, gold, or any combination thereof. The most expensive black pearls, or the A grade, are perfectly round, smooth, and actually black with a rainbow cast. More affordable are the slightly pear-shaped ones with small ridges called the baroques. Their beauty is in their imperfection and their pastel colors. When selecting and purchasing pearls, be sure that you can obtain a certificate of authenticity. In addition, avoid having the gems set in Tahiti as gold and silver are astronomically expensive. Loose pearls can be taken out of the country untaxed and then set by a jeweler once you get home. If you want to wear them right away, Tahiti Pearl Market in Papeete or Bora Bora will string them for you on a thin filament wire at no extra cost.