The idyllic island you can drive around in a weekend

More than a third of visitors to French Polynesia arrive by cruise, but Mo'orea rewards travellers who slow down and explore its coastal ring road at their own pace. Mo'orea looks made for a road trip. A single 60km (37.3-mile) coastal road rings the mountainous French Polynesian island, slipping between reef-protected lagoons, coconut palms and jagged green peaks. There are no high rises, no traffic lights and no main town, just a string of small villages, roadside snack bars, green spaces and bays that can be explored in a day – or better, stretched into a slower weekend. Just 30 minutes by ferry from Tahiti, the smaller, quieter island is often seen as a cruise stop or beach escape. But its compact scale makes it one of French Polynesia's easiest islands to independently explore. While e-biking around the 133 sq km isle is increasingly popular, my husband and I opt for a hybrid car, which lets us travel slowly, often in electric-only mode, while following the coast anticlockwise from the port of Vai'are. "Remember not to park under any coconut trees," warns the hire-car agent as she hands us the keys. We have barely left Vai'are when we reach our first wow moment. Elevated above