EPIC SANDBOX

Plage Publique Vaiava

17°39′25″S 149°35′57″W
Pāʻea

White
Sand
Sandy
Water entry
Calm
Swimming
None
Surf
Good
Snorkelling
Moderate
Crowd

Vaiava — PK18, named for the kilometre marker on the coast road — is the public white-sand beach on Tahiti's west coast, and it exists partly because Tahiti does not naturally have much white sand.

The reef is close enough in to snorkel to and the lagoon behind it is calm. It is the beach people on Tahiti actually go to at a weekend, which tells you both that it is good and that Saturday is not when to have it to yourself.

Plan of the bay

Map of Plage Publique Vaiava: the beach, the paths down to it, parking and toilets.
Base map © OpenStreetMap contributors.Open this bay.

Facilities

  • Food

Access and parking

Signposted off the coast road at PK18 with parking areas mapped nearby. Public access; the beach is narrow, so high tide takes a good deal of it.

What the survey found

Everything here is read from OpenStreetMap at the coordinates above, not from a press pack.

Toilets
Not mapped
Showers
Not mapped
Food or drink
Mapped
Rentals
Not mapped
Lifeguard
Not mapped
Parking
Four areas · charge not recorded

Nearest settlements: Pāʻea 3.89 km.

SourceOpenStreetMapsurveyed 2026-09-21

Nearby beaches in Tahiti Nui