CC BY-SA 4.0, Semhur, Wikimedia CommonsBeach· Nuku Hiva· French Polynesia: Tuamotus, Marquesas, Gambier & Australs
Taiohae Beaches (Kouvea and West Beach)
8° 55.1′ S · 140° 5.7′ W · approximate
Taiohae's two town swimming beaches: Kouvea on the east side of the bay and the west beach below the Pearl Lodge, black-sand strands under the crater walls where cruisers cool off between errands.
Practical
Position approx: the pin is the OpenStreetMap-mapped beach on the east shore of the bay (-8.9175, -140.0942), taken to be Kouvea, which the compendium places 'to the east, in front of the French Administrator's residence'; the west beach in front of the Pearl Lodge (Rose Corser's) is near -8.934, -140.106. The compendium rates Kouvea better: the west beach has more no-nos (sand flies). Don't swim near the petit quai, where sharks feed on fishermen's scraps; swimming in the bay is otherwise reported without incident. Water is murky (4-5 m visibility, near zero after heavy rain). Colette Bay, a walk over the west ridge, is the better swimming beach.
Best for
A quick swim in town
Season
Year-round; shore break in S swell