Secret Polynesia: Unexplored Tuamotu, the Gambier Islands and the Austral Islands
Cruises › South Pacific › Ponant
Featured Voyage
Fourteen nights to the parts of French Polynesia almost nobody sees. East through the Tuamotus to Anaa and Hikueru, then south to the Gambier, where a coral-stone cathedral built by nineteenth-century converts still stands over Rikitea, and on to the Austral Islands, cool, green and among the least visited inhabited islands in the Pacific.
From $15,560 per person · solo from $17,000 · no single supplement on 11 grades
Why This Ship, Out Here
Le Jacques carries about 180 guests. She is small enough to enter lagoons and anchorages the larger ships cannot reach, which is the whole point of a route like this one, and she carries Zodiacs for landings where there is no pier at all.
11 stateroom grades price identically for one guest and for two on this departure. Not a reduced supplement, none at all.
The Journey
The heart of French Polynesia, its market, its black-sand coast and the green interior standing behind the town.
A UNESCO biosphere reserve, and the finest drift diving in the Tuamotus.
A Tuamotu atoll whose lagoon throws green light onto the underside of the clouds above it.
A pearl-diving atoll that sees almost no visitors, its village facing a lagoon few ships ever enter.
A small island in the Gambier lagoon, its old watchtower and white-sand shore left almost entirely to itself.
The capital of the Gambier, beneath Mount Duff, where a coral-stone cathedral built by nineteenth-century converts still dominates the village.
The southernmost inhabited island of French Polynesia, a drowned crater ringed by fortified peaks, cool, green and rarely reached.
Often called the most beautiful island in the Pacific, and one of the least visited, its peaks reflected in an almost empty lagoon.
The largest of the Australs, low green hills inside a wide lagoon, and the island the Bounty mutineers tried to settle first.
A raised coral island of limestone caves and cliffs, where humpback whales come close inshore between July and October.
The heart of French Polynesia, its market, its black-sand coast and the green interior standing behind the town.
Scroll for the full journey
The Fare
A French ship, most of it in. Here is exactly where the line sits.
Your stateroom, all dining aboard, house wines, beer and soft drinks with lunch and dinner, and the Zodiac landings that make these itineraries possible.
Airfare, travel insurance, shore excursions and personal expenses. Air is the largest single cost on a route this remote, so we price the whole journey with flights before you commit.
Your Ship
About 180 guests, French at heart, and built to go where the big ships cannot.
Ponant build small, and it is the reason to sail with them out here. Le Jacques takes about 180 guests, carries a fleet of Zodiacs, and calls at islands where the only way ashore is off the back of the ship.
Every Stateroom on This Sailing
| Stateroom | Solo | Per person |
|---|---|---|
| Deluxe Stateroom Deck 3 No single supplement Waitlist | $14,670 | $14,670 |
| Prestige Stateroom Deck 4 No single supplement Waitlist | $16,220 | $16,220 |
| Prestige Stateroom Deck 5 No single supplement | $17,000 | $17,000 |
| Prestige Stateroom Deck 6 No single supplement | $17,920 | $17,920 |
| Deluxe Suite Deck 3 No single supplement | $24,720 | $24,720 |
| Deluxe Suite Deck 4 No single supplement | $24,720 | $24,720 |
| Deluxe Suite Deck 5 No single supplement | $24,720 | $24,720 |
| Deluxe Suite Deck 6 No single supplement | $24,720 | $24,720 |
| Prestige Deck 5 No single supplement | $33,220 | $33,220 |
| Prestige Suite Deck 6 No single supplement | $34,920 | $34,920 |
| Privilege Suite Deck 5 No single supplement | $36,630 | $36,630 |
| Privilege Suite Deck 6 No single supplement | $36,630 | $36,630 |
| Grand Deluxe Suite Deck 6 No single supplement | $40,180 | $40,180 |
| Owner's Suite Deck 5 | $82,760 | $42,180 |
Fares are per person, cruise only, for the 13 December 2026 departure, pulled from Ponant direct. Solo is the total for one guest; per person is based on double occupancy. 11 grades carry no single supplement, so a solo traveller pays what a guest sharing pays. Waitlisted grades are shown greyed and cannot be booked. Where a solo fare reads On request, Ponant has not published a single rate for that grade and we will confirm it for you. Other departures price differently; the dates below carry their own fares. Airfare is arranged separately.
Departures & Fares
| Departure | Solo | Per person |
|---|---|---|
| 18 Oct 2026 | $29,520 | $15,560 |
| 13 Dec 2026 No single supplement | $17,000 | $17,000 |
Each fare is the lowest bookable stateroom for that departure, solo total and per person based on double occupancy, pulled live from Ponant with waitlisted grades excluded. Every departure carries a $100 onboard credit per person as an Elevida amenity. Airfare is arranged separately.
The day by day above follows the 13 December 2026 departure.
Ready When You Are
From $15,560 per person, solo from $17,000, and our planning from first question to the flight home.
Fares are per person, cruise only, for the 13 December 2026 departure as published by Ponant, including any Ponant Bonus. Airfare additional. Waitlisted grades cannot be booked. Fares are capacity-controlled and may change or be withdrawn without notice. Elevida Luxury Journeys is an independent affiliate of Travel Planners International.