September 10, 2025

Luxe Doing Good: An Eco Marine Adventure at The Brando, Tetiaroa, French Polynesia

I’m surely not the only one whose Instagram feed is increasingly filled with videos of adventurous travellers throwing themselves out of planes, paddle boarding across remote, glassy lakes and diving with all manner of dangerous creatures. Say what you want about social media, but it has a unique ability to not only make the world feel a bit smaller, but push viewers to put down their screens and step out of their comfort zone.

The non-profit organisation and the hotel — named after its former owner, actor Marlon Brando — work hand in hand to educate guests and the wider public about French Polynesia’s extraordinary history and wealth of wildlife. And the hotel, ignoring the epic journey required to reach it, is arguably one of the most sustainably-minded on the planet. Among its impressive achievements are its commitment to solar power (close to 5,000 panels lining the resort’s runway produce nearly three quarters of its required electricity) and pioneering Sea Water Air Conditioning (SWAC) system, designed to last a half century, but generate savings after only ten.

Visitors can traverse Tetiaroa with one of the Society’s researchers or go on a twitching tour of Bird Island which is home to 17 different species, including noddys, frigates and terns. In Tahitian culture, birds are divinely linked to the gods and so heavily protected here that you cannot step foot on the island. Instead, you wade through knee-deep water, a respectable distance from the shoreline, while curious lemon sharks dance through the shallows and maintain a keen eye on your movements.

Visitors can also snorkel with humpback whales in small groups and often entirely privately. It’s a mystical happening and a world away from the one that clamouring crowds experience in Tahiti and neighbouring Mo’orea. As our guide points out, there’s a chance that the mother, the size of a London bus, and her baby we are lucky enough to share a few minutes with — in Ultra Violet-colour water that seems to have no beginning or end — might’ve never seen a human being before. It is our collective responsibility, he adds, to make sure that the moment is a positive one.