You can’t get much more paradisical than the Pacific islands of Polynesia. Even the names ooze romance — Tahiti, Bora Bora, Moorea. The crystal clear sea is more shades of dazzling blue than you can name. The lush, dormant volcanoes rising from the white sand beaches remain untouched by development or millionaire mansions.

The local people, with their tribal tattoos, shell jewelry, palm frond headdresses and colorful pareos, are genuinely welcoming, and the food (all that tropical fruit and fresh fish) has flair and flavor. In other words, the perfect place for a once-in-a-lifetime honeymoon that’s well worth the 8-hour flight from the West Coast.

Be warned, though, that visitors to French Polynesia never want to go home. In 1789, hordes of grimy British sailors arrived in Tahiti, ending

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