Some time ago, I visited Canada's Rocky Mountains. Snow glistened on the frozen peaks and vertical columns of water rushed down the sides. I turned to my teenage daughter and said: 'In all my years, I never thought I would see the Rockies.' 'It's just a bunch of rocks, dad,' she replied, deflating my sense of wonderment.

Now, as I lounge on deck, sea lapping at the bow and the pure blue skies above punctuated only by the odd wisp of cloud and the chiselled peak of Bora Bora's Mount Otemanu in the distance, I think I have found something new to be in awe of.

That tingling feeling
For here I am on the fully rigged Star Clippers ship, the Star Flyer, in the middle of the South Pacific cruising around Tahiti and the neighbouring islands. Tahiti the name itself is enough to conjure up all sorts of images of Polynesian beauties, adventures in sailing ships and sea explorers from bygone days. The reality is even better.

I'm not normally a cruise fan but, despite the 22-hour journey to get here, this is bliss. The islands are a truly beautiful alternative to regular cruise itineraries in the Med and Caribbean. A traditional four-masted clipper with polished brass and gleaming brightwork, the Star Flyer sends a tingle up your spine the first time you see her sails hoisted and a shiver down your timbers when you hear the creaks and groans as she makes progress through the night.

Thanks to the ship's small size, it holds 170 guests rather than thousands, its boutique atmosphere and a casual dress code, life on board is also more relaxed than on a traditional cruise. Superb meals are served three times a day with a mixture of local dishes such as fish in coconut milk and mashed potatoes with banana. It all feels rather like sailing a private yacht - albeit a pretty big one.

Each day, a different island goes by - Bora Bora, Moorea, Huahine - and there is a choice of trips available on each one. Cycling, kayaking, snorkelling and a superb beach barbecue on an uninhabited atoll are all included, while the obligatory shopping trips (I was with the wife, after all), submarine journeys and the chance to see the islands from above by helicopter come at a cost. The shopping trip is obviously the most expensive.

On the inhabited islands, you get the feeling Tahiti is not prepared to chase the tourist dollar at any cost; there seems almost a reluctance to change and there is a real effort to preserve the islands' way of life. Beachfront properties have to stay in Tahitian hands and are not sold off to the mega-rich from elsewhere.

Idyllic location
It's not a cheap destination: a meal for two on shore without alcohol will be around £40 and even a snack can cost upwards of a tenner per head. But if your wallet can take the strain, settings such as the Radisson Hotel in Papette, where we stayed before and after the cruise, make it all worthwhile. The service is exemplary and the location idyllic - a whole lot better than a bunch of rocks in Canada.

A week around Tahiti & Her Islands on the Star Flyer (Tel: 01473 292029. www.starclippers.co.uk) starts from £880 per person if booked before October 31. Price valid for sailings between November 2, 2008 and April 3, 2009. Turquoise Holidays (Tel: 01494 678400. www.turquoiseholidays.co.uk) has seven nights on the ship in a Category 2 cabin including flights from £2,850 per person.

For more information on Tahiti, visit www.tahiti-tourisme.co.uk or call 020 7202 6378

BARE ESSENTIALS
Tahiti is the largest island in French Polynesia - a French 'overseas collectivity' in the South Pacific marketed as Tahiti & Her Islands. It consists of 118 islands scattered over five archipelagos in an area bigger than Europe. Star Clippers has just started sailing there.

Language: Tahitian and French

Currency: £1 = 152 French Polynesian francs. Euros are widely accepted on the islands and US dollars on board the ship.