FranceGambier IslandsVolcanic island

Mangareva

14.0 km² of land in the Pacific Ocean.

When to go

Rikitea

N 1 km

Ferry portsPeaks

Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.

In numbers

14.0km²

Area

38km

Coastline

441m

Highest point

Mount Duff

1,239

People

27°C

Warmest sea

March

5,600km

To the mainland

When to go to Mangareva

Best for the beach from January to March, in May and in July.

The sea is warmest in March (27 °C) and coolest in September (23 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).

27°26°25°

Jan18

27°26°26°

Feb16

27°27°26°

Mar15

27°26°25°

Apr17

26°25°24°

May15

25°24°23°

Jun16

24°23°22°

Jul13

23°23°22°

Aug13

23°23°22°

Sep14

24°23°22°

Oct15

24°24°23°

Nov16

26°25°24°

Dec18

Sea temperature (the water level) Air: night low to afternoon high Wet days Best months

Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.

Central and largest island of the Gambier Islands in French Polynesia

Mangareva is an volcanic island in France. It belongs to Gambier Islands. It covers 14.0 km², with 38 km of coastline. Its highest point, Mount Duff, rises to 441 m. About 1,239 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 5,600 km away.

Getting there

Totegegie Airport (GMR)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 9 km in a straight lineCar hire at BES airport (Brest)Discover Cars · Affiliate link
Ferries4 ferry terminals on the island
5,600 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
From January to March, May and Julybest months to go (from 30 years of averages)

Plan the trip

Ferries, stays and things to do

Car hire at BES airport (Brest)Discover CarsSee

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

On the island

What you find on Mangareva.

5viewpointsBelvédère de Piiti, Pointe Tepaeture, Point de vue de Mataiutea and 2 more
4ferry terminalsMangareva, Quai aéroport dinghy et ravitaillement par cargo and 2 more
4named peaksDuff, Mokoto, Mukotaka and 1 more
1ruins and archaeological sitesPuits
3hotels, guesthouses and apartments
2restaurants, cafés and bars

Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.

Cross-checked with our atlases

Mangareva in our other atlases

Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Mangareva, each with its own numbers.

2beaches and covesCoastya
5mountainsPeakyas

Highest point
441m
Mount Duff
prominence 441 m · according to Peakyas
Beach with the warmest sea
27.2°C
Baie Reivaru
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya

2 beaches

on Coastya, the beach atlas

Baie Reivarucove27.2°C
Baie Vaituataicove27.2°C

Open Coastya ↗

5 mountains

on Peakyas, the mountain atlas

Mount Duffprominence 441 m441m
Mont Mukotaka211m
Mont Mokoto
Mont Tepuka
Mont Terua Kotuku

Open Peakyas ↗

The shape of the land.

On average the island stands 83 m above the sea. 92 % of it is below 200 m.

38 %0–50 m
54 %50–200 m
8 %200–500 m

Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).

Size, for real

Next to islands you may know.

Mangareva14 km²

Capri10 km²

Manhattan54 km²

5 km

All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).

Towns on the island

Rikitea1,103 people

Month by month

The weather on the island.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Afternoon high (°C)	26	26	27	26	25	24	23	23	23	23	24	25
Night low (°C)	25	26	26	25	24	23	22	22	22	22	23	24
Sea (°C)	27	27	27	27	26	25	24	23	23	24	24	26
Rain (mm)	144	104	101	116	127	132	82	92	74	131	148	171
Wet days	18	16	15	17	15	16	13	13	14	15	16	18
Sun h/day	8.8	8.8	8.5	7.2	6.5	6.2	6.7	7.3	7.9	7.8	8.1	8.4
Wind (km/h)	20	20	20	21	22	24	24	22	22	22	21	21

Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.

Recent years

Warmer and cooler years at sea.

Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
2020	−0.1	+0.2	−0.3	+0.1	+0.1	+0.3	−0.6	−0.4	+0.6	+0.9	+0.5	+0.8
2021	+0.5	+0.6	+0.5	+0.4	+0.9	+0.7	+1.1	+0.9	+0.9	+0.9	+0.4	+0.2
2022	−0.2	±0.0	+0.3	+0.4	+0.6	+0.9	+0.8	+0.7	+0.5	±0.0	−0.3	+0.2
2023	+0.4	+0.8	+0.3	+0.6	+0.7	+0.6	+0.6	−0.2	−0.4	+0.4	+0.5	−0.2
2024	−0.3	±0.0	+0.4	−0.9	−1.0	±0.0	−0.2	−0.5	−0.4	−0.1	+0.4	+0.5
2025	+0.6	+1.1	+0.6	+0.3	+0.9	+0.6	+0.8	+1.1	+1.1	+1.1	+0.8	±0.0

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

Photos

Seen by visitors.

About these numbers

Names, area, population	Wikidata (Q616662) · CC0
Outline	© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
Sea temperature	NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020
Climate	NASA POWER · 1991–2020
Relief, 3D model	Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails	© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
Towns	GeoNames · CC BY 4.0
Images	EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls	Coastya, Peakyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST