Fodor's Expert Review Lafayette Beach

There's plenty of room for everyone at this black-sand beach at Arue, stretching for a whopping 2,624 feet (800 meters). It's on the edge of Matavai Bay (where James Cook and other European explorers dropped anchor in the late 1760s), with lovely views to the southwest. The Radisson Plaza Resort is situated on a section of the beach; however, the entire beach is open to the public. There's another black-sand beach a little farther east at Mahina, near the Point Vénus lighthouse.