Under Swaying Palms in the Society Islands

“The South Seas” (Rand McNally Video Trips, 55 minutes, 1990).

This well-photographed video emphasizes swaying palms, beautiful lagoons, spectacular sunsets and travel tips for many islands.

Tahiti’s Papeete, capital and largest city of the Society Islands, seemingly has given way to commercialization--a city tour shows shops and sidewalk cafes crowded with tourists and the harbor filled with cruise ships. A drive around the island, however, offers glimpses of the islands’ continuing allure, with waterfalls and black-sand beaches, the Papeari Botanical Gardens, Gauguin Museum and Museum of Tahiti.

On Moorea, there are scenes of terrain, lagoons and beaches and how-to travel information.

On Bora-Bora, much-photographed jagged peaks overlook wondrously clear blue lagoons that are ideal for snorkeling; there’s a bike tour to isolated beaches; the plantation house-hotel built for the film “Hurricane” still stands; tourists feed sharks in the surf, and there’s information on big-game fishing.

Tapes are available from VCRI, P.O. Box 1179, Gillette, Wyo. 82717, (800) 248-7477. Price: $19.99.

“Mexico” (International Video Network, Video Visits, 53 minutes, 1990).

Some of the major tourist destinations of Mexico--Mexico City, Cuernavaca and the Yucatan Peninsula, plus brief visits to some western beach resorts--are filmed.

In Mexico City, largest city in the world and one of the smoggiest, the film visits the city’s main plaza and its huge, imposing cathedral, the Museum of Anthropology in Chapultepec Park and the modern, clean subway system.

Cuernavaca is a vacation retreat with a gentle climate and lovely gardens. The camera goes to Cortez Palace and the Museum of Cuauhnahuac to see murals by Diego Rivera.

Along with the archeological wonders of the Yucatan Peninsula is a tour of its major city, Merida. Once called the “Paris of Mexico,” European-style mansions and huge estates are viewed.

Another trip takes viewers to Chichen Itza, with its wondrous ruins, including the Ball Court and the Caracol, an early observatory. The ruins of Tulum present dramatic views of the Caribbean from atop a 40-foot cliff.

In the Caribbean off the Yucatan coast are the resort islands of Cozumel and Cancun, where scuba divers and parasailers play at Palancar Reef, one of the largest in the world.

The most beautiful ruins in Yucatan are at Palenque near the Guatemala border. Located in a lush-green rain forest, with spectacular waterfalls and pools, it’s a contrast to the more arid archeological sites.

Briefly visited, too, are the west coast resorts of Puerto Escondido, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco and Cabo San Lucas.

Tapes are available from International Video Network, Video Visits, 2242 Camino Ramon, San Ramon, Calif. 94583, (800) 669-4486. Price: $24.95.