It is located 12 kilometres (7.5 miles) to the east of Faaite Atoll.

There are three deep, navigable, passes into the lagoon, which are called Motupuapua, Teavatapu and Otao.

Tahanea is uninhabited, but visited occasionally by islanders from neighboring atolls.

The first recorded European to sight Tahanea was Spanish navigator Domingo de Boenechea on 9 November 1774 on ship Aguila.

[2][3] Russian oceanic explorer Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen visited Tahanea in 1820 on ships Vostok and Mirni.