Tahaa Coral Gardens Drift Snorkel

How strong/powerful a swimmer does one need to be to do the Tahaa coral gardens drift snorkel? Our ship is offering a drift snorkel through the coral gardens as one of the excursions while in port at Raiatea. It sounds like a lot of fun but is indicated to be a "strenuous" activity. In some of our research, we have gotten a different opinion. So, if you are an average swimmer and don't get to snorkel but once every couple of years, is this an excursion for you or should you stick to snorkel adventures in the lagoon?

Thanks for any insight anyone can give!

it isn't strenuous to walk to the 'jump in' location. The secret is going at the right time. If the tide is coming in quickly it can be a bit tricky. The east ide (closest to the Tahaa resort gives a better ride/view but can be a bit more tricky as you really need to get yourself in the middle channel.

Most tour vendors don't time out the distance between people far enough so where you often get cut is when someone else runs into you form the rear or you run into someone else who ran into something in front of you. For this reason I always make sure I'm either first in or last in.

Every time I go on a drift snorkel on Tahaa there are always a few who get coral cuts ........... I've done the drift snorkel at least 4 times over the years.

If your overweight or can't keep your knees up you might have a problem, especially if the water level in the lagoon is low. This happens when the tide isn't moving the water fast which you think is a good thing but the distance between you and the coral becomes less.

We did a private tour with l'excursion bleue , http://www.tahaa.net three years ago when we were on the Paul Gauguin. We are by no means strong swimmers or expert snorkelers, but this was one of the best days of our lives. Amazing sights and pictures. Also, my husband, who is overweight, had no problems at all. However, the French lady who was on the tour with us panicked, and I believe she did get some scratches. I'm counting the days when we return in a couple of months!

We just did this and maybe we were there on a calm day. I think you need to be very comfortable with snorkeling but you could acutually be a weak swimmer. The problems would happen if you start getting water in your mask or mouthpiece. I really enjoyed it!

When I did the drift snorkel there was a strong current in the channel you needed to swim across to begin the second drift. I had taken my travelling flippers which do not provide as much drive as standard fipppers. I am a strong swimmer and needed to use all my effort. Those with standard flippers had no issues. Once launched on the drift there was no strong current. We also had a fine wind free day. For the walk in, I wore reef shoes which held up well and several people with bare sole flippers chose to keep theirs on to protect from coral cuts on their feet. Wear a t shirt that fits quite closely to protect your back from the sun. Mine also had long sleeves to protect my arms. Our tour leader made everyone leave heavy items etc on the bus apart from small water bottles and waterproof cameras. It was a wonderful experience well worth the walk.

The drift snorkel is not difficult, the currents push you along, but you do need to be aware of where you are going, and be quick to respond.

My suggestion is to wear diving gloves, of course you do not want to touch or damage the coral, but they do provide protection if you are pushed into some by the currents.

Also, if you sun burn easily, UV shirts are the way to go. T-shirts tend to get stretched out and do not provide great protection. The UV shirts are made for swimming all day in the sun.

As you can tell from reading the last 2 reviews there is no consensus, it's all subjective plus it really depends on who you go with as each side of the channel is different as far as the current and how far you must 'swim' to get to the channel. On top of that there are 3 channels, the middle channel can be a bit tough to get to plus the time of day will dictate the tide/current speed.

I've taken the drift snorkel with several different tour vendors. By far Bruno is the best tour but it is also the toughest as far as the entry point and the possibility of getting cut by coral. By far the best tour on Raiatea/Tahaa.

As you can tell from reading the last 2 reviews there is no consensus, it's all subjective plus it really depends on who you go with as each side of the channel is different as far as the current and how far you must 'swim' to get to the channel. On top of that there are 3 channels, the middle channel can be a bit tough to get to plus the time of day will dictate the tide/current speed.

 

I've taken the drift snorkel with several different tour vendors. By far Bruno is the best tour but it is also the toughest as far as the entry point and the possibility of getting cut by coral. By far the best tour on Raiatea/Tahaa.

We also did Bruno's tour and it was very good, the drift snorking was amazing, no cuts.

I hope i can go back to FP soon, much better than Caribbean cruise.

Hello Belgium ..............

I'm a good part Belgium, a ton of family in all parts of Belgium with the core being in Charleroi. My grandfather enlisted in the Belgium army at 16 during WWI, he lied about is age ........... 3 years in the trenches of France

Thank you to everyone for your insights! We leave tomorrow for our cruise and are very excited and looking forward to the drift snorkel!

Been with Bruno many times----the pearl lady knows me quite well====don't need the vanilla farm---I love that day--

Nancy:D:D