Should we book ahead for tours at Bora Bora & Papete?

Can we get a tour with some snorkeling at the pier when we arrive, or do we need to book ahead when in Bora Bora & Papeete? We will be there this Nov. Thanks ahead for any help. Joan

Can we get a tour with some snorkeling at the pier when we arrive, or do we need to book ahead when in Bora Bora & Papeete? We will be there this Nov. Thanks ahead for any help. Joan

To get a spot on a specific excursion you definitely must book ahead. BoraB has extraordinary snorkeling excursions and these particular tours can not be picked up dock side, in fact they are sometimes full 1year out!!! Most do not require

deposits so if plans change, no problem. As for PPT, we encountered several tours offered at the cruise dock, but there also- the best rated tours are booked in advance online. We did a cruise vacation & encountered a few people who had no particular plans & picked up a few dock-side and IMO we had better quality excursions. If you are staying several days-weeks then you may get on highly recommended excursion, also- hotel arranged excursions are generally higher in price than booking online. It also depends on your level of comfort...some like to wing it.

We booked a snorkeling tour for Bora Bora. Does anyone know about a company they would recommend for Papeete, Tahiti ?

We booked a snorkeling tour for Bora Bora. Does anyone know about a company they would recommend for Papeete, Tahiti ?

If you take a look at the sister site TripAdvisor there are several good recommendations. 'Purpleireses' recently posted her highly recommended tour choice for PPT.

We booked a snorkeling tour for Bora Bora. Does anyone know about a company they would recommend for Papeete, Tahiti ?

We were there on Holland and used their tour which picked you up at the dock that tour takes you out by the airport its a busy port and with the tide that day there was debris in the water and it was just ok at best take your own flippers. Are you on a ship? Were also in Park City.

Was just at Bora Bora 5 days ago. There were walk up 4 hour snorkeling tours offered at the pier for $80 per person. The tour snorkeled at the same places Patrick did on his tour, plus an extra stop (not snorkeling, but a location of very fine sand that my wife said was better then a spa exfoliate). We did the full day 4x4, bbq and snorkeling with Patrick the day before. While the $80 half day did not have the bbq that Patrick's did, it did stop for refreshment at the guides house on a private Motu (fruit, coconut bread, etc.). This tour had 16 people in the boat, compared to 8 on Patrick's full day tour.

I would recommend the half day if you do not have anything already booked. Do it in the morning, sometimes they do not get enough people to do the afternoon tours, especially if the weather looks like rain.

RDC1 -

How was the weather when you were just there?

We're booked in late Oct next year and are concerned it will be too cloudy to see the great water colors, sun-washed scenery, etc.

RDC1 -

 

How was the weather when you were just there?

 

We're booked in late Oct next year and are concerned it will be too cloudy to see the great water colors, sun-washed scenery, etc.

The weather was pretty good. Mostly sunny with some rain showers moving through sometime during the day. Direct sun is extremely hot here, so some cloud cover is not bad. Had some rain the first morning in Bora Bora, cleared in the afternoon. On the second day the weather flipped, clear in the morning, some rain in the afternoon.

Have been on Tahiti for the last three days. Mostly clear with occasional showers.

RDC1 -

Thanks!