Noumea Explorer

Hello,

Has anybody been on the Noumea Explorer (hop in hop off) recently?

I would like information on

1. price
   
2. timetable
   
3. experiences of
   

Thank you

Was there last week and noticed in the terminal where they drop you that it was $15 Aus per person. There was about 10 stops and the lady at the desk said it came by every 25 minutes. Can't comment on experience as we didn't end up going on it but hope the rest helps.

we used the bus back in Sept. Yes A$15 for all-day, buy tickets at tourist centre, bus departs from right out front, around every 30 mins.

We took a full lap at first to see the whole route, and then got off at Lemon Bay 2nd time around. Spent an hour or so at the beach and then adjourned to bar right across the road for drinks and a bite to eat - the bill was in Pacific francs, but they took cc.

Then walked about 100m to bus stop and caught bus back.

Another day in paradise :)

.

 

 

 

Another day in paradise :)

On our recent cruise I had another passenger whinge to me that she hated Noumea. She said the only decent thing was the aquarium. I guess some people have different expectations.

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On our recent cruise I had another passenger whinge to me that she hated Noumea. She said the only decent thing was the aquarium. I guess some people have different expectations.

Perhaps she would rather have been at work :)

We used the HOHO bus on the last couple of visits to Noumea and will use it again in April when we visit on the CS. Reckon it's good value.

Some passengers got off at Anse Vata and caught a water taxi over to the Isle de Canards for a swim before returning to Anse Vata and catching the bus back to the cruise ship terminal.

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Do you need to book in advance for the HOHO?

Doing the circuit & then lemon bay sounds good!

Do you need to book in advance for the HOHO?

Doing the circuit & then lemon bay sounds good!

No need to book.......just pay at the cruise terminal.

Example of tours available at port....Feb 2014

Does anyone know how long a circuit on the HOHO bus takes? I think our ship is in port only from 11-4 (maybe 5) so it does limit our time a bit.

A full lap was around 2 hrs from memory.

Hi just a quick question, does the HOHO bus go both directions, so I can go to the aquarium first then catch the bus the other way to Lemon beach or will I have to do the full loop? Thanks.

Hi just a quick question, does the HOHO bus go both directions, so I can go to the aquarium first then catch the bus the other way to Lemon beach or will I have to do the full loop? Thanks.

You don't need to catch a bus to go from the Aquarium to Lemon Bay. It is a very short walk. The Aquarium is near the headland between Lemon Bay and Anse Vata Beach. If that is all you want to do, I suggest you go by local bus to the Aquarium, walk to the beach and when you are finished, catch the local bus back to the ship. It would be much cheaper. However, if you want to have a general look around the city, then go on the Explorer bus. From what I know it goes only in one direction.

For the Aquarium entry fee and also for the local bus you would need to have Pacific Francs. :)

 

For the Aquarium entry fee and also for the local bus you would need to have Pacific Francs. :)

We were at the aquarium last month. They accept credit and debit cards. A Citibank or 28 Degrees card would be ideal.

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Hi just a quick question, does the HOHO bus go both directions, so I can go to the aquarium first then catch the bus the other way to Lemon beach or will I have to do the full loop? Thanks.

For most of the trip the bus is on the same road, basically out & back. If you get off at an earlier stop & wish to get back on and continue travelling 'out', then just wait at the stop you got off at & get back on. There are stops on both sides of the road, and the stops are not far apart.

Hi,

So the bus goes both ways?

Hi,

 

So the bus goes both ways?

Only on the one-road-leg part of the trip is my understanding. Imagine the letter P where the port is at the top, and the bus travels around the whole letter - around the loop is part is one-way only, but the leg has the bus going out that road then back in on the same road.

Hi, is it easy to find the local bus and work out their timetable?

Hello everyone - it's been a while since writing on here but I've been recovering from ankle surgery and no access to a computer......

This itinerary is so fantastic to us, we are busy looking at all the options. We are thinking of doing all the hop on hop off buses in the different ports and if we have time, stop off at the places we fancy. We've been told to see if we can make a stop at the nickel mine in Noumea, the wine tour on Waikheke Island and maybe a Kiwi farm in Tauranga. If we do the ho ho bus, we may not be able to do these suggestions tho. Any other ideas?

I know of the different currency in Fiji and NC, but will they take any other currency such as NZ or Australian dollars?

We are staying for a few days in Sydney before boarding the ship.

What's the ship like? - we are relatively new cruisers but are hooked!

Excited Welsh couple!!!

 

I know of the different currency in Fiji and NC, but will they take any other currency such as NZ or Australian dollars?

 

Excited Welsh couple!!!

Hi, the tour operators in the passenger terminal will accept AU$, local currency and credit cards everywhere else in Noumea.

Not to sure about Fiji as it has been over 15 years since I was there last sorry, I'm guessing just local currency and credit cards.

See you next month on Voyager.:)

When I last used the hop on hop off in noumea 3 years ago, it was approx $40AUD but included the boat to and from Duck Island, and also attraction entries from memory.

Is this option still available, or just the basic bus pass and pay your entries separately?

Do you pick up he. Hop on hop off buses from the main cruise ship terminal where he P&O ships dock / where the RCI and Celeb shuttles drop you off?

Thank you!

We have done bus tours from the terminal, private tours organised through our roll call, HOHO on our days in Noumea. Have been many times and it depends if we are travelling with friends who haven't been before as to how we decide to spend our day. If we go back just hubby and I we would most likely just use the public bus as we have already done the tourist places, so we would just go to find a beach to spend some time. The HOHO was ok but not reliable in regard to their timetable. We also found that a couple of times the bus was full and so wouldn't stop to pick us up. In that way we would have been better using the public bus. It wasn't an issue as we had oodles of time and just waited for the next bus but something to keep in mind that you need to allow a couple of hours to get back to the city. We spend time wandering around the park and shops before going back to the ship.

The café at the terminal which has so so free wifi accepted aussie currency, as did the stalls in the small market upstairs. Someone on our cruise used AUD in the casino supermarket over the road, it was accepted ok but they gave her back their currency in change, whereas all the markets we have bought from accepted and gave back in AUD. We always travel with lots of $5 and $10 notes for this purpose.

When I last used the hop on hop off in noumea 3 years ago, it was approx $40AUD but included the boat to and from Duck Island, and also attraction entries from memory.

 

Is this option still available, or just the basic bus pass and pay your entries separately?

 

Do you pick up he. Hop on hop off buses from the main cruise ship terminal where he P&O ships dock / where the RCI and Celeb shuttles drop you off?

 

Thank you!

It's $15 for the HOHO only.

Yes, it picks up at that terminal - the ferry terminal. The ticket office is at the back right inside the building.

The circuit takes about 45 minutes. It starts off going south, past the markets, then up and over the hill and around the coast, through Lemon Bay, past the aquarium and along to just past the entrance to the Chateau Royal hotel where it does a u-turn. Back along the bays and over the hill, then it goes through the main town before coming back to the ferry terminal.

They claim the buses run every 20 minutes or so but I think it's a bit vaguer than that. ;) We found it a very good service when we were there last month. We did the full loop, then went back to Lemon Bay for lunch. After lunch we had to wait 5-10m minutes to pick up the bus back to the ferry terminal.

By the way there is a supermarket and ATM diagonally across the road from the ferry terminal. You'd probably need francs to buy anything from the supermarket I suspect.

It's $15 for the HOHO only.

 

Yes, it picks up at that terminal - the ferry terminal. The ticket office is at the back right inside the building.

 

The circuit takes about 45 minutes. It starts off going south, past the markets, then up and over the hill and around the coast, through Lemon Bay, past the aquarium and along to just past the entrance to the Chateau Royal hotel where it does a u-turn. Back along the bays and over the hill, then it goes through the main town before coming back to the ferry terminal.

 

They claim the buses run every 20 minutes or so but I think it's a bit vaguer than that. ;) We found it a very good service when we were there last month. We did the full loop, then went back to Lemon Bay for lunch. After lunch we had to wait 5-10m minutes to pick up the bus back to the ferry terminal.

 

By the way there is a supermarket and ATM diagonally across the road from the ferry terminal. You'd probably need francs to buy anything from the supermarket I suspect.

Thanks for the info and feedback, sounds great! I think we'd like to do that as we've been before so maybe explore coconut square, taste some cheese and wine somewhere, lunch at lemon bay, maybe the aquarium too :) thank you!

Does anyone know if the hoho still stops at the tjibaou cultural centre? Couldn't see it on the list of stops posted in the images on page 1. Thank you!

It's $15 for the HOHO only.

 

Yes, it picks up at that terminal - the ferry terminal. The ticket office is at the back right inside the building.

 

The circuit takes about 45 minutes. It starts off going south, past the markets, then up and over the hill and around the coast, through Lemon Bay, past the aquarium and along to just past the entrance to the Chateau Royal hotel where it does a u-turn. Back along the bays and over the hill, then it goes through the main town before coming back to the ferry terminal.

There are actually - slightly - different routes among the different companies and sometimes different stops depending on schedule. Prices also vary.