Petoonya

Snorkeling is all we do when visiting Tahiti, and over the years and especially the last 5 years, have developed a favorite list- rather a "don't go snorkeling unless you use these guys!" Number 1 not to be missed iis H2O Bora Bora- wow are they amazing. On our last cruise there were several in our group of friends who said they were the best snorkel trip they ever taken. One beauty of their tours is that they have only two boats that accommodate either a group of four or six, so essentially your're getting a private tour for a price was actually less that those tours with 8-12 people. The result is that you have a captain who is dedicated to making sure that all have an opportunity to experience sea life. For instance in years past in the manta ray "nursery" we used to see 2-3 mantas- with H2O we saw 20-30. With a small group you have the time to do so much more. We went out 2x with them on our 18 day cruise in 2022 August. Do all day including the motu luncheon for a real treat. Bora Bora's lagoon is my favorite spot in Tahiti Moorea- treat yourself to a again to a private tour 2-4 people- Mermaid Private Boat Tours . More spendy than most, but especially worth it. Warm people who are dedicated to your snorkeling experience. Also highly recommend are Alex Tours, and Moorea Adventure Tours (marine biologist onboard). You can book the last two on Viator. Fakarava- can't miss Fakarava Explorer, atolissant@hotmail.com He's been doing it for 20 years and now his son has taken over. Fakarava is a pristine paradise and what a day we've always had. O2 Fakarava is a half day intense adventure, number 2 choice. Tahaa/Raiatea is the place to go for jet ski snorkeling. Are Tours also quite good. Coral Gardens- spectacular- forget the ship's tours. Huahine- I'd choose Huahine Dream Tours. Rangiroa- a few good ones but we like The Six Passengers. Our last cruise people really seemed to like the ship's tour. The all do the same thing- the Aquarium (gorgeous) and/or drift snortkeling the Tiputa Pass. Can you tell I love snorkeling, French Polynesia and Windstar? Sorry to be so wordy- been addicted for a long time, and love chatting about it. Have a fantastic cruise!

Agree. We went out with H2O BB twice on an 18 day cruise....one of the days with wonderful lunch on private motu, We snorkel a lot and theirs was the best snorkel tour we've ever been on- and we've been to Tahiti several times. Magnificent. Saw things we've never seen before in Bora Bora. Prices so reasonable and only 4 or 6 passengers in their two boats.Like a private tour.

Picking a time to me is a crap shoot. I've been in Feb, Aoril, May, August, Sept, Oct and Nov/Dec. August should have been the best month but out of 18 days it either poured or was overcast 12 last summer. Feb, April, May, Sept and October were all fine. But 18 days in Nov/Dec when it should have been the worst, it was sunny and gorgeous 17 out of 18 days. I think you take your chances with Tahiti weather any time of year. The crew on Wind Spirit this last August agreed. Doesn't matter- if you can do it- DO IT. It's amazing.

Oh no, not at all. The price is the price for tours in Tahiti as most places. But Captain Benoit and his Tahiti Lagoon Paradise seemed to be a little more "flexible". Prices on his website seem quite high by comparison to other tours say in Bora Bora or Moorea, but for whatever reason we've been able to negotiate a price that's within our budget. With him if the price seems a little too high, I'd ask "can you do it for ----? , and he's been amenable. Whatever the price it's worth it hands down- his tours are wonderful, and the price is for 2-4 people.

If you're going to Raiatea, almost all the tours out of Raiatea offer a stop at a pearl farm- it's really hard to escape the pearl farm, rum distillery, vanilla farm stuff! Raiatea and Taha'a sit across from each other (historically they were one island), and we've been to Champon Family Pearl farm in Taha'a twice on a snorkel tour from Raiatea. Probably a nice spot for low quality craft type pearls. Second option is right in Papeete (you didn't mention but assume you'll be stopping there too?). Mihiarii Pearls in the Papeete Market. Price wise probably the best you'll get. Since it's craft quality purchases you're looking to make, and there is always MUCH too little time in FP, if it were me I'd buy my pearls on eBay. If they aren't sentimental or valuable pearls I'd go that way. Too, too much fun to be had out on the lagoon or in the hills above.

@coopster No. Pharmaceuticals in FP follow generally the same prescribing provisions as the US and Canada.

@jbcallender There is a very nice, but spendy wine vendor about 5 blocks from the port, Wine XS. But looking online they close at 6pm. You'll be happier anyway going to Carrefours in Faaa despite the cost of the taxi ($25 each way from port). But if you're coming from the airport Carrefours will be right on the way..... Wonderful store, fabulous wine selection. Open till 8:30. Just in case you're departing on a Sunday, no liquor sales on Sundays.

Interesting! Well either this couple was pulling our legs or the crew was pulling yours. They were part of a foursome who said they were from Texas and their stories and accents sounded pretty authentic! They did some mean country dancing much to everyone’s delight, not that Anschutz isn’t a hoofer too.

There's really no need for XPF before traveling to Tahiti. Just visit any ATM, close to any of the ports and use your card. Independent tour operators generally accept online cc payment.. You'll find out if you book an independent. Most we used last month took online cc payment. Nice to carry XPF for tips etc.

A good question. It is possible but think it would be hard to coordinate. There’s a ferry 3 days a week between Raiatea and Bora Bora but it takes 2.5 hrs each way. Might be very hard to coordinate with arrival and departure of the ship. But there are reasonably priced flights between Raiatea and BB on Air Tahiti last I read. And only 20min. flight. Again could be hard to get flight times to work but worth a try! I like to use the Expedia feature “Rome to Rio” to plug in off the beaten path destination ferries, flights etc. Will let you have the fun of researching it though! Let me know what you find. Are you just one day in BB?

Do it- sounds wonderful. And enough onboard for the kids on sea days. I LOVE sea days in So. Pacific. They are very active cruise- ports that require to to run around/tour/snorkel/beach it everywhere. So having some kick back days to just enjoy the ship is wonderful. Guessing that the long haul is Samoa-Maui? How many sea days strung together is that? If 3 or more in a row it might be a very challenging for your children. But a Disney cruise is a Disney cruise and nothing better for kids. PG is not quite as cut out for kids but doable. Staff is wonderful and will knock themselves out helping to amuse yours. There are specific kids activities during the summer. Dining excellent, staff outstanding. I just think your kids would feel more comfortable on Disney. The only thing is that I've done similar itinerary to Disney's and I like the 11 day Tahiti much better PG. I go every 3 years. Only once on PG- six on Windstar, two Oceania. WS and O obviously not for kids. Good decision to have. I'd go Disney with children!

@lynnfromwigan I'm confused. Moorea is in French Polynesia....a ferry trip away from Papeete in Tahiti. I'm going to assume that you meant Papeete on Tahiti where cruise ships port instead of Suva. The ferry to Moorea is immediately adjacent to where your cruise ship will port in Papeete- you just walk through a parking lot. At the ferry port in Moorea, it's easy to rent a car- just google "Alberts Moorea" or "Avis Moorea". Moorea is very driveable and probably the least expensive way to see the island. Under $100USD for a day. Albert's has pretty much any kind of tour you want- take a look at their website. https://albert-transport.net/tours/ Prices are listed. We're snorkelers and like Moorea Moana Tours- outstanding and educational snorkel tours. https://www.mooreaoceantours.com/ Moorea Activities Center is good too for snorkeling. Both will pick you up from the port. Moorea Moana leaves very early though, like 8am. Infact most tours will be picking you up around 8-9am from the ferry port. But if you were looking for a private taxi tour try Alberts or Torea Nui Transports . Torea Nui is my favorite for a private taxi tours- you'd see the highlights, beaches, snorkel stops, Belvedere and lots more. https://toreanui.com/tours/taxi/ Lastly, I think as far as selection and getting the best price for say, an island tour, snorkel and anything else.....your best bet is to choose a tour from Viator since you don't pay anything until 24 hours prior to the tour.https://www.viator.com/Moorea/d5182-ttd Still think you'd be best off to just rent a car and expore on your own. Go to Snack Mahana for lunch too. Best seafood I think I've ever head.

There is lot more snorkeling info in French Polynesia to share, and I'm wondering why this topic was closed, Host Bonjour. If you close the topic there can be no more information passed along. I'm sure that there are a lot of people with experience snorkeling in Tahiti with other vendors and suggestions. Same with how you closed the Fakarava snorkeling topic. And besides they didn't make a stickie anyway- they are falling to the bottom. I don't understand why you closed them. ?????

@Arkansas cruisers There is a lady who is quite famous for leading kayaking tours on the Faaroa river apparently by the name of Vivien. She gets clients at the pier. We did a different tour when we did Wind Spirit in August, but did the Faaroa River kayak on a previous cruise- had a great time. But our friends went with Vivien this time and booked it through https://www.tahiti.com/activities/faaroa-river-and-ancient-marae-tour-with-lunch-6534 I'd not count on booking at the pier- I'd want to pre-book if possible if I were you. You don't want to be stuck with nothing to do. And not as much to do in Raiatea unless you pre-book a snorkel-pearl and vanilla farm tours.....or a jet ski excursion. You didn't ask about these, but just in case, some other things to do.. Te Mara Nui- offers a snorkel trip in Tahaa and the Coral Gardens. https://www.te-mara-nui.com/en/ L' Excursion Bleu- snorkel, coral gardens, pearl and vanilla farm. https://www.tahaa.net/en/home/ Raiatea Jet- https://www.raiateajet.com/copie-de-accueil Have done all of these on different Tahiti cruises in last 5 years and all are still in business.

Oh Jazz- I'm a whiz with winter proofing. We live on a beach in Oregon where the winter wind can blow off the ocean 130 mph. So I can seal your dang windows in a flash too. But driving on ice and snow even with chains.....???

Thanks so much! Can tell you've been there. Family will be good to me with help with dh. Feel encouraged that it'll be ok to take a break by myself. Thanks again 🙂

Thanks for all the caring thoughts! Warm my heart. Not leaving! Just being quiet, and I'll surely pop up when Tahiti is the topic 🙂 Some thoughtful friends here. Host Jazzbeau, LHT, and Avalong- my dear friend, to others who've posted and more.. 1985rz1, you've always touched me with your thoughtful, caring, amusing posts! Life is wonderful, I'm healthy and strong, and expect to cruise again one of these days so look for me. Jeez, I can even still put snow chains on my tires! I'll be posting 🙂 Love to everyone!

Used to post on this board quite a bit. Our last cruise was an 18 day Wind Spirit Tahiti in August which is the reason that I’ve been absent for a while. The cruise was a repeat for us as we’ve done the 18 day several times. I highly recommend. My husband however did poorly on it. I’ve spoken before about his dementia. It’s now bad enough that he had great difficulty with this cruise. Just emailed my Oceania agent asking her to cancel our 2023 O cruises. Very 😢 I’ll still be reading and watching. I know excellent Tahiti independent snorkel tour providers, day rooms in Papeete, car rentals- stuff like that for Tahiti. I like “dayuse.com” for day rooms at LAX! I still know the R ships fairly well, but outside of that I’m not much help. I loved cruising Oceania! It was always dreamlike as soon as we were onboard. Have to keep “maybe” on the mind and keep positive. I’m “only” 70, and life dashes on. Enjoy the hell out of your cruises! Best to everyone.

Really sorry about your canceled cruise. 2024 will be here before you know it and you have all this time to have fun planning. Happy to hear that you had great responses from Mermaid. Luna is a true mermaid. Always nice to chat with you😍

@canadianbear The flight is VERY expensive. I think H2O BB is the creme d la creme in Tahiti. But .....do Mermaid Private Boat Tours if you're looking for something extra special and extra fish concentrated in Moorea 🙂 More expensive and the territory not quite as pristine as BB but still absolutely sublime. The weather is always a question anywhere in Tahiti, so I'd not risk an expensive flight vs taking a perfectly wonderful tour in Moorea. Mermaid Private boat tours. Again, very much worth the expense if you're snorkeling. I very much dislike snorkeling when there are 5-6 other boats visiting the same spot.But never so with Mermaid.

Did the 18 day Tahiti that finished in Papeete on 8/22/22. It was EXTREMELY relaxed. It'll take me a bit to adjust to 501 levis, cowboy hats (removed respectfully when seated) and shorts in Amphora, but that's the way it was. It was fine. I've always felt that since the crew knock themselves out to prepare an outstanding meal for us, we should at least dress for an occasion. But I'm chastened. Maybe it just doesn't matter. The dining room seemed to be a happy, convivial place as usual. I wore capris a few times and felt fine. Wearing a cowboy hat or shorts would have made me feel out of place not that I wear a cowboy hat- maybe a 49-ers. But in the scheme of things, if it's ok with WS it's OK with me. We still like to be dress up a bit for dinner. Not yet worn mask and snorkel in Amphora although it's what I mostly wear cruising.

Or easy walk to Avis from ship. Just enter on GPS. But I like Dbld777 suggestion much better. And you can enjoy the scenery on the way without having to focus on driving.

Holy moley- that is awful! And they used to do group tours but lots of changes with them. No Wind Spirit doesn't do a lunch/snorkel day tour in Bora Bora- they have their Polynesian dinner motu feast with show while in Bora Bora and it far surpasses Patrick's- and it's part of the cruise. WS also has their motu picnic on Huahine (one of their excursions and it's terrific). You also have their lunch barbecue on Motu Mahaea that is also part of the cruise. My suggestions for Bora Bora? And I have done these (and many others) and think they are better than Patrick's....do H2O Bora Bora - the absolute best in BB. I just did WS 18 day Twice the Tahiti and went out three times with them, they were that good. Several couples said it was the best snorkel trip of their lives. And one of the beauties is that they have just 2 boats, one for 4 passengers and one for 6 so it is essentially a private tour. You can do a 1/2 day (4 snorkel sites) for $120pp. Then they have a full day, (I think it's $170) but they don't offer lunch themselves. They have a lunch arrangement with a private tour operator on a private motu that is superb. And the whole 9 yards on the Polynesian experience. You can add that on $35pp. So their full day with lunch is about $200. We lucked out and it was just the two of us on the full day. What a day! The other option is Lagoon Service which is excellent,, edged out by H2O BB though! Fun captains, good snorkeling, gorgeous motu for lunch (lunch was just OK- H2O BB lunch was yummy.) Look at Tripadvisor- H2O BB and Lagoon Service are number 1 and 2 for snorkeling tours for a good reason. You'll love Wind Spirit!

Just did this 2x two weeks ago on the 18 day, Twice the Tahiti.It's always held the second night in BB. The tenders traveled to the motu twice in the late afternoon at 5pm and 5:15pm. Your time is assigned by cabin number, but it's not like someone is checking to see what cabin you're in and not allow you to switch times. You can spend time on the motu during the day,, and I think that was till 3pm. Everyone said it was very pleasant as few partake of this opportunity, and the motu and water is idyllic. I'm a diehard snorkeler so was doing independent tours on those days. But the motu is a beautiful little paradise- sunset was around 6pm for our cruise and it was gorgeous. The feast and show is amazing- you'll love it. Barrycat might chime in a little more about tender times and activities during the day on the motu.

I've posted this before but time to do it again. Please don't spend time reading this if you aren't a dog lover. Stray starving dogs are everywhere most of us travel to, but they break my heart especially in Tahiti. I brought a whole carry-on full of dry dog food (yes, really did!) on my 3 week Windstar Tahiti- just returned home last week. Skinny, lame, hungry and thirsty they are. I took a ziploc bag of dog food to all our ports-Papeete, Moorea, Bora Bora, Raiatea, Fakarava, Taha'a and Huahine. Take a short walk around any port and starving dogs are everywhere. I saw one horrible tourist teasing a dog with meat. I gave the poor dog Costco's finest while the cretin skulked away. There are dogs lounging right at the port of Vaitape in Bora Bora where your tender will land. "My" favorite, and most loving doggie next to my two at home, is there. We were in Bora Bora 5 days and so got to pet and feed her everyday. Many of those dogs at the dock there are well fed as the tourist board has a food bowl out- but those dogs protect the food from nearby dogs. Moorea is the worst- so.many.hungry.dogs. There is the Blue Lady of Moorea who sweetly waits for cruisers at the dock in Cooks Bay. She has a van and she'll take last minute tour-deprived cruisers on an all day tour of Moorea. I hear she's terrific. (Most of you will anchor at Opunohu Bay though....Cooks Bay is Wind Spirit) The Blue Lady has 8 dogs of her own and feeds others. She's a good one to leave dog food with. And if you're wearing blue she'll want your picture! The security guard who we swiped our cards with to get on and off the ship helped me with my dog feeding mission too in his off hours. Big heart. Two of the captains of snorkel boats we snorkeled from noticed the dog food in my dry bag. Both took some to feed their favorite neighborhood skinny dogs. So any dog lovers out there.....bring a little crunchy stuff with you. It will be most appreciated.🥰