Amedee Lighthouse Island Day Trip

Has anyone done the Amedee Lighthouse Island Day Trip tour in Noumea?

I have heard it is a popular tour. Have you been / do you have any feedback?

How big is the tour group, and is there is more than one tour group on the day? Thanks for your help! :)

Has anyone done the Amedee Lighthouse Island Day Trip tour in Noumea?

 

I have heard it is a popular tour. Have you been / do you have any feedback?

 

How big is the tour group, and is there is more than one tour group on the day? Thanks for your help! :)

I did it during a land based holiday so I booked directly with the local tour company. We thoroughly enjoyed the day - weather was brilliant - lunch was plentiful and wine flowed. The snorkelling was off the beach and not breathtaking but fun. A good day. As I remember there was more than one boat offloading but the island was not overcrowded. We were on the BIG boat. I checked out recent reviews on Trip Advisor and CC and they were good so thought we would try it this coming cruise. I enquired through the local agents hoping to get a better deal than the ship's tour price. After an exchange of emails where they requested the address of the hotel I would be staying at for pick up, they twigged that I was enquiring as a cruise passenger on P&O. So they referred me to the agency they work with for cruise passengers????? We decided to do something different so I did not pursue the matter. If it is a fine day you will enjoy it. Not something to book for weather that could be chancy.

Colleen

We did this tour a few years ago. Fantastic day. You go for a short ride to the catamaran, then over to the island. It is a small island, maybe about the size of Mystery Island, with the lighthouse, sea snakes, a small shop, more sea snakes, a glass-bottom boat, sea snakes, a trip out to the reef for awesome shark feeding, turtles etc, a delightful lunch with entertainment, great swimming, and, did I mention, sea snakes! It was a day I will not forget and well worth the money (which we thought beforehand was a bit much).

Totally recommend.

Jen

Damnation! I planned to do this tour but not now. The mention of any type of snake and that is the end for me.:eek:

Damnation! I planned to do this tour but not now. The mention of any type of snake and that is the end for me.:eek:

Usually same for me too....but....these are called tri somethingorother...lol...they are extremely slow on land, hang mainly around the jetty area, and in holes in the sand, and I believe are harmless. They are quite pretty with their vivid three colours, and I promise not a threat. In fact an interesting item rather than a scary one, and are very frightened of you, hence will keep away. To me they were more like a pretty fat legless lizard, than a snake. Believe me, I am a real whimp, and these didn't bother me at all. The tour is well worth it. Take the plunge and go!!

Jen

Usually same for me too....but....these are called tri somethingorother...lol.. and I believe are harmless.

Jen

Actually their venom is amongst the most potent in the world.

yes, they try to keep away from humans ( probably for good reason)

They inhabit most places around New Cal, Isle of pines, Lifou etc.

One young guy did get bitten about a year ago on IOP whilst visiting on Rhapsody cruise but this is very rare.

they are called Tricot Raye:)

Actually their venom is amongst the most potent in the world.

yes, they try to keep away from humans ( probably for good reason)

 

They inhabit most places around New Cal, Isle of pines, Lifou etc.

One young guy did get bitten about a year ago on IOP whilst visiting on Rhapsody cruise but this is very rare.

 

they are called Tricot Raye:)

Seriously:eek: My DH told me different....hmmmm....good one on his behalf. Well, it worked, as I wasn't scared of them at all. They do keep away from you though. I will remember this:D:D

Jen

Has anyone done the Amedee Lighthouse Island Day Trip tour in Noumea?

 

 

Have done this tour through a Princess excursion in November last year.

Short trip by bus to the Marina and from there with a ferry type charter? boat to the island. Was pretty full and very hot, but did not know till when got off that you could sit upstairs at an open deck. So would advise to sit upstairs, especially when you go out later again to the reef and make sure then to sit at the side, otherwise you will not be able to see much. We found the trip out to the reef disappointing, but that day there were no turtles or sharks and the like. The glas bottom boat was nothing special (no nice coral left), but was a lot of fun.

 

But what was really good was the lunch. Had read about it here at CC and indeed it was delicious. You also get a welcoming tropical punch, which was a delightful cocktail. Had two:) Yum

It is also a great place to swim with beautiful very blue water, a white beach. Tables with parasols and chairs are provided for free.

 

You have lot of photo opportunities on the way and back.

Visited Isle of Pines back in June and photographed this sea snake. It wasn't interested in any of us humans trying to photograph it. It only wanted to get away from us.

I will find somewhere else to go I think. Snakes are my worst phobia. My feet are curled up now just looking at that photo. LOL.:o

I will find somewhere else to go I think. Snakes are my worst phobia. My feet are curled up now just looking at that photo. LOL.:o

I also don't like snakes but from everything I have read, this is one tour not to be missed, so we will be doing it.

I can always tell you all about it when we are all back onboard :D

Lesley :)

We did this tour for the snorkelling and shark feeding,

We saw No fish snorkelling from the beach, the coral was dead and on the shark feeding tour only on once side in 1 little area could the sharks be seen, we were told to stay on our side and they would feed our side too but they didn't.

There was lots of pushing and shoving and I was extremely disappointed.

I thought some of the staff on the shark feeding boat were dismissive and arrogant and because we saw no sharks nor were we accommodated to see them I would not recommend this tour.

It was the most expensive tour offering and was a huge disappointment to us.

I also don't like snakes but from everything I have read, this is one tour not to be missed, so we will be doing it.

I can always tell you all about it when we are all back onboard :D

 

Lesley :)

Yes Shadow 10, I will be happy for you to come back and show me your photos. Just don't tease those joe blakes, I want to see your photos.;)

Thanks everyone for your responses and feedback, overall sounds like a fantastic tour and one not to be missed.

I have this tour booked for our upcoming cruise and it sounds like a great way to spend the day in Noumea. This will be my forth visit to Noumea so was looking for something different to do / see.

Does anyone know if there was more than one tour group on the day or how many people were on the tour? Was it very busy? Thank you again! :)

Thanks everyone for your responses and feedback, overall sounds like a fantastic tour and one not to be missed.

 

I have this tour booked for our upcoming cruise and it sounds like a great way to spend the day in Noumea. This will be my forth visit to Noumea so was looking for something different to do / see.

 

Does anyone know if there was more than one tour group on the day or how many people were on the tour? Was it very busy? Thank you again! :)

When we went, it was just the one bus load. You travel across on a large catamaran. Plenty of room ie not full. The glass bottom boat is small, but goes all day from the jetty area. I would say there were approx 50 people. This is where the very first 'Survivor' series was filmed, by memory. You can purchase a survivor bandana from the little shop. I would do this trip again, for sure.

When we went, it was just the one bus load. You travel across on a large catamaran. Plenty of room ie not full. The glass bottom boat is small, but goes all day from the jetty area. I would say there were approx 50 people. This is where the very first 'Survivor' series was filmed, by memory. You can purchase a survivor bandana from the little shop. I would do this trip again, for sure.

Thank you for the feedback, glad to hear it wasn't too busy. Wow I didn't know that about the first Survivor season, thanks for letting me know! :)

What did you do on your other visits to Nomea? What options are available there?

What did you do on your other visits to Nomea? What options are available there?

On our first visit to Noumea, we did two of the ship's tours - one was a city highlights tour and another was an afternoon at Baie de Citrons.

On another visit we did our own tour on The Noumea Explorer, a hop on hop off bus service, which was fantastic for us, as it was very good value for money, and you could see as much or as little as you wanted.

You could purchase the bus ticket on it's own and pay for the admissions as you go, but we found it great value to purchase the combined bus & admissions ticket.

Baie de Citrons (also known as Lemon Bay) would be a good area for a swim. There are some restaurants etc around there, but have not tried them. From what I've heard though, they can be expensive. The Lemon Bay stop is also where we got off for the Aquarium. It was only a short two or three minute walk away.

Unless you really want to swim at Noumea, I would instead visit the attractions at these ports and save the swimming for the much nicer beaches at the other ports. Although I have not been to Anse Vata so not sure what this beach is like.

For the Tjibaou Cultural Centre, on the day we went, it was closed. So we did our own walk around and took a few photos etc, an hour was plenty of time. If it is open and you plan on doing a tour here, you may need to allow a bit more time.

The bus generally comes around every hour / just over an hour, so I'd try and time your visits at the attractions to fit in with the timetable.

On our visit in 2008, we had to register and join for the Noumea Explorer at Noumea Museum / Town Hall (about a 10 min walk from where the ship docks...I think the location is called Coconut Square). At the Town Hall where you buy tickets, there is also a museum where you can explore while you wait for the bus, but keep an eye on the time.

We did our shopping around Coconut Square and bought a few souveneirs that were reasonably priced. But Noumea is generally more expensive than the other ports.

I would recommend to try and get the first bus as it could only fit 20 or so passengers, and may fill up quickly.

When doing our own tours, we generally like to be back on the ship earlier than their cut off time, so that if there are any delays etc we won't miss the ship. Just be sure to allow enough time to get back to the ship as they won't wait for you. Also make sure you know what time you need to be back onboard, which is a different time to the ship's departure time.

If you finish off the day with shopping and walking around Coconut Square, this is a 10 or so minute walk back to the ship by memory.

This will be my forth visit to Noumea. I'm sure you will read on CC that many are not that keen on Noumea, but I quite enjoy it. It is what you make of it, and every port has something to offer.

The stops include:

Stops in order as listed on the brochure:

1. Le Meridien Hotel

2. Palm Beach - Anse Vata

3. Rock on the Sail - Bus Stop

4. Lemon Bay Complex (right outside Dukes Restaurant)

5. Moselle Bay - Museum of New Caledonia - Market

6. Town Museum - Town Center Coconut Square

7. Maritime Museum - Handicraft Market

8. Zoo & Botanical Garden

9. Tjibaou Cultural Centre

The following link has more information on the Noumea Explorer:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1017981

If you have any questions, feel free to ask! :)