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Excursions - Please Help Fill In the Blanks

Kenswing

By Kenswing,
in Pacific Islands, All

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Kenswing

Kenswing

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We're doing the 10 day cruise on the Pacific Princess next April.

 

This is what I have so far. Please help fill in the blanks.. :D

 

We are decent swimmers but admittedly not experienced snorkelers. That's why I don't have Bruno's L'excursion on the list..

 

Thanks for any advice/tips/experiences

 

Tahiti - Roulottes and Market

 

Huahine - Huahine Nautique - Marc's Combo Motu picnic and 4x4 tour

 

Rangiroa -

 

Raiatea -

 

Bora Bora (Day1) - Maohi Nui (Patrick's) Lagoon, snorkel, lunch and 4x4 Tour

 

Bora Bora (Day2) -

 

Moorea - Albert's ATV and Jet Ski Combo

 

Tahiti -

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Tikiintahiti

Tikiintahiti

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Tahiti - Roulottes and Market

 

Huahine - Huahine Nautique - Marc's Combo Motu picnic and 4x4 tour

 

Rangiroa - visit the Blue Lagoon - terevaexcursions@mail.pf

 

Raiatea - visit the cultural sites as this is the hub of Polynesia culture

 

Bora Bora (Day1) - Maohi Nui (Patrick's) Lagoon, snorkel, lunch and 4x4 Tour

 

Bora Bora (Day2) - skiff rental on Bora Bora: La Plage: laplage.bora@hotmail.com

 

Moorea - Albert's ATV and Jet Ski Combo

 

Tahiti - Patrick's tour, no not the guy from Bora Bora. This is an inland tour of the valleys and waterfalls.

http://www.papeete.com/patrick/index.html

Edited by Tikiintahiti
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Kenswing

Kenswing

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Thanks again, Tiki..

 

Have you thought of applying for a job with the Polynesian Tourism Bureau? :p

 

Can you elaborate on the skiff rental in Bora Bora? Do we just rent a boat and explore on our own?

 

And are there any tours that we have already picked that you would change?

 

Thanks again,

 

Ken

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Kenswing

Kenswing

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Grub & booze

LOL.. Or to be a little more specific..

 

From Marc's email..

 

Meet the others at the picnic at the motu for chicken and fish on the barbeque and salads.

 

Local music with the captains.

 

Tables and chairs in the water or on the beach depending on the weather.

 

Open bar (Water, local juices, Hinano beer and rum punch)

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  • 9 months later...
s1kmad3

s1kmad3

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Your choices are fine.

 

The skiff is on your own, About $200 bucks for the day. It has a 7 - 10 horsepower moter and has shade cover.

 

 

Tikiintahiti,

 

have you done the pontoon rental? if so which do you prefer?

is 4 hrs enough time or just do the full day?

 

Thanks in advance!

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Tikiintahiti

Tikiintahiti

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I've only rented the skiff. 4 hours is enough time to enjoy the snorkeling behind the Sofitel Motu and where the manta rays hang out. 4 hours is also enough if all you want to do is circle the island from the lagoon vantage point but isn't enough time to circle the island and stop at 4 great snorkeling locations plus you might want to pull up and take in lunch at one of the fun eateries around the island.

 

Hope that answers your question

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TravelingPeg

TravelingPeg

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I've only rented the skiff. 4 hours is enough time to enjoy the snorkeling behind the Sofitel Motu and where the manta rays hang out. 4 hours is also enough if all you want to do is circle the island from the lagoon vantage point but isn't enough time to circle the island and stop at 4 great snorkeling locations plus you might want to pull up and take in lunch at one of the fun eateries around the island.

 

Hope that answers your question

Help!

I am having an awful time getting in touch with Patrick from http://www.papeete.com/patrick/index.html. I am taking over the tour from some one else for April 2014 for 2 vehicles and I can not get any reply from him. What is the best way to contact? I went through the website and patrickaventure@mail.pf no luck with either. Is he still doing tours?

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thyme2go

thyme2go

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An update on boat rentals on Bora Bora...........we were there a short time ago and really looked forward to that day. HOWEVER, there are some things we wish we would have known.

1.) You cannot motor into the Manta area as that is a restricted area. You can only be in that part of the lagoon if you have a guide with you. You are limited to going by all the OWB's on the back side of Bora Bora. A lot like viewing subdivisions in major cities! There are other area's of interest around Bora Bora. They identify those areas on a map, then erase them before you leave which makes it difficult to remember except for the bare minimum route which is permanent on the map.

2.) If you are content to motor around in the boat (they have 6 hp motors so you will not set a fast pace), you will be fine. Estimated 4 hours around the island. (We couldn't shake the picture of Tom Hanks in Splash on his way to Cape Cod.) The boats are small and with two people onboard you need to be aware of balancing the boat.......yes, they are that small that tipping could occur, especially if you want to snorkel or go out over the side. Yes, you can get a 15 hp motor with a boat license, but you pay more and it's the same boat as the 6 hp rental. Rental prices are higher than mentioned previously.....closer to $250-$260 for 6 hp motor and all day rental.

3.) Unless you are a gymnast, do not assume you can get in and out of the boat to snorkel/swim. The ladder is less than a foot wide and hauling yourself out of the water with that small a ladder and next to the propeller makes it difficult. Even my agile spouse had a hard time hauling out of the water. (The snorkeling is magnificent, though we did very limited snorkeling after we found this out)

4.) The anchor is to be used in sand only.....but drags in any kind of breeze on the water. It is very short so you are limited to using it in shallow water which is a limitation. One of us stayed on board in order to make sure we didn't drag into the coral. No buoy line and no buoys to tie up to as you motor around.

5.) In hindsight, had we known the limitations outweighed the advantages we wouldn't have done this. There are local tours for $80 at the dock and that would have saved us money, given us more snorkeling opportunities and would have better met our wishes on Bora Bora.

6.) I grew up in boat country so was really looking forward to this day. It didn't turn out as great as we hoped. Your mileage may vary, but thought I'd share our experience. The owner is nice, but he was swamped when we were there so we spent a lot of time waiting to get the boat.

Edited by thyme2go
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Tikiintahiti

Tikiintahiti

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Sad your day didn't measure up. I've rented before and had no problems with tying off to buoys. I would agree it can be a bit of a task to get in and out of the boat. I'm 59 and over weight and I still managed to do it but it was a bit of a task.

 

 

Never been charged that amount. Last time it was $215 USD for all day, $145 for 4 hours USD. Maybe they are getting more business with the way I recommend this :p and the prices went up.

 

As I always state, things can change quickly in FP, unless I was over there every month there will be some differences that I'm not aware of.

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thyme2go

thyme2go

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We had an email from Isabelle saying we could tie off at buoys, but when we got there we were told by Frank, that no you cannot as we could only use the anchor. Manta area was strictly off limit's. That was one of the 'problem's'......what we were told online and what we were told in person were two different things. We assumed that may have been a translation issue. When were you there last? $215 to $250-$260 is quite a jump......

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thyme2go

thyme2go

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We had an email from Isabelle saying we could tie off at buoys, but when we got there we were told by Frank, that no you cannot as we could only use the anchor. Manta area was strictly off limit's. That was one of the 'problem's'......what we were told online and what we were told in person were two different things. We assumed that may have been a translation issue. When were you there last? $215 to $250-$260 is quite a jump......

 

Oops, got away from the keyboard. Good for you to check it out. I'm curious what you will hear as well. That was basically our problem.....what we had received in email was different from what we were told when we signed out the boat.

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