Moorea is the adjacent island to Tahiti and ferry is the easiest way to get there. The websites confusing – after the travel debacle we became a little more aggressive and just got in a ferry line with the car not knowing if correct ferry and without a ticket. The girls ran up and bought a ticket and we were in the right line.
Nice ferry ride over – about 45 minutes. As you approached it was a clear difference to Tahiti with the reef and white sand and blue water. We had booked a snorkel with humpback whales, but the tour was cancelled right as were leaving the condo – likely that it should have been pulled off Viator as the whales were gone – migrated past a month earlier. Our first stop after we arrived – immediately the impact of the reefs and white sand could be seen in the water.
So – just started driving and remembering YouTuber tips and we had a snorkel map. We first found the Moorea Beach Cafe for breakfast – great location on the reef and met the Brazilian woman who owned the place with her French husband- but after 12 years of “island time” they were looking to speed up the pace and move to NYC. I was thinking that they work their way up on the pace of life – – but she said Manhattan is where they want to be. We then drove up the coast looking for beach/snorkeling spots with free access.
Plage des tipaniers
We moved up the coast and kept turning into beach access roads to dead ends. We found a tour guide who’s tour was gone for the day but he directed us back a mile to the “do not enter” sign and said there was a hotel that allows beach access and has water sport rentals. We figured out the “do not enter” meant park across the street. We found several options but decided on “Locaboats” which we pilot ourselves and rented snorkel gear. They gave us a lot of instructions and let us take a picture of a map. And said “don’t feed the Sharks”. We started in the area where stingrays and sharks are seen – Annelise jumped in first and because water is not as clear as you would think we immediately saw a 6-8 foot shark. Because the “black tip fin” sharks are supposedly vegan, they pretty much ignore you – only incidents are people bit feeding by hand (not the sharks fault). We all got in and Alex was chasing them and Annelise saw them constantly just standing in the water. Saw some stingrays too.
After a bit, we moved to the next place, place with coral reef and fish – only hit the prop once on the reef before we stopped. Hardly saw any fish but it was a beautiful spot between 2 islands. We did notice a huge storm cloud building and decided time to head in.
Island Circuit
Finished with a drive around the island – pretty laid back and headed back to the ferry. I would recommend spending more time in Moorea than Tahiti if you are seeking water related activities and there are many places to stay.
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