Papeete, Moorea and Bora Bora Recommendations Please

We will be cruising in French Polynesia in April 2016.

We have never cruised in this part of the world before.

Can anyone share their recommendations for these islands please and describe your day there? :)

In Papeete we had decided we would just wander around the city and check out the local scene, big mistake. The city itself is a bit run down and dirty, hard to navigate and it was so hot and humid that we ended up getting back on the ship for most of the day. We spoke to others that had done a tour to the other side of the island and said it was lovely.

There will be heaps of tour vendors at the dock and you can just pick one up there, no need to do a ships tour if you don't want to. There will also be people that have come over from Moorea that you can book a tour for the day you are there.

Bora Bora we had organized a group tour through the roll call with Patricks. We were split across 4 small boats and a larger catamaran, they picked us up from the tender point. The day was a full circle tour of the lagoon in the boat, along the way we stopped to snorkel with stingrays and reef sharks (amazing!), some coral snorkeling (really pretty), then lunch on their private Motu which the family cooked for us. We had grilled lobster, roasted pig, and lots of traditional salads and things, it was beautiful. The Patrick and his nephew put on a fire dancing show for us. It was an amazing day and the highlight of this trip for us.

Moorea we did a ships tour in a 4x4 that took is into the island, up to some amazing lookouts and we also visited a vanilla farm and a couple of other produce places. We drove through a pineapple plantation and also though some beautiful scenery in the middle of the island.

If you can, I'd focus on water based tours for bora bora and land based tours for Moorea, as these are the most beautiful parts of each island. Papeete I do something away from the city in the morning and then go shopping at the end :)

Thank you again Jacs for this information.

We really wanted to do the tour with Patrick but his smaller boats are all booked. It does sound like the catamaran will be a good alternative. :D

Did you have time to do anything else in that port?

I think the tour runs from 9.00am to 2.00pm. Is that correct?

Wonderful to be able to ask you these questions. :)

Also on Bora Bora try Romance Tours. We did them last year and am using them again this year. They only take 6 or less couples at a time. You do the same things as Patrick's but with less people. IT'S GREAT!!

Thanks cruisefun27,

I'll take a look.

What day of the week and for how long will you be docked in Papeete? The large municipal market is just opposite the dock and full of great things to see, photograph, and buy. Closed on Sunday, I believe, and only open on Saturday until around noon I think. And if you're there on a Friday or Saturday night, there are the roulottes, food trucks, set up with all manner of goodies to eat very near the dock.

Reef Discovery's Pure Snorkeling excursion is another great snorkeling day on Bora Bora. Marc's all-day tour on Huahine was very good.

Thank you again Jacs for this information.

We really wanted to do the tour with Patrick but his smaller boats are all booked. It does sound like the catamaran will be a good alternative.

 

Did you have time to do anything else in that port?

I think the tour runs from 9.00am to 2.00pm. Is that correct?

 

Wonderful to be able to ask you these questions. :)

We got off the ship on one of the first tenders so had about an hour before the tour started, there was a market put on by the locals what we wandered around but didn't buy anything, nice stuff though. There are a few shops just behind the market area and we did go after our tour and bought a beautiful pearl pendant for myself, I'm wearing it right now actually : ) I don't think we would have had time for 2 tours or anything like that but plenty of wandering around time.

Here are some pics of our time there, I didn't take any pics in Papeete though.

Bora Bora:

Our host on the boat - he sang and played most of the time

Snorkelling with the sharks & rays (all the dark blobs are rays)

Coral snorkelling

View of the island from the boat

Lunch (patrick is the man in the first pic)

This is the amazing view from the Motu you have lunch on

Moorea

Ship anchored in bay

View from one of the lookouts

Interior of the island

Me and DH at another lookout overlooking the 2 bays

These photos are lovely Jacs and have really got me excited to be there!

Thank you for sharing them with us.

I know that Patrick doesn't have fins to use while snorkelling. Do you know if you can hire them on the Solstice for the length of the cruise (or even a day)?

Our cruises in French Polynesia have been our favorite cruises ever. The first cruise we rented a car on Tahiti and drove around Tahiti and Tahiti Iti a few times. We enjoyed it the first time but once was enough. Pre cruise we spent three nights in Moorea in an overwater bungalow at the Hilton. It was amazing and memorable. If you have the time and money, it is so worth it. There is a lot to do there both in the water and on the land. Last time we went we stayed at a very eclectic hotel which I found on Trip Advisor called Fenua oe Mataieo (maybe not spelled correctly). It was also an amazing experience. You can rent a car on Moorea and tour on your own or you can go on various tours. It is very easy, inexpensive and fast to get to Moorea from Tahiti via ferry. Our second hotel had kayaks we could use so we kayaked, hiked, snorkeled and ate as they had wonderful food. Again, it was memorable and amazing. We used Patricks and Reef Discovery on Bora Bora which were both excellent. The motu picnics and snorkeling are really fun. Hope you enjoy your trip......I'd do it again in a heartbeat!

We are cruising on the Solstice from Sydney to Hawaii, so only on each island for one day.

I love the idea of staying in an overwater bungalow, but it won't be possible, at least not this time. :rolleyes:

Thanks for sharing your experiences with us. I think we are really going to enjoy cruising in this part of the world.

Thank you for the great pictures! I am going to Tahiti in the Fall and your information makes it real.

I can't wait! I have signed up for the Patrick's tour and it seems like a dream. Any other advice you can share would be wonderful.

Happy travels

4boysnana

These photos are lovely Jacs and have really got me excited to be there!

Thank you for sharing them with us.

 

I know that Patrick doesn't have fins to use while snorkelling. Do you know if you can hire them on the Solstice for the length of the cruise (or even a day)?

I don't think they did, I didn't notice them anyway. I have to say I didn't miss them though, with the sharks and rays I just stayed in the one place and they swam around me, and the water is only waist deep so you can walk easily. At the coral gardens it's not that big an area so I just kind of floated along not too far from the boat.

You'll love this cruise, we did this same one in reverse on the solstice as well, such a beautiful ship and I loved all the sea days to relax and enjoy what the ship has to offer.

Thank you for the great pictures! I am going to Tahiti in the Fall and your information makes it real.

 

I can't wait! I have signed up for the Patrick's tour and it seems like a dream. Any other advice you can share would be wonderful.

 

Happy travels

 

4boysnana

This is one of my favourite parts of the world, you will love it! The main advice I would probably give is be prepared for the humidity, have reef shoes for the beaches (lots of broken coral) and make sure you use lots of sunscreen and re apply often! I got horridly burnt on one side sitting in the boat because I didn't re apply after swimming. The sun's is much stronger there than in the US, for comparison I walked around Disney World all day and forgot to re apply sunscreen, and didn't burn. In Bora Bora, 20 minutes and I was a lobster!

Very good advice, Jacs. Add a couple of good hats and a long sleeved cover-up for the sun. When I'm on an excursion by boat, I usually take a pareo or towel so that I can drape it over me if I can't find shade. The sun is wicked.

I have a word document and am adding ideas as I see them. :D

This is our first cruise on Celebrity; we have cruised Princess and Royal Caribbean before.

Also first time from Sydney (although we have had a land holiday there when in Australia) and first time in French Polynesian Pacific. We have been to Hawaii before and loved it so much that I always wanted to return and thought that cruising to Hawaiian islands would be wonderful. Hence booking for this cruise!

We will be cruising in French Polynesia in April 2016.

We have never cruised in this part of the world before.

Can anyone share their recommendations for these islands please and describe your day there? :)

Hi Martin and Lindsey.

This could be your lucky day if Nuku Hiva is on your itinerary. Take a look at this for Nuku Hiva...

http://solentrichardscruiseblog.com/2015/03/05/nuku-hiva-one-way-to-do/

Kevin Ellis was brilliant.

Moorea

 

Me and DH at another lookout overlooking the 2 bays

Aha, we stood on the same spot at Belvedere Lookout.

We actually hired a car for the day, a full review can be found at...

http://solentrichardscruiseblog.com/2015/03/13/moorea-one-way-to-do/

Unfortunately Nuku Hiva isn't on our itinerary. We will be visiting the French Polynesian islands of Tahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora.

The more I look into these islands and what our options will be there, the more excited I am getting. We have been to Hawaii before, which we loved and are looking forward to returning there. We stayed on Oahu before and will stay for a few nights after our cruise this time before flying home to the UK via Los Angeles. Visiting Maui is going to great too.

My sister lives in Melbourne and she and her husband are also going to be on this cruise with us.

Bora Bora is best experienced from, on and in the water and touring with Patrick(Maohi Nui - LINK HERE) is a must do -- if only having one day visting Bora Bora. One gets to circumvent the entire island(inside the sheltered lagoon), experience a few different snorkeling spots, and enjoy a pleasant lunch on his family's motu.

Moorea offers the opportunity to both have a beach/water day and/or a venture inland to see the island interior. We toured with ATV Moorea Tours(LINK HERE) and had a fun time for the day that we were in port.

Tahiti would be a good place to rent a car or take a guided tour that takes one outside of Papeete for the day. Truth be told, Papeete is kind of a dump, but it still has its own unique charm with the Roulottes and Le Marche.

we have now booked with Patrick for Bora Bora and are looking forward to what seems to be THE tour to do on this island.

I am now looking into various tours available to do on Moorea and Tahiti.

Has anyone taken a taxi to a beach after a morning tour on Moorea?

Which beach did you go to?

What was the taxi fare?

How easy was it to get a taxi to return to the ship?

Our ship doesn't leave Papeete, Tahiti until 12.00 midnight.

What suggestions do people have to do in the evening?

I read that some cruise ships have dancers come aboard to do a show on the ship. Do Celebrity cruises do this?

So grateful for all the help and advice on this site. :)

we have now booked with Patrick for Bora Bora and are looking forward to what seems to be THE tour to do on this island.

 

I am now looking into various tours available to do on Moorea and Tahiti.

 

Has anyone taken a taxi to a beach after a morning tour on Moorea?

Which beach did you go to?

What was the taxi fare?

How easy was it to get a taxi to return to the ship?

 

Our ship doesn't leave Papeete, Tahiti until 12.00 midnight.

What suggestions do people have to do in the evening?

I read that some cruise ships have dancers come aboard to do a show on the ship. Do Celebrity cruises do this?

 

So grateful for all the help and advice on this site. :)

Hi,

We did a pre-cruise stay on Moorea before our (RT Papeete)cruise.

One option to consider (depending on time) is going to the Hilton Moorea after your morning tour. They do offer a day pass for use of the facilities for purchase, but I've also read that no pass is needed for those that eat at the restaurant (this might be an option for lunch?) -- One would want to confirm that this is true.

One could also taxi to Temae (public)Beach, but depending on whether your ship is anchored in Cook Bay or Opunohu Bay(most likely), the distance might make transit time not worth it depending on the window that you have available in the afternoon.

Renting a car and doing a self-tour might better facilitate for one wanting to do both, as one could still do the interior (at their own pace) Belvedere Lookout, Agricultural school etc. and then make the drive over to Temae. IIRC cars can be reserved to be picked up/dropped off at the tender dock.

As for Papeete, as I stated above, it really is kind of a slightly dodgy port town. There of course are plenty of available restaurants, but a popular thing to do is to go to the Roulottes(various food carts) that are located in the square by the ship dock. I'm unable to provide any info on or recommend any Tahitian dance shows for Tahiti.

The shows that are provided on the cruise ships are usually done at Raiatea, which I believe is not one of the islands that your ship will be visiting.

We spent three months in French Polynesia last winter and spent several days each on Tahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora. You can use the labels on the right side of my blog (below) or start about October 19, 2014.