Taha'a Drift Snorkel in morning or afternoon?

I am planning to do a coral garden drift snorkle in Taha'a this May. I've heard the water is very shallow and would like to go when the tide will be relatively high. Can anyone point me to a tide table or provide advice on whether the tide is generally highest in the morning or afternoon? Thanks

They are governed by the position of the moon and the moon is in a different position at the same time every day rather than like the sun which is sort of in the same position at the same time every day. You want to get complicated--search for tide tables for Raiatea for the day you are going to be there. Or on the other hand, just do it at the time of day you want to do it and take a chance. By the way, the coral garden was probably the best of the excursions we took there. We have snorkeled lots of places and the fish are no great shakes in the south pacific but to see all that coral in literally an underwater garden was pretty cool.

My husband and I did this two years ago and it was the absolute highlight of our cruise. However "drift" may give you the wrong impression. If you are not a confident or comfortable swimmer, this trip can be intimidating. The water flows quickly. My husband is not that comfortable in moving water and "became one with the coral" , ending up with a few scrapes. The current was swift and we really had to pay attention to the guide. Hubby only went once, I did it a second time and was able to see more as I knew what to expect. We've snorkeled many, many places and this was terrific.

All that said, we'd do it again in an instant. Enjoy your cruise, it was one of the most wonderful experiences of our lives.:)

We did the drfit snorkel in the morning because it often rains in the afternoon - sure enough, it started raining as we were heading back to the ship and the people loading up to leave didn't look really happy. It only rained for about an hour, but we had gloriously sunny weather when we went.

A word of advice - take along hard-soled dive botties and dive gloves. You should be grabbing coral, but there are times when it's not an option. They have black spiny urchins that you don't want to grab or step on without some protection.

When we went, a typhoon had just passed through and the captain gave us an option in one spot of snorkeling,but warned that it could be difficult and that we needed to stay very close to him. Some of us opted out and paddled around by a motu until they got back. sure enough, the one person who decided to go off on her own ended up bloodied and grumbling. Everyone else came through just fine. Moral of the story - listen to your captain, but don't miss out on this experience. It really was incredible.

Charlie

We also did the drift snorkel in the morning in beautiful, sunny weather on a day when the afternoon ended up gray and rainy. I would definitely recommend the morning.

My husband and I did this two years ago and it was the absolute highlight of our cruise. However "drift" may give you the wrong impression. If you are not a confident or comfortable swimmer, this trip can be intimidating. The water flows quickly. My husband is not that comfortable in moving water and "became one with the coral" , ending up with a few scrapes. The current was swift and we really had to pay attention to the guide. Hubby only went once, I did it a second time and was able to see more as I knew what to expect. We've snorkeled many, many places and this was terrific.

 

All that said, we'd do it again in an instant. Enjoy your cruise, it was one of the most wonderful experiences of our lives.:)

My DH became one with a sea urchin! Unfortunately, we had 2 guides for 12 people, and the english speaking one went ahead with the first 6 people, and the non-english speaking one went with us without actually telling us where we going. I ended up 'one with the coral' (scraps), but DH got it much worse. Everyone who did not end up injured had a great time, but make sure you stick close to an English (or whatever language you speak) guide and ask them to tell you what the path is. We had done a drift snorkel earlier in the trip (Huahine with Mark) and it was so calm and safe and we just went with the current. On this one we were supposed to cut across, but missed the spot. Shoes are a definite and gloves would have definitely helped.

(FYI we are both athletes, I am a prior life guard and swim instructor and 30ish years old)

Did you wear booties instead of fins on the drift snorkel?

Thanks for the advice. I am going to book the morning excursion.

For us, the dive boots fit inside our fins. We brought along our own equipment because we have corrective lens in our masks and there was a degree of comfort in using our own stuff.

NY City Girl - Ooo, your poor husband - those urchins are nasty things. of course, scraping up against coral isn't fun either. Those rip currents can be brutal - like you my DH also was a life gaurd and he struggled with the currents at time - I was happy paddling around shallows as I'm not as strong a swimmer as he is. he did say that he thought afterwards that I had made the right decision. We did have two more dives after that, so I didn't feel shorted at all.

Charlie

This is an old thread but it was an excellent question so I'm posting. We are doing this excursion when we go on our Windstar cruise later this year and I just found this tide table for Pai-Pai, a surf spot on the west coast of Taha'a, a little south of the drift snorkel spot. It gives a 6-day forecast, so you can get an idea of how low or high the tide will be at the exact time of your drift snorkel. http://www.surf-forecast.com/breaks/Pai-Pai/tides/latest

This is an old thread but it was an excellent question so I'm posting. We are doing this excursion when we go on our Windstar cruise later this year and I just found this tide table for Pai-Pai, a surf spot on the west coast of Taha'a, a little south of the drift snorkel spot. It gives a 6-day forecast, so you can get an idea of how low or high the tide will be at the exact time of your drift snorkel. http://www.surf-forecast.com/breaks/Pai-Pai/tides/latest

Nice table ..........

Now the rest of the story ....... I've done the drift snorkel at least a dozen times. Even at low tide the current is there from the incoming water. Best time is typically in the morning for 2 reasons.

1. At high tide is can be very rough, to the point that is can be dangerous and the current also stirs up the sand to much. Hitting the curve at the time the tide is just increasing from the low tide is perfect.

2. Mornings are typically less wind and less rain.

Good to know! Thank you! :) Would you say a rashguard, leggings and gloves are needed regardless of what the tide is like?

Good to know! Thank you! :) Would you say a rashguard, leggings and gloves are needed regardless of what the tide is like?

I've never worn any and never had an issue but then again I'm a pretty knowledgeable/avid snorkeler. The big question is can you maneuver in current and are you over weight. This is not a tour for someone that is obese as there are places where you need to skim right above coral nor is it a tour for those that can't maneuver.

That's encouraging, thanks! (and it's nice that being flat-chested can be a good thing sometimes, LOL!)