Moorea Snorkel Whale Sitings?

We will be on the July Reunion cruise and wondering if anyone has snorkeled while in Moorea during "whale season". I believe that during the last reunion cruise some saw whales there while they were out on their snorkel excursions. Any info about vendors there is appreciated.

We will be on the July Reunion cruise and wondering if anyone has snorkeled while in Moorea during "whale season". I believe that during the last reunion cruise some saw whales there while they were out on their snorkel excursions. Any info about vendors there is appreciated.

Vacay addict did the excursion last year, we saw the Whales at a distance on Dr. Poole's excursion.

We had some luck snorkeling with the whales on the last reunion cruise. In fact, it was the best snorkeling experience of my life to date. We went out with "Moorea Boat Tours". They are a good outfit but are hard to get in touch with even by French Polynesian standards.

We will be back early July and will be going out with "Moorea Miti" tours for the first time on July 4. I think we will be there too early for the whales but I will definitely report back upon our return.

Keep in mind that the Dr. Poole tour is more of an observing from the boat thing rather than a getting in the water thing although he will occasionally allow some folks to snorkel.

I was on the last reunion cruise too, although we didn't get to snorkel with the whales. Our trip was way outside the lagoon for the most part, and there's no way I would get in the water out there, at least not without a good flotation device.

We did see whales, a wonderful breach, although not as close-up as some of the other passengers experienced, on other tours.

Any snorkeling of this kind would have to be out in the open ocean, right?

I don't remember if we were inside fringing reef, ouside of reef or combination but I think the whales are most likely to be outside the reef secondary to the deeper water. Snorkeling difficulty will obviously depend on weather conditions on any given day and a person's comfort level in the water / snorkeling experience. I believe all boats offer snorkeling floatation aids. I don't recall anyone on our excursion having any particular discomfort with getting of the boat into the water. The reality is that once one is in water deeper than one can stand in, it doesn't much matter whether you are in 10 feet of water or a 1000.

Thanks for the replies. I will look up both vendors and see if I have any luck. Great pictures!

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I don't remember if we were inside fringing reef, ouside of reef or combination but I think the whales are most likely to be outside the reef secondary to the deeper water. Snorkeling difficulty will obviously depend on weather conditions on any given day and a person's comfort level in the water / snorkeling experience. I believe all boats offer snorkeling floatation aids. I don't recall anyone on our excursion having any particular discomfort with getting of the boat into the water. The reality is that once one is in water deeper than one can stand in, it doesn't much matter whether you are in 10 feet of water or a 1000.

You're right, but the water inside the lagoon is usually dead flat, and the water outside is often choppy. That was my only point.

We were on a Moorea Boat Tours whale snorkel trip with FriscoRays and think we were mostly outside the reef in the deep choppy water. I will never forget the experience - the most exciting snorkel of my life too! I would not recommend it to anyone not completely comfortable snorkeling in this kind of situation. It's not a leisurely kind of a thing. We searched for the whales and, when spotted, we would all quickly and as quietly/calmly as possible get into the (choppy) water and kick like hell to keep up with the guide/ see the whales. It was thrilling!

FriscoRays, sorry we cannot cruise again with you two this time. Enjoy your trip.

FYI,

I've done a extensive photo search of whales around Moorea. Interestingly there is an area where they seem to gravitate to. The North East side of the island there is a point just east of the runway and at the north end of Temae beach which is public land. If you don't snorkel outside the reef you maybe able to spot some close by from the beach.

We were on a Moorea Boat Tours whale snorkel trip with FriscoRays and think we were mostly outside the reef in the deep choppy water. I will never forget the experience - the most exciting snorkel of my life too! I would not recommend it to anyone not completely comfortable snorkeling in this kind of situation. It's not a leisurely kind of a thing. We searched for the whales and, when spotted, we would all quickly and as quietly/calmly as possible get into the (choppy) water and kick like hell to keep up with the guide/ see the whales. It was thrilling!

 

FriscoRays, sorry we cannot cruise again with you two this time. Enjoy your trip.

I procrastinated on getting the photos and videos out to everyone on the excursion and thus lost track of who I mailed copies to and who I didn't. If you did not get a copy and would like one even though quite a while has passed, please send me an email (harleyis3 at aol dot com) with your current mailing address and I'll pass them along. Best, John

Has anyone tried the Whale Watching in Moorea with Moorea Activities Center? They say if possible we could snorkel with the whales. Thanks for any input.

Hello,

I'm booked in July with mooreaactivitiescentre. I'v known the owner for a while and he answer email quite rapidly. Will post my impression on my return.

Cheers,

dandee2

Thanks Dandee2 for the info on Moorea Activities Center. They were very easy to get in touch with. We reserved our places with them for the one day that we will be in Moorea. Cam isn't sure that he wants to snorkel near whales and in deep water, but wants to go for what he may see from the boat.

Hope that you have a great trip with them and see many whales.

We did the ATV, Seadoo and Whale Watching tour. Unfortunately we did mot encounter Whale so we went to the Stingray, sharks and snorkeling spot. Still great fun. Ari, the guide, is excellent. They all speak english. We are in Taha'a right now. Have fun.

An update now that we are home. We did go out with Ben and Iti of Moorea Activities Center and would highly recommend them. Both were very knowledgeable, communicated well in English, and taught us about humpback whales. The boat was very comfortable as well. We saw whales many times, was able to get into the water with them twice. Early August they told us is a little early in whale season, so I think that we did well. A plus, Ben was very easy to reach by email. They had a 4X4 at the pier to shuttle us to their facility. We stayed out about an hour longer than planned, so they dropped us off at the tender pier coming back.

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