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Has Anyone Taken The Pure Snorkeling Excursion on Bora Boar


kkelley
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For this particular day we are looking for the best sites. Other days we are planning on Polynesian type experiences.

I really hope to see a Manta Ray. All the years snorkeling I have never seen one. Fingers crossed.:D Also we are taking your advice about the small boat rental to tool around the lagoon on one day also.

What time do the tenders usually start on the days that the ship is anchored? The second day in Bora Bora and Moorea?

Thanks, appreciate your responses. I see lots of people view the board threads... but not much activity with responses.

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For this particular day we are looking for the best sites. Other days we are planning on Polynesian type experiences.

I really hope to see a Manta Ray. All the years snorkeling I have never seen one. Fingers crossed.:D Also we are taking your advice about the small boat rental to tool around the lagoon on one day also.

What time do the tenders usually start on the days that the ship is anchored? The second day in Bora Bora and Moorea?

Thanks, appreciate your responses. I see lots of people view the board threads... but not much activity with responses.

 

8:30 AM

 

You will have a great time. They do stop at the Manta Ray location. I’ve seen several over the years ;)

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We were on the Jan 6 sailing this year and used Pure Snorkeling on our first day in Bora Bora. Tenders start at 8:30 and we were on that tender and Pure Snorkeling was waiting for us at the tender dock. They use ski boats and there was only a small amount of shade (two of the eight people were in the shade). They took us to a spot for the manta rays and it was pretty murky but we saw one. Our guide tried to find the sharks but did not, but folks we talked to on other snorkel excursions that same day did see them. The coral gardens and "aquarium" spots they took us to were amazing! I had done the snorkel excursion through PG that used the more traditional Polynesian boats, and the Pure Snorkeling boat was more comfortable, but less shade. Overall we had a great day and wouldn't hesitate to use them again.

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This past July was out 5th time with Pure Snorkeling, #6 this coming July. We have seen the mantas 3 of the 5 times. Maximum of 8 people but we reserved the boat for a group of 6 this last time. The area the mantas feed is always murky as that area has the food that they want.

 

I highly recommend this tour.

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Thank you all for your responses.

Okiebaugh.. you are almost our neighbor!! One of my grandmothers sisters lived in Edmond many years ago prior to her passing. Regarding the shade.. it is not a deal breaker for us.. Hats, rash guards, we can deal with that. We are water/sun peeps.. of course careful more than we used to be with the sunshine. I don't need anymore fine lines on this face.:D We grew up on Lake Texoma .. Not to far from you and still have a boat there.

Flightmedic, thank you also for your responses and confirmation that I do think we have selected the right tour. The company surely cannot promise what you will see in the water as we well know.

BTK also thanks so kindly.. your time invested to the people asking questions is so generous. Again you agreed this would be a good tour for us..

Again.. thank you all.

 

This board is so less active than most!

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Trying to decide between a couple of different options (actually there are many different options).

Has anyone been on this tour and if so your opinion?

Thanks!

 

My husband and did this in November. It was amazing, the best tour we have done. We saw a huge manta ray and it was fantastic. Our guide was amazing. I would highly recommend. (Bring lots of sun screen)

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Still awesome! I remember those cameras.. we used them many times. I can't remember if we had a real underwater camera ( one of the first olympus waterproof ones) on our first PG cruise. I actually think we did, might have been the first one we had. We are on the fourth one now.. and getting ready to get a new one.

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  • 1 month later...

We go out with reef discovery / pure snorkeling every time we visit Bora Bora and consider the tour a must do for those that enjoy snorkeling. Like others have reported, we have had good luck with manta rays, seeing them more often than not. They are truely spectacular!

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Maybe this only happens occasionally but we booked pure for our first day in bora bora and the ship was late and it took forever to get passports back since they have to stamp coming from Cook Islands. They could not wait so we had to cancel...btw, we never got the refund promised from pure ..

We didn’t let that ruin our day and we relaxed on the ship, then hit the private motu and had a great day

 

Next time (sept 2020) we will book this on the second day

 

Not the pg fault but should warn you about first day booking and the issues that could arrive

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Maybe this only happens occasionally but we booked pure for our first day in bora bora and the ship was late and it took forever to get passports back since they have to stamp coming from Cook Islands. They could not wait so we had to cancel...btw, we never got the refund promised from pure ..

We didn’t let that ruin our day and we relaxed on the ship, then hit the private motu and had a great day

 

Next time (sept 2020) we will book this on the second day

 

Not the pg fault but should warn you about first day booking and the issues that could arrive

 

 

Well, this concerns me as we are on the Cook Islands cruise in May and I have booked Pure for our first day in BB and have Raanui booked for the second day already.

 

Is it unusual for PG to be late getting to BB? And is there someway to get the passport back while on the sea day before BB?

 

Not sure if I should switch days for my two excursions, but I guess my concern is it could also be an issue with Raanui on the first day if we are late?

 

Doug

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Thanks for the heads up, we too have already booked the first day there. I was a bit surprised that they required full payment up front. Through our years of cruising and using independent tours usually they only want a deposit. We will hope for the best.

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As you need to present yourself to the FP authority once back in Bora Bora, you are unable to get your passports on the sea day. Also, I think Wendy on this itinerary (look for Oct thread) had the order of ports completely changed around due to weather concerns. Not sure I would book an outside excursion requiring full payment on either day in BB.

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As you need to present yourself to the FP authority once back in Bora Bora, you are unable to get your passports on the sea day. Also, I think Wendy on this itinerary (look for Oct thread) had the order of ports completely changed around due to weather concerns. Not sure I would book an outside excursion requiring full payment on either day in BB.

 

 

Fortunately, I went back and looked at my Pure Snorkeling fully paid reservation and it is on our second day in BB not the first. On our first day, we have the Raanui tour which does not require an upfront deposit. So, if we are late to port, and Raanui can not wait for us, I can hopefully just book a tour with PG or spend the day at their beach motu.

 

Doug

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The Captain can switch Aitutaki and Rarotonga based on weather issues or a large cruise ship at Rarotonga. This does not happen often but it can happen. The run back Bora Bora takes longer from Rarotonga than Aitutaki. If the weather is creating large swells it can take longer.

 

This is the risk you take if you book and pre-pay with an independent tour operator. If you are going to take Patrick's from the ship I would do it on the first day because if it gets cancelled you don't forfeit money. Rannui isn't an issue as they collect once the trip is over.

 

Remember the Captain can change the order of islands based on weather / other ships in port. Again it is rare but it can happen. The purpose of course it to make the days safe and less crowded (other ships). Large ships can get inside the reef on Bora Bora, Raiatea and Moorea. 2500 passengers coming aboard all at the same time changes the feel big time so it is a good thing if the Captain makes a change.

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The Captain can switch Aitutaki and Rarotonga based on weather issues or a large cruise ship at Rarotonga. This does not happen often but it can happen. The run back Bora Bora takes longer from Rarotonga than Aitutaki. If the weather is creating large swells it can take longer.

 

This is the risk you take if you book and pre-pay with an independent tour operator. If you are going to take Patrick's from the ship I would do it on the first day because if it gets cancelled you don't forfeit money. Rannui isn't an issue as they collect once the trip is over.

 

Remember the Captain can change the order of islands based on weather / other ships in port. Again it is rare but it can happen. The purpose of course it to make the days safe and less crowded (other ships). Large ships can get inside the reef on Bora Bora, Raiatea and Moorea. 2500 passengers coming aboard all at the same time changes the feel big time so it is a good thing if the Captain makes a change.

 

 

Thanks TBK, great input. Hopefully good weather, but if not and the Captain has to change to benefit the ship and the best weather, then that is a great Captain and a good strategy from PG. Hopefully, the independent operators will adapt and if not, fall back to a ship excursion.

 

Doug

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  • 2 weeks later...
Trying to decide between a couple of different options (actually there are many different options).

Has anyone been on this tour and if so your opinion?

Thanks!

Yes, we took this tour in the past and were very happy with the snorkeling locations and overall. I think it was in 2014.

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Just back from the 10-day Mar 7 cruise. We used Pure Snorkeling for our first morning in BB. Haiku was an excellent guide and there was only one other couple on the boat. First stop was for a manta ray sighting. He found this quickly. The 6-8 foot manta circled a coral head for quite some time so we had an opportunity for decent photos. Our second stop was called Aquarium where we saw a variety of tropical fish. A guide from another company fed a moray but our guide (and I) feel that this is inappropriate. Our next stop was a sandy area with some eagle rays. The group started at seven but grew to 11 before we left. Our final stop was the Coral Garden which had lots of healthy coral. Lots of blue lipped clams and Christmas tree worms.

 

Our tour was about 3.5 hours in duration and we were completely satisfied.

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