What is the problem with tour providers in Tahiti?

[Bucky3]

Kimberly - Had to come back to tell you I just finished reading all 14 Pages of the Honeymoon review:) WOW, what a great review and gorgeous pictures. Please convey our appreciation to your friends for their wonderful words and pictures. Definitely the next best thing to being there! Again, thank you so much for this Sunday afternoon entertainment. While DH has been lured by football on TV, I feel like I've been to Bora Bora and back - and it was a wonderful trip!!

[Sumar76]

Just wanted to mention that I just heard from Patrick of Bora Bora after writing to him about 2 months ago re: a tour.

He said he was having trouble with the internet.

It was nice that he got back to me after all this time to see if I was still interested.

 

Still have never heard back from Alberts of Moorea..after writing 3 times in the course of 2+ monthes.

Meanwhile I have made other plans anyway.:)

[Seal]

Just wanted to mention that I just heard from Patrick of Bora Bora after writing to him about 2 months ago re: a tour.

He said he was having trouble with the internet.

It was nice that he got back to me after all this time to see if I was still interested.

 

Still have never heard back from Alberts of Moorea..after writing 3 times in the course of 2+ monthes.

Meanwhile I have made other plans anyway.:)

 

Usually we get our answers quickly--I noticed that we were receiving messsages from Patricia--maybe you did also and didn't know who it was--But--the reason I'm writing you is to let you know that he has a great day for you while you are in Bora Bora...I'm sure by now you have made other choices--think about the Motu picnic and snorkeling--Last fall I was in Bora Bora and had to cancel at the last minute and he was very kind on the phone--Planning for a trip in FP isn't an easy thing to do---ost of these are working out of their homes.

 

Nancy:D

[Sumar76]

Actually when I got the e-mail today, I noticed it was from a Patricia, and it took me a moment to realize who it was.

I do give these tour guides alot of credit and respect to have such lucrative businesses with such limited "correspondance" access at times.

I have heard great things about Patrick and his tours.

Thanks, Nancy

Sue

[Toto2Kansas]

Just wanted to mention that I just heard from Patrick of Bora Bora after writing to him about 2 months ago re: a tour.

He said he was having trouble with the internet.

It was nice that he got back to me after all this time to see if I was still interested.

 

Still have never heard back from Alberts of Moorea..after writing 3 times in the course of 2+ monthes.

Meanwhile I have made other plans anyway.:)

 

That is so strange, as I contacted both Patrick and Alberts Tours and both of those two got right back with me within 24 hours. Some of the more remote tours, such as on Rangiroa. it has taken some time for them to return emails. But with Alberts, Patrick and Hiros tours, I didn't have a problem one. Sorry you were not able to book with patrick, his tour is probably number 1 when it comes to Bora Bora Motu Picnic tours (we have taken his tour several times in the past, and are booked again for our next Tahiti visit).

[Sumar76]

LOL, Toto...It might have been my fault..I did check e-mails everday for notes from them. Followed the e-mail addresses to a "t", when given them by board members when I whined I hadn't heard back...wrote more than once (mainly to Albert)...to no avail. I got his address from his web-site.

 

No problem..I think perhaps Patricks tour might have been fully booked, and maybe he had a cancellation.. he didn't say that in his note, but mentioned a boat changed its arrival date. He did apologize to me for me not getting a reply, as he had computer trouble.(Not a quote).

 

Anyway, I read all roll calls for Oct 6th, 16th and 26th..and saw lots of Patrick activity. Mostly before I tried to jump into the mix, tho.

I know I will have a wonderful time in FP..and evryone on this board has been a wealth of information. Thank you for all your input!

Enjoy your upcoming trip in Feb(?). I may switch to that board after I get home from my cruise..:p

Sue

[Toto2Kansas]

Sue, one thing about Tahiti, no matter what you do, you will have a great time. If this is your first trip there, no worrys, you will return again someday to do those tours you didn't do the first time. Tahiti just keeps calling you back again and again. February's B2B will be our 8th & 9th Cruises to Tahiti, with #10 booked for next fall. We just can never get enough of Paradise! :) :)

[Seal]

Actually when I got the e-mail today, I noticed it was from a Patricia, and it took me a moment to realize who it was.

I do give these tour guides alot of credit and respect to have such lucrative businesses with such limited "correspondance" access at times.

I have heard great things about Patrick and his tours.

Thanks, Nancy

Sue

 

Our favorite spot is Bora Bora--as far as I'm concerned it is the BEST!!--Kind of strange that ater all the decades Bora Bora is still my favorite--we've stayed often at the IC Bora Bora--love the OWB's--there are many that are better in newer much more expensive hotels--it's going to seem really strange to be in FP for 48 ddays next year and spend a lot of time in Bora Bora--it has so much to offer--

 

Hope you have chosen some great tours for your cruise--we tend to do the same ones over and over--Marc is well liked for Huahine although his son seems to be doing the work these days and Marc will usually meet lup at the picnic-- also like very much the ship tour in Huahine--or the one they used too have that was run by a woman born on the island who was married to an American--I love her humor and she has actual tables and chairs not with the bottom of legs in the water but if you leave your chair it will float away--dancing in the water--we don't know if the one the ship is running now is the one I'm looking for--since there are 2 for the day instead of one long tour---we're are also lovers of Bruno in Raitaia--it's a full day--done this many times--don't know what we'll do for our second visit to Raitaia--

 

Enjoy your cruise!!

Safe Travels

 

Nancy:D:D

[Toto2Kansas]

Just an FYI for those that have emailed West Coast Charters. I had emailed them on August 25 for tour information and not heard a word back from them since that date. Just this morning I received a response (with an explanation why they had not gotten back to me). For those interested, here is the response and tour information.

 

My apologies for not anwering sooner but I wanted to make sure that my son's new boat will be ready for next Feb 19.

Our min is 8 & max 12 passengers. Departure is at 8 am return around 4.30 pm

 

In the morning you will cruise the Faaroa river, and visit the Tapatapuatea Marae .

Then off to bird island for a swim or a snorkel.

A ride to the south , and west of Raiatea lunch on Punaeroa little island and a swim.

Return to the port around 4.30 pm

 

The captain speaks english and the lunch will be prepared beforehand by my Tahitian daughter in law and served on a tiny sandy island sitting next to the barrier reef called PUNAEROA as motu Nao Nao is now off limits : a private island.

 

The menu : Tahitian poisson cru (fresh raw tuna thinly cut and bathing in homemade coconut cream and fresh lime juice, cucumber ,grated carrots and fresh ginger.

A platter of sweet chunks of cold chicken with celery- apple -nuts salad -

A platter of fresh local fruits for dessert - pinapple -our local grapefruits- papaya- our local baby bananas.

 

Our 2011 price for the Raiatea circle island tour per person is 9 500 pacifc francs. For a formal reservation we will need a deposit of 9 500 with Western Union one month prior the tour. The balance is to paid only in pacific francs at the end of the tour. The dollars fluctuate too much from one week to the other.

If you need further infos do not hesitate to contact us.

Kind regards.

 

Marie Tucker

westcoastcharters@mail.pf

Tel : (689) 79 28 78

__________________

[sweet]

I was looking into this one too. Are you planning on this tour?

[BridgeMates]

Just an FYI for those that have emailed West Coast Charters. I had emailed them on August 25 for tour information and not heard a word back from them since that date. Just this morning I received a response (with an explanation why they had not gotten back to me). For those interested, here is the response and tour information.

 

My apologies for not anwering sooner but I wanted to make sure that my son's new boat will be ready for next Feb 19.

Our min is 8 & max 12 passengers. Departure is at 8 am return around 4.30 pm

 

In the morning you will cruise the Faaroa river, and visit the Tapatapuatea Marae .

Then off to bird island for a swim or a snorkel.

A ride to the south , and west of Raiatea lunch on Punaeroa little island and a swim.

Return to the port around 4.30 pm

 

The captain speaks english and the lunch will be prepared beforehand by my Tahitian daughter in law and served on a tiny sandy island sitting next to the barrier reef called PUNAEROA as motu Nao Nao is now off limits : a private island.

 

The menu : Tahitian poisson cru (fresh raw tuna thinly cut and bathing in homemade coconut cream and fresh lime juice, cucumber ,grated carrots and fresh ginger.

A platter of sweet chunks of cold chicken with celery- apple -nuts salad -

A platter of fresh local fruits for dessert - pinapple -our local grapefruits- papaya- our local baby bananas.

 

Our 2011 price for the Raiatea circle island tour per person is 9 500 pacifc francs. For a formal reservation we will need a deposit of 9 500 with Western Union one month prior the tour. The balance is to paid only in pacific francs at the end of the tour. The dollars fluctuate too much from one week to the other.

If you need further infos do not hesitate to contact us.

Kind regards.

 

Marie Tucker

westcoastcharters@mail.pf

Tel : (689) 79 28 78

__________________

 

 

Interesting. I was going with them in November until they notified me their "tour is sold on board the Royal Princess." Maybe they don't have a contract with Princess into February?? Just thought you'd like to know tho.

[Seal]

Just an FYI for those that have emailed West Coast Charters. I had emailed them on August 25 for tour information and not heard a word back from them since that date. Just this morning I received a response (with an explanation why they had not gotten back to me). For those interested, here is the response and tour information.

 

My apologies for not anwering sooner but I wanted to make sure that my son's new boat will be ready for next Feb 19.

Our min is 8 & max 12 passengers. Departure is at 8 am return around 4.30 pm

 

In the morning you will cruise the Faaroa river, and visit the Tapatapuatea Marae .

Then off to bird island for a swim or a snorkel.

A ride to the south , and west of Raiatea lunch on Punaeroa little island and a swim.

Return to the port around 4.30 pm

 

The captain speaks english and the lunch will be prepared beforehand by my Tahitian daughter in law and served on a tiny sandy island sitting next to the barrier reef called PUNAEROA as motu Nao Nao is now off limits : a private island.

 

The menu : Tahitian poisson cru (fresh raw tuna thinly cut and bathing in homemade coconut cream and fresh lime juice, cucumber ,grated carrots and fresh ginger.

A platter of sweet chunks of cold chicken with celery- apple -nuts salad -

A platter of fresh local fruits for dessert - pinapple -our local grapefruits- papaya- our local baby bananas.

 

Our 2011 price for the Raiatea circle island tour per person is 9 500 pacifc francs. For a formal reservation we will need a deposit of 9 500 with Western Union one month prior the tour. The balance is to paid only in pacific francs at the end of the tour. The dollars fluctuate too much from one week to the other.

If you need further infos do not hesitate to contact us.

Kind regards.

 

Marie Tucker

westcoastcharters@mail.pf

Tel : (689) 79 28 78

__________________

 

Any guess about how much 9500 pacific francs is USD ??:D

 

Nancy:D

[Sumar76]

right now 9500 FPX = $103. USD

 

good site....

http://www.tahiti.com/currency.html

Sue

[Toto2Kansas]

Interesting. I was going with them in November until they notified me their "tour is sold on board the Royal Princess." Maybe they don't have a contract with Princess into February?? Just thought you'd like to know tho.

 

All I can tell you is that I specifically told them we would be arriving on the Royal Princess on two dates in February...............so you could be correct, their contract might expire after the first of the year.

 

Any guess about how much 9500 pacific francs is USD ??:D

 

Nancy:D

 

Approximately $110-$120 USD depending on the exchange rate at that time. ;)

[jagoffee]

I was there in early October, West Coast Charters does the Drift Snorkel (which was the best ever) and the sunset cruise for Princess. One of the staff mentioned to me that the husband of the wife/husband ownership recently purchased another boat and does private charters. I am 95% sure that is what I heard.

 

Next time, I am going to see if I cannot get to the resort on the Private Island across from the Coral Garden that is used for the drift snorkel and just drift down and walk back up most of the day. It was a sunny day and it was the best snorkel ever and it was the third trip for us.

 

You will have to let us know after you get back.

 

I talked to the "wife" after our excursion and they did not have anything booked with Princess in the afternoon just the morning. So for those that are not booked, you might have an opportunity to book the afternoon tour on the dock.

[Toto2Kansas]

It sounded to me that possibly their son is also taking private tours now, and that could be why they are booking all day tours (for him) and they are still contracted with Princess for the drift snorkel and the sunset sail.

[BridgeMates]

I was there in early October, West Coast Charters does the Drift Snorkel (which was the best ever) and the sunset cruise for Princess. One of the staff mentioned to me that the husband of the wife/husband ownership recently purchased another boat and does private charters. I am 95% sure that is what I heard.

 

Next time, I am going to see if I cannot get to the resort on the Private Island across from the Coral Garden that is used for the drift snorkel and just drift down and walk back up most of the day. It was a sunny day and it was the best snorkel ever and it was the third trip for us.

 

You will have to let us know after you get back.

 

I talked to the "wife" after our excursion and they did not have anything booked with Princess in the afternoon just the morning. So for those that are not booked, you might have an opportunity to book the afternoon tour on the dock.

 

Can you give us any insight into the other tours? We've heard Marc and Patrick's snorkel tours are wonderful. What other private/or ship tours can you recommend?

[jagoffee]

It sounded to me that possibly their son is also taking private tours now, and that could be why they are booking all day tours (for him) and they are still contracted with Princess for the drift snorkel and the sunset sail.

 

I believe the son was on one of the boats in our morning tour. I suspect they have set it up as a different company to get around any contract obligations.

 

Can you give us any insight into the other tours? We've heard Marc and Patrick's snorkel tours are wonderful. What other private/or ship tours can you recommend?

 

I do know that tours were available at the dock in Moorea, Bora Bora, Papeete, and Raiatea.

 

We did the ReefDiscovery with Chris on Bora Bora and it was also outstanding. On Moorea we just took a taxi tour in a van with some other people that we met on the pier for $40.

[BridgeMates]

I believe the son was on one of the boats in our morning tour. I suspect they have set it up as a different company to get around any contract obligations.

 

 

 

I do know that tours were available at the dock in Moorea, Bora Bora, Papeete, and Raiatea.

 

We did the ReefDiscovery with Chris on Bora Bora and it was also outstanding. On Moorea we just took a taxi tour in a van with some other people that we met on the pier for $40.

 

Thank you so much. We have Reef Discovery booked and I am glad to hear it's a good one.

[ronbetty2001]

We just returned from Tahiti this Sunday. You can go to the Princess Cruise Roll Call, Royal Princess and look under Oct. 6th, 2010 for some tips I posted there.

There were tur operators at the Information Center at the dock in Riatea. There are also some operators on Bora Bora and Moorea.

On Huahine and Rangoria I didn't see anyone other then the pre-booked tour guilds.

On Huahine you MUST do Marc's Tour. It was one of the best we took. Runner up was our tour with Patrick on Bora Bora.

As far as operators getting back to you via E-mail, I asked and the Internet in the islands is very low and very expensive, they charge by the minute and the DLS they have is not much faster then dail up. I believe this is the reason the tour operators for the most part are low to respond by E-mail and why thier E-mails are so short and to the point and the lanuage also plays a partin that.

Blue Langoon on Rangiora was the best place and is not to be believed. It is a rough boat ride out to the langoon, but well worth it. We were the onl;y tour there that day and had the place to ourselves.

Check out the last page of our roll call for more in site.

[Gordo]

ronbetty2001 - thanks for all the great information!

[chamima]

We just returned from Tahiti this Sunday. You can go to the Princess Cruise Roll Call, Royal Princess and look under Oct. 6th, 2010 for some tips I posted there.

There were tur operators at the Information Center at the dock in Riatea. There are also some operators on Bora Bora and Moorea.

On Huahine and Rangoria I didn't see anyone other then the pre-booked tour guilds.

On Huahine you MUST do Marc's Tour. It was one of the best we took. Runner up was our tour with Patrick on Bora Bora.

As far as operators getting back to you via E-mail, I asked and the Internet in the islands is very low and very expensive, they charge by the minute and the DLS they have is not much faster then dail up. I believe this is the reason the tour operators for the most part are low to respond by E-mail and why thier E-mails are so short and to the point and the lanuage also plays a partin that.

Blue Langoon on Rangiora was the best place and is not to be believed. It is a rough boat ride out to the langoon, but well worth it. We were the onl;y tour there that day and had the place to ourselves.

Check out the last page of our roll call for more in site.

 

Who did you go with?

Others thought it was a nightmare! :eek: