best beaches Cooks/Society

[prissy1]

Hi Everyone,

I just booked my first cruise! We are doing the 11 day Cook/Society Islands cruise. I am a teacher (from Arizona) and would like nothing more than to relax the whole time on beautiful beaches. We like to snorkel but we are not looking for constant excursions. I would like some input on nice beaches on each island to visit. We will have to walk or take a taxi. I appreciate all the input. I think we will probably do 2 must do excursions. I have an email in to Patricks about price. Any other must do's that include the ocean (I only get 7-14 days a year of ocean so I take advantage of it while on vacation!).

 

Here are the stops we will be at:

 

Huahine, Aitutaki, Rarotonga, Bora Bora 2 days, Tahaa, Moorea 2 days

 

Thank You!

Prissy1

[Go9ersjrh]

We are taking the same itinerary. We're leaving on June 18. I also am looking forward to finding great beaches. And like you don't plan to take an excursion in every port.

 

Jacquie

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I haven't been to the Cooks, so can't comment. Take advantage of the motu in BB when available--the beach is gorgeous with a great view back to the island. And the beach picnic on motu Mahana, at Taha'a, not a great beach but great water, very relaxing, and beautiful and fun. No charge for either.

 

A little tougher on Moorea, you'd need a car, Moorea is more about water and beautiful views than beaches.

[Emdee]

If you have a car in Moorea you can drive to the Temae beach where the locals go or to Les Tipanniers though you would have to have a drink/ food there in order to use their facilities. Getting a taxi is sometimes hard in Moorea. Last year Les Tipannier refused to call one for us. So we ambled down the road towards Tahia Collins shop thinking we will take their shuttle to the ship but on the way enjoyed shopping for all manner of jewellery at a little store. The lady there kindly called a cab for us. I definitely intend to visit her again for some more treasures.

 

If you are taking a few excursions make sure you take the Lagoon beach day in Aitutaki. The lagoon is spectacular and you can walk from one island to another.

[prissy1]

We are also on the June 18th cruise! I am definitely planning on the 2 free motu trips.

Emdee-is the Aitutaki excursion the 5 island Lagoon cruise from Teking? Are taxi's very expensive on the islands? Can we kayak, walk, or bus to any nice beaches? Thanks for everyone’s input!

[Texed]

We are also on the June 18th cruise!

 

Why don't you join us on the 18 June 2011 roll call? :)

[Emdee]

I cannot remember the name - its the Regent Lagoon cruise in Aitutaki.

[prissy1]

Texed, I am new to this site and do not know where the roll call is! I looked for it but didn't figure it out.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Here is the PG roll-call forum. Just pick your date out:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=556

[Texed]

Texed, I am new to this site and do not know where the roll call is! I looked for it but didn't figure it out.

 

I see that Wendy gave you link to our roll call, (thanks Wendy), and you found us. :)

[FlightMedic555]

We did this same cruise in July. Look at my lengthy member review. It also includes a link to the daily onboard paper as well as a list of all excursions with times and price.

 

We used Teking, booked privately, on Aitutaki. They use a small boat and stop at a few more areas then the ships excursion. They are also half of the price.

 

At some island, I think aitutaki and rarotonga, they have arranged for a local bus to take people to a beach. We did not do this but it seemed simple enough.

 

In the Cooks we were told that since the ship can't get into the lagoon they sometimes have to cancel the excursions if the it is too rough for the tenders. This was not a problem for us but I would be hesitant to prepay for any private excursions on the Cooks as you could potentially lose your money if the tenders are not operating. Teking did not ask for $$ in advance and any ships booked excursion would always give your $$ back.

 

Look at my review for my Moorea suggestions

[prissy1]

Great review FlightMedic555 . Very informative. Will the ship call and make private excursions for you? For example the island tour on Aitutaki. I would like to do the Teking one but don't want to prebook if they wont refund if the tenders do not work that day.

 

Thanks for all the input everyone!

[Emdee]

The ship will call for you but I believe the cost is $15.oo per call. Why dont you make your reservations in advance? The reservations are all on trust and will always depend on the weather that day.

[Go9ersjrh]

We used Teking, booked privately, on Aitutaki. They use a small boat and stop at a few more areas then the ships excursion. They are also half of the price.

 

Medic - Would you use Teking again? I'm considering them since they are considerable less expensive than the excursion through the ship.

 

Jacquie

[FlightMedic555]

We would use teeing again. They did not want ant money in advance and they are half the price of the ships excursion. They do charge for water,beer, etc at lunch although the lunch was included. Bring your snorkel gear from the ship as it is in better shape.