Getting to Moorea

[MNTraveler]

We finally decided on our cruise dates (8/22) and now we are working on plans for pre and post stays. The Beachcombers looks awesome but it is way more than what we need. I'm trying to decide if it's worth paying for a flight deviation and booking hotels on my own.

 

I'd really like to stay in Moorea because of the snorkeling opportunities. Is it feasible to stay in Papeete and fairy over to Moorea for a day trip and how reliable are the fairies?

 

Also, does anyone have any good hotel websites they can recommend?

[laurasue]

IMHO, if you plan to spend more than one day taking the ferry to Moorea, you should just stay on Moorea. The ferries are very reliable, they cater to the "commuter" traffic from Moorea to Papeete. It would be feasible to stay in Papeete and ferry to Moorea for the day, but it could get costly to do that for more than one day. And, I personally preferred the actual stay on Moorea to Papeete.

 

Booking the hotels and flights between islands is very easy to do on your own, in fact, I planned our entire 11 night honeymoon on my own... it was easy and went off without a hitch.

 

As I posted in another post here, you can either take the ferry, Air Tahiti flight, or Air Moorea flight to get to Moorea. We used both the ferry and Air Moorea and both were very easy. We enjoyed the Air Moorea experience and I consider it a good, low cost (but not as inexpensive as the ferry), way to get to Moorea. Here is their website: http://www.airmoorea.com/home.php?cat=1 This is nice if your schedule doesn't jive with that of the ferry. Also, you can purchase very inexpensive transfers to/from the airport when you fly Air Moorea. I think it was roughly $10/pp RT, which beats the cabs hands down.

 

As for hotels on Moorea, my first choice would be the Sheraton. Wonderful hotel, excellent snorkeling. Other hotels to check into would be the Beachcomber, the Pearl, and the Sofitel. The pearl is in more of a sandy area, not sure how good their off-bungalow snorkeling would be. The Sofitel has beautiful water (I have a picture if you'd like) and is the only resort with a beautiful view of Tahiti. Any of these would give you a nice place to stay and good access to the lagoons.

 

If you really want amazing snorkeling, I would suggest flying to Bora Bora for a few nights. Some of the less expensive resorts (Le Maitai) are supposedly clean and comfortable and would offer easy access to amazing snorkeling. For snorkeling, Bora Bora wins hands down from me. :)

 

I'd be happy to answer any other insight I can from our experience booking our own land vacation in FP.

 

Happy cruising!

[MNTraveler]

Thanks for the info and the website. I can't locate the cost for the flights. Do you remember the airfare from PPT to Moorea?

[laurasue]

If you look at the flight timetables it will give you a price (4000 xfp pp/one way, which is roughly $40US). I think that is around what we paid 2 years ago. One positive of dealing witha flight vs. the ferry is the ease of luggage handling, a quicker trip, and more flight times.

 

Also, have you checked out the forums at www.tahiti-explorer.com? They are an awesome trip planning resource!

[CAPinBoynton]

Moorea wins hands down over Tahiti. If you do have a few extra days, I would consider doing only a pre-cruise and spending several of the days in Bora Bora. If you love snorkling, you'll love the helmet dive. Take a look at the pictures of me in the helmet on our website. It was soooooo cool!!!! No experience necessary, and I can barely swim. :)