Taha'a drift snorkel and other excursions

[luckybecky]

I have several questions about excursions on our cruise, which includes stops at Huahine, Aitutaki, Rarotonga, Bora Bora, Taha'a, and Moorea.

 

I have read many positive comments about the Coral Garden drift snorkel in Taha'a and am very interested in trying it, but I'm worried about the level of difficulty. We are healthy people in our mid 50s, exercise regularly but swim only occasionally and snorkel very rarely. The description on the PG website is making me think that this snorkel may be too difficult, but it sure does sound wonderful. Would a snorkel vest (which I've never used) make it more do-able, or is this something we need to avoid since we don't have a lot of snorkeling experience?

 

If we do not do the Coral Garden, what other snorkeling experiences would you put at the top of the list?

 

I am particularly interested in swimming with rays and black tipped sharks. It appears that there may be a few different opportunities for this. Any suggestions on what might be the best experience, whether with PG or a private operator?

 

We would like to try a waverunner and an ATV or 4x4 tour. Several of our ports of call have these excursions available. Does anyone have recommendations on which ports and/or tour operators might be best to tick off these two bucket list activities? I've read that Patrick has a good 4x4 tour on Bora Bora.

 

We like to be active and want to see and do as much as possible on this cruise so we are looking for active excursions but don't want to get into something that is over our heads. And Motu Mahana sounds magnificent so we definitely want to try to do that for a more relaxed afternoon.

 

That's a lot of questions! Sorry about that. I have touched on some of these things before so sorry if I'm repeating myself, but there is a lot to think about (and look forward to!) with this cruise. Trying to narrow down our options and choose the very best that FP has to offer!

[twin123185]

Taha'a drift snorkel is easy. The only problem can be that at certain times of the day it's very shallow. It's a beautiful area and worth going to even if you decide you don't want to do the drift snorkel. Plenty of snorkeling around.

I am not into ATV/ 4X4 /wave runners so can't answer your other questions.

[Emdee]

Some friends of mine did the ATV on Moorea and enjoyed it. They also enjoyed the wave runner in Bora Bora.

[luckybecky]

Thanks for the replies!

 

I'm glad to hear that the Taha'a snorkel is easy, because it sounds spectacular and we are interested in doing it. We were put off by the warning on the PG website that it is only for experienced snorkelers.

 

Also thank you Emdee for the comments on the ATV and waverunner.

[twin123185]

Experienced snorkeler warning cracks me up. The current will do 90% of the work. Just beware of coral. I did get a few scrapes. But I am not exactly a small person!

[kiwirick]

If you're physically fit you won't have any problems.

[cruisefun27]

ATV Moorea has s very good 4x4 tour. They also take pictures of you and will send them through an email. Have use them twice. Highly recommend doing the shark and ray snorkeling trip in Bora Bora. Enjoy your trip!!

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I've always enjoyed the so-called Stingray Ballet on Bora Bora. You're in waist-deepwater with the rays and sharks, and can put your head under to watch, or just stay above water. Then later they take you to coral heads to snorkel--no current.

[luckybecky]

More good suggestions -- thanks everybody! I feel much more comfortable about doing the coral garden drift snorkel now.

 

I checked out the ATV Moorea website. They are cheaper than PG (I think this is usually the case -- private operators are almost always going to be cheaper than cruise ones). They look good so maybe we will do their tour. The stingray ballet sounds fun too!

[RDC1]

Thanks for the replies!

 

I'm glad to hear that the Taha'a snorkel is easy, because it sounds spectacular and we are interested in doing it. We were put off by the warning on the PG website that it is only for experienced snorkelers.

 

Also thank you Emdee for the comments on the ATV and waverunner.

 

The issue with the Taha'a snorkel is that the current can be a factor, it is shallow with frequent turns and bends.

 

When we did it a couple of people did get scrapped up on the coral. The guide follows a specific route through the coral. They instructed everyone to stay at a specific interval and follow the people in front of them as the current took them through the coral. If you followed the path and paid attention to stay away from the coral no problem. If you did not you could find the current pushing you into the coral or into an area where it was too shallow too proceed and then you would have to swim against the current to get back to the route.

[stephenandrew]

We did the Taha snorkel, and prior to had heard about people getting scraped on the coral. My experience was that while it is certainly possible to rub up against the coral, if you are an adequate swimmer who can follow instructions, the probability of being hurt is minimal. We enjoyed the excursion very much....felt like flying.

 

 

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[luckybecky]

Thanks for more info about the drift snorkel. I think we could handle it and it sounds like an amazing excursion. But I'm also excited about just spending a relaxing day at the beach on Motu Mahana.

 

I thought I had made a decision about Bora Bora -- I was going to do Patrick's combo tour because it includes just about everything: a 4x4 land tour, Polynesian feast, lagoon tour, snorkeling, rays, sharks... But then they responded to my email query with the information that we must have at least 4 persons to book. There are only 2 of us travelling. I've tried to start a roll call but no one has responded, so we might be on our own.

 

Oh well, we still have a few months to go. Maybe someone will come along. Still, I'm getting more and more excited about the trip. Just today I booked our flights to and from LA. So all the essentials are now in place. Can't wait to go! We will get the shore excursions worked out.