10 day Society Islands & Tuamotus - Beaches, etc

[mjthecruiser]

For those of you who have been on this cruise, are there ports where we can easily get off the cruise ship, do a little shopping, and go to the beach on our own? Are taxis or public transportation readily available where we tender in?

 

We will not be renting a car or bicycle in any of the ports.

[Tahitianbigkahuna]

"Ports" usually refers to a larger community. You are in the South Pacific on small islands, no big "ports".

 

Every island on this itinerary is a tender location, no docking at any of them. On Huahine there is a free shuttle to the main village of Fare. There is a small beach area to the west of the 'marina' ....

 

On Bora Bora there is the main village where the tender drops off at. Great area for shops. There is also a private beach that the ship tenders to, very beautiful and nice views.

 

On Rangiroa there are a few huts/tents for vendors where the tender drops off at. Best beaches are via a tour/shuttle

 

On Fakarava the tender will drop off next to the little main village where there are a few vendors. A small public beach is close by. Best beaches are via tour.

 

On Tahaa your on the private Motu, beautiful beach and there are a few vendors selling local stuff.

 

On Moorea there will be vendors with huts/tents. If the ship docks in Cooks Bay there are a few small hotels within walking distance that problem will allow you to use their beach. I would ask and let them know your going to eat lunch there. You can also walk to the main town if the ship is in Cooks Bay. best beaches will be available by tour. Taxi service is available on Mooreaut it is limited when it's busy.

 

Public transportation is available on a few islands but very limited and unless you know the ropes on where and how it isn't a good choice. Example ... Moorea has the best public transportation on the islands you will visit but the timetable is based on the ferry schedule. The way to get picked up is to stack some rocks next to the road and place a palm branch next to the pile touching the road.

 

You might want to do most of your shopping inn Papette ... close to the ship and you should have time before or after the cruise to have a few hours to shop.

 

Hope that helps

Edited December 6, 2016 by Tahitianbigkahuna

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Good advice from the experts. Just remember that the high islands aren't really about beaches, per se. Many of them have small islands forming the lagoon (motus), which are where the beaches generally are. There are a few exceptions--public beaches on both Moorea and Bora Bora, but most motus are reached via an excursion. The exceptions as noted, are the Bora Bora motu (which is amazing beach with great views--take your camera), and Motu Mahana which is the all-day beach day from the ship. Both are reached by tenders, as others said.

 

On Moorea, the ship often tenders in Oponahu Bay, where there is a line of small, local vendors mostly selling jewellery, and nothing much else. You can't really get to the one public beach from there. Similarly on Bora Bora, the one mainland public beach is quite far from the town where the ship tenders.

 

You can find small stretches of thin beach on Fakarava and probably Rangiroa, on the atoll itself. We walked along the road in Fakarava and I swam and snorkelled. But even on those islands, boats are usually used to ferry people out to nicer beaches offshore.

[mjthecruiser]

Thank you for the terrific information. I apologize for my misuse of the term port. I am totally aware that these are small islands and that ship will be tendering at all of them.

 

So it sounds like most of the islands will require a tour. Do you recommend ship's tours or doing it on out own? We don't generally do ship's tours.

Edited December 7, 2016 by mjthecruiser

[Tahitianbigkahuna]

Thank you for the terrific information. I apologize for my misuse of the term port. I am totally aware that these are small islands and that ship will be tendering at all of them.

 

So it sounds like most of the islands will require a tour. Do you recommend ship's tours or doing it on out own? We don't generally do ship's tours.

 

If this is your first trip to French Polynesia I would stick with the ship's tours, The exception would be if there is a seasoned French Polynesia traveler who is putting together a tour that will be on your cruise. Keep in mind your not protected going out on your own such as the vendor breaks down or gets you back to the dock on time. I've had vendors tell me no problem only to find out there could be a problem. Personally knowing which vendors are reliable and cater to the cruise ship passengers is important.

 

There are several very good tours offered on the ship, in fact some of the best are only available through the ship. An example would be on Bora Bora and doing a tour of the lagoon and traditional BBQ lunch served on a Motu. There are a few companies who do this but the top rated one can only be booked through the ship if your totally on your own.

 

Some of the best tours you will not be able to do as they can't guarantee getting back to the ship on time. Tahaa is a good example, you need to take the ships' she tour if you want to do the drift snorkel. I've been on this tour several times and it is good, just maybe not the very best on the island, but I'll say it again, still very good.

 

I could go on and on but I guess you get my point. If this is your first trip to French Polynesia stick with the ships tours and less there is a season and I emphasize that seasoned French Polynesia group on the same cruise as you that is putting together a private tour.

[FlightMedic555]

If you simply want to go to the beach then you do have some options on your own. On Bora Bora you can take a taxi for $5 to Matira Beach. This beach commonly makes the list of one of the nicest beaches in the world. On Moorea if you want to snorkel we really like the Hilton and they do offer a day pass which includes full use of the property and lunch (taxi there can be about $25 each way).

 

If you want to snorkel then an excursion is probably best. Most of the PG cruises overnight at Bora Bora and at Moorea. I would not have any concerns in getting back to the ship in time as you can plan this for your first day. Even stops without an overnight I have not seen an issue as the high rated companies would quickly go out of business if they ever missed returning a cruise ship passenger in time.

 

Pure Snorkeling on Bora Bora is great for a lagoon circumnavigation and snorkel stops. Marc's excursion on Huahine is also a very good option for a private excursion.

 

I have found that the private excursions generally are less expensive, have smaller groups, and go out for a longer period of time. Tripadvisor is a great resources for the excursions.

[Tahitianbigkahuna]

I've been on several 'private' tours that had 30 plus on them, some as many as 60. I know now who does this and to stay away from such vendors.

 

Ship tours always have a cap on how many can go. Don't get me wrong, there are some very good private tours but you must know the ropes and for the first timer it's an easy do to just relax and take the ship tours unless like I said there is a seasoned person on the cruise that knows which private vendors to use.

 

Guess what I'm saying is there are pluses and minuses to private and ship. It sort of like do you book inclusive or do it on your own. I would always tell a first timer to FP to purchase the cruise inclusive from LAX. Even after 20 trips I learn new things .... even after 20 trips I purchase inclusive sometimes ...

 

Another island on this cruise is Rangiora. Many first time cruiser don't look at the timetable for this island and I've heard of people signing up on a private vendor to go to the Blue Lagoon. Not enough time on the PG run to do that whereas other ships you might get away with it. But as I said some don't plan accordingly and get A surprise. For this originator .... don't try and book a private lagoon tour on Rangiora, not a good idea.

 

On Moorea don't book with Albert or Hiro for a lagoon tour unless your OK with a possible large group. Yes the ship has a few tours that can have larger numbers but then again you will know as there will be a cap that you can know ahead of time. Albert is fine for 4x4 tours or quad tours.

 

On Bora Bora it's hard to beat the private beach, just beautiful.

Edited December 7, 2016 by Tahitianbigkahuna

[Tahitianbigkahuna]

May I suggest that you look over the ships tours and then some private tours and then come back to us and give us particular tours that you're interested in and then I'm sure we can give you some good feedback both for the private and the ship tours.

[mjthecruiser]

Thanks for all the advice. We have not been to French Polynesia but are experienced travelers. We have frequently booked private tours based on reviews on Tripadvisor and have always been happy. My main reason for this post is to see which places we can go with neither a ship nor private tour as I don't always want to do group activities.

[Tahitianbigkahuna]

Thanks for all the advice. We have not been to French Polynesia but are experienced travelers. We have frequently booked private tours based on reviews on Tripadvisor and have always been happy. My main reason for this post is to see which places we can go with neither a ship nor private tour as I don't always want to do group activities.

 

I would agree with FlightMedic555 ...... Matira Beach on Bora Bora. The beach is a mile long with very little activity. There are several little cafes close by for lunch. If you feel real adventurous I can give you some other ideas, simply email me ...

 

tahitianbigkahuna@gmail.com

Edited December 17, 2016 by Tahitianbigkahuna