Excursions for Atuona, Hakahetau, and Hatiheu?

[Pauley]

Starting to look at the PG excursions and noticed nothing is offered at these stops.  Is that typical?  Self guided tours?  Third party tour recommendations?

 

Thanks

[Tom Sandra]

Hi, we are on this itinerary on 07/06/24. Jinxy is on the June sailing and will let us know about the excursion situation in these more remote places (look for her post). 

 

Our fingers are crossed that the ship will offer additional excursions onboard. When we were last on the PG, we booked all of our excursions on Embarkation Day so we are hopeful. We are also hoping the marina deck will be open for water sports at least some of the time in these places; also plan to explore onshore (self-guided if we can't find a guide or excursion). I have many hours of research into our excursions for this itinerary, so I'm happy to share this to help you/others. Though you can guess, I don't have much info for these three ports.

 

We're about 3 weeks out and the ship has no excursions offered for pre-booking in Atuona, though there is an excursion listed on the main website's excursion tab. I found no info/leads on Cruise Critic or Tahiti Tourisme.

 

Hakhetau:  I found no info/leads on Trip Advisor or Cruise Critic; nor were there any example excursions on the PG website. There are two possibilities on Tahiti Tourisme, but I received no responses to my emails. POSSIBLY (??) we can visit the PLANETE TUAKO store between the Post Office and EDT in the village of Hakahau for more tour info??

 

Hatiheu:  We set up a private tour with Richard Deane (temarama dot tour at hotmail.com) with another couple on our sailing. There are some mixed reviews on the PG pages, but the general Cruise Critic pages are very favorable about him -- and he speaks English (we sadly do not speak French, so this is important to us). Based on some reviews, I ensured that Richard will be our guide. There's another guide (a female, but I didn't capture her info because we chose to go with Richard) mentioned on Trip Advisor, if you need a backup.

[Tom Sandra]

Look for the post by JinxyB on April 5, 2024, titled "First Time on PG!" She will update her excursion experience there.

[Pauley]

Hi Tom, thanks for the pointers.  I hope you have a great trip.

[Tom Sandra]

You're welcome @Pauley! This is Sandra. 🙂 

[Pauley]

Ahh, I get it now.  I thought Sandra was Tom's last name.

[Tom Sandra]

Hi @Pauley,

Just off the PG on Saturday on your itinerary, so thought I'd share my excursions with you as an FYI. I hope you saw Jinxy's post with screenshots of the excursion booklet from the June sailing; it was the same offerings on the July sailing. We had perfect weather the entire cruise, aside from the morning in Moorea.

• Rangiroa:  Snorkel the Aquarium. It was pretty good and I'd do it again. There's a beach pretty close to the pier and I saw lots of passengers snorkeling there on their own.
• Tuahuata:  Hapatoni Discovery. We really enjoyed this one! Also, the welcome at each pier in the Marquesas was fantastic and a highlight! Also a highlight are the cultural guides onboard for the five Marquesas ports. Ani was on our sailing for the English-speakers and she was WONDERFUL and sooo informative! They accompany the ship excursions, so she elevated our experience.
• Hiva Oa: No ship excursions offered and I couldn't find anything independently. Get your free tickets to the PG Museum at the shore excursion desk -- it's worthwhile for sure. Another great welcome by the locals!
• Fatu Hiva:  We canceled our Scenic Drive so can't speak to it. Our backs didn't want another 3.5 hr drive. Instead we walked on our own and hiked to the petroglyphs (not an easy "walk" as titled in the shore excursions; read the notes at end of the description!). The afternoon and sunset are devoted to scenic cruising to/in the Bay of Virgins and it is AWESOME. PG does an excellent job, as always. Excellent welcome at the pier again!
• Ua Pou: Hike to Vaiea Waterfall. Good excursion and although some do the same route independently, it was fun to do it with the ship excursion (especially because Ani and the guide were so helpful and informative). Remember to bring a towel and wear your swimsuit and water shoes. Ua Pou was probably the BEST welcome at the pier!! I was told that the welcome in June was not so great, so they really upped the game for our sailing. Was told that ships have not called on Hakahetau in 10 years (notoriously rougher waters at this port; only the Aranui 5 calls on Ua Pou and at a different pier) and it was really great. 
• Nuku Hiva:  We rented a car here and it worked out well. (Sidenote: I was eaten alive here; massive bug bites - wear repellent!) There's really just one route for sight seeing, so we saw everything the tours did (though certainly missed out on the info) -- but was tipped off to go to a gorgeous cove that we had all to ourselves in Taipivai!
• Fakarava: Pinnacle Snorkel was canceled by vendor! So the ship arranged for snorkel excursions for all of us canceled (if you wanted to), which was very nice of them. The replacement tour only had 7-8 people per boat (we appreciate the smaller numbers!) and it was pretty good snorkeling; most seemed very happy. Because it was considered 'private' and only arranged by PG, we had to pay cash to the vendor at the pier. All went well and very easy. Seemed like many people don't do excursions in Fakarava; there is a shuttle that takes you to a beach where many passengers snorkeled on their own. Fakarava was the only port where there was a bottleneck for the first tender. They didn't do tickets, so there was a mass of passengers cattling in the waiting area. 
• Bora Bora:  We did a private excursion with Reef Discovery titled "Luxury Charter Motu Lunch Cruise" and it was AMAZING. I can't recommend this enough!! We did it with one other couple (so, 4 of us) and there was plenty of room and food for additional people if you wish. The lunch on their private motu had stingrays and tons of fish swimming between your feet because the table is IN the water; it felt so remote and we had no idea there were two other charters on the island at the same time (so less than 20 guests on the entire island). Soooo worth it!! Our guides were Mana and Nui and they were excellent and accommodating!! We will do this EVERY time we go to Bora Bora now.
• Taha'a: Coral Garden Drift Snorkel. I was disappointed with this excursion, especially after hearing so many great reviews. I was even nervous that it would be difficult (I'm a pretty good swimmer, but had read that drifts/currents could be swift) and that was not the case at all. It was very slow and relaxing (read: boring). This is more pronounced when stuck behind photographers who can really bog things down. The second pass was better (still mediocre) and the third pass even a bit better (it was in a different area and we snorkeled right off the boat). Quite a few people did get scratched on the coral early on, especially walking to the first pass. I wouldn't do this excursion again; I'd just go straight to Motu Mahana. On a past trip, we did the Exploration of Taha'a and loved it, so perhaps we'd do that one again.
• Moorea:  the shore excursion team arranged for a private car to take us on a tour of the island (again, considered "private" so paid in cash at pier). It was raining hard and not worthwhile, but I'm just meh about Moorea anyway. She basically took us to multiple places to shop (probably because it was raining). On a past trip, we did the Ocean & Lagoon Tour and it was outstanding, but largely because of our excellent guides and small size (only 4 passengers and we had 4 guides!). We've also done the e-bike tour on a past trip and I did not like it (again, largely because of the BAD guide). 

 

Hope this is helpful! We absolutely loved the cruise! Leading up to it (and a bit discouraged by the itinerary changes and lack of communication by PG), I was second-guessing our choice of itinerary. I'm SO GLAD we did it, even as non-divers!! Loved the Marquesas very much, though no inclination to return. Enjoy your cruise!!

[Pauley]

Hello @Tom Sandra

Thank you for taking the time in writing up your excursion experience.  Looks like your itinerary matches ours.  Timing is everything, in a way, since I did receive notification of the port changes and excursions before the 60 day opening to pre-book.  Although, as I look at the excursion list now, some ports and excursions are missing (but my excursions are still shown in my activity list).  Maybe they are full and removed from the list, or it could just be PG being their usual disorganized self on the web site.

I also read Jinxy's posts.  That was very nice of them to add all of that information.

We have excursions booked for most of the ports, so if you heard anything about the ones we are doing, then I'd be curious on what you heard. Sounds like we are similar in that we also do not scuba, and I'm glad to hear you all were entertained.

 

We will spend a few days in Papete and then Moorea prior to the cruise, both due to flight availability and also to give us time to acclimate to the change in time.  Quick question - if you got some local currency,where did you get it?  I'm assuming I'll just go to an ATM at the airport.

 

• Rangiroa:  Glass bottom boat.  My wife wears contacts and is dubious about snorkeling after past experiences.  We'll do one but we wanted to mix things up a bit.
• Tuahuata:  Hapatoni Discovery. Glad to hear you enjoyed this, although it sounds like it was a bit of a rough ride.  I could see where multiple bumpy rides in a short time frame could be a problem.
• Hiva Oa: Same as you, no excursions offered.  Good to hear about the PG Museum.
• Fatu Hiva:  We are signed up for the Scenic Drive.  We'll see how our backs are and may cancel.  I am curious about the petroglyphs - what made the walk difficult (incline, slippery, narrow)?  I don't see a matching excursion for them so even though the walk was difficult, was it fairly straightforward and well-marked?
• Ua Pou: Hike to Vaiea Waterfall. We'll probably stick with the group (and hopefully have Ani) even though we could go alone.  Although, I may annoy some people as I do try to get multiple photos (especially since I doubt I will return).
• Nuku Hiva:  Visit of Taipivai Valley Trip.  Probably the same path you did with the car. The packing list mentioned to bring some good insect repellent, I was thinking of bringing two 'typical' spray cans.  Bring more?
• Fakarava: Waverunner.
• Bora Bora:  Aquasafari then Sunset Catamaran.  We also like the sailboat excursions and opted for the sunset cruise.  We've done similar ones in other locations and always enjoy them and get great pics.  The aquasafari looked interesting.  It's some sort of 'deep diving' suit that you then walk around in.  I was also interested in the Aquabike excursion, but the safari seemed more hands on.  PG says I should be able to do both excursions.
• Taha'a: Snorkel + Black Pearl Farm Adventure. Currently, no excursions are shown for Taha'a, maybe sold out, so I can't compare this with the Exploration tour that you mention.  I do remember there were two 'pearl' tours that seemed similar, and chose this one since you actually go to the pearl farm versus just a shop.
• Moorea:  Kicking myself a bit since there were a bunch of Moorea options when I booked my excursions a few weeks ago, but I chose to delay since we are spending a few days there before the cruise and wanted to 'coordinate' our island adventures with my wife.  The only one listed now is a generic car tour to various sites - which may be fine.  May do something through Viator.

 

Thanks again, and welcome back.

[Tom Sandra]

Hi @Pauley,

Consider yourself lucky that you can even self-manage your reservation online, lol. We booked before the new reservation system, and they didn't transfer previous bookings to the system -- so it was all phone calls and lack of communication. 😕 Regardless, after your trip you'll forget all about any headaches prior and only be planning your return!!

 

XPF:  We have our bank order us XPF before our cruise. Onboard, you can also get XPF exchanged (they just charge it to your credit card on file, and there is a service charge, but I don't recall how much). You will likely need XPF for your pre-cruise time. I'm sure you know that airports don't give you as good a rate, but convenience is worth a lot. You could also email your hotel and ask the concierge for options.

 

Excursions:  I did not hear feedback about any of your excursions that we didn't share.

 

• I also may have misrepresented the truck rides with our back problems; it was only our concern and we just assumed it would be a problem. We don't know if it actually would have been, so I don't want to mislead you. The ride in Hapatoni (Tahuata) was no problem at all for our backs and we got in & out enough that it didn't affect our comfort. Much of that time is spent at locations, not even in the truck.
• Fatu Hiva petroglyphs hike:  It was difficult because it is a continuous incline on muddy terrain in the humidity (we had sun, but it had been raining for many days prior to our arrival and the 'path' is shaded by lots of trees). The PG guides kept a pretty swift stride, considering how many people were straggling behind them. On our way back down the trail, we ran into more than 5 people who were clearly struggling and questioning if they should continue on. The hike was not easy, but it was not strenuous for us (we walk/run 5-10 miles/day, for reference). As far as it being well-marked:  It wasn't marked/signed where to turn off the road and start walking up the field towards the path. Once you're on the path, it's pretty clear. There's one point on the path that forks and you want to stay left (on the way up). I saw one guy who went right, and he scaled up some rugged terrain (plants, etc) to rejoin the path without any problem (and he was in flipflops, no less). There was enough people on the path (excursion and independents) that I wouldn't worry too much. 
• You'll have lots of company of other photographers, so don't worry about annoying anyone. 🙂 
• Bug spray:  You need it in all of the Marquesas. I had picaridin (saw it recommended online; first time using it -- and it worked very well! I just stupidly didn't use it on Nuku Hiva). Two cans sounds excessive to me, but you know best how much you use. I only applied in the morning before leaving the ship and didn't need to reapply during the days (so, just 5 applications).
• Bora Bora:  On our previous PG cruise, I heard great things about the sunset catamaran. If I'm not mistaken, I think that was canceled on our sailing. (yes, excursions can be canceled during the cruise -- but the shore excursion desk does a great job of helping you find alternatives).
• Overall, it *seemed* like a lot of people just explored on their own in Rangiroa, Tauhuata, Hiva Oa (of course), Fatu Hiva, Ua Pou, and Fakarava.
• Finally, it's important to know that you can always visit the shore excursion desk on embarkation day to get their advice and switch around your excursions, etc. Things may also become available during the cruise because you can cancel an excursion by noon on the day prior and not be charged. Personally, this is always our first stop onboard (after being escorted to our room) because excursions are most important to us. 

 

Have a great trip!! We're ready to book our next one!!

[JinxyB]

On 7/24/2024 at 11:54 AM, Pauley said:

Rangiroa:  Glass bottom boat.  My wife wears contacts and is dubious about snorkeling after past experiences. 

Hi there- just reading through these threads (we did this cruise in June). My son has pretty bad myopia, and I ordered him a prescription mask online - this has made all the difference in the world for him snorkeling. I didn’t even know you could order prescription masks/goggles! It may be an option so your wife can enjoy snorkeling!

[Pauley]

Thanks @JinxyB - I've heard of them, but never investigated.  I'll see what I can get in a couple of weeks.