Tahitian Shore Excursions Help!!

[razorbackcruiser]

My girlfriend and I will be sailing on the TP in August and would love some advice about shore excursions while in Bora Bora, Raiatea, and Moorea. I’ve seen several times on this board reference to Bruno and Damien and Patrick…..are these non-cruise related folks that do cheaper (maybe better) excursions? If so, are they much better than the Princess provided ones?

Any particular excursions or things that shouldn’t be missed? I saw below a discussion of Moorea that was helpful. We are both mid-20s and will likely never go back to that part of the world, so we’d like to make the most of it.

Also, we were curious about just hitting a beautiful beach in FP. Are there public beaches where you can just walk to or take a cab or something and relax? Is that even a good idea? It would be nice to just relax w/ beautiful scenery one day while in port.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[candydane]

I recommend you get a copy of Jan Prince's "Tahiti & French Polynesia Guide" (4th edition). I got a copy from Amazon.com for a good price. Or your local library should have a copy.

 

There's a lot of general information about the different excursions or things you can do on your own, including renting a car and driving to the beach for the day.

 

You are the best one to decide which excursions to do, based on your energy level, love of the water, and the amount you're willing & able to spend for excusions. Because most everything is shipped or flown in to the islands, everything is pretty expensive. So you'll need money for excursions, food &/or drinks, souvenirs, taxis, & whatnot. For example, if you know how or want to learn to scuba, the waters are amazing! But scuba is expensive so snorkeling may be the better option since you still get in the water with beautiful coral & fish, but at a much lower cost.

 

Read through the Princess excursions for each island to get a general idea of the types of things offered at each stop. Then do a search in this message board to see what others have done on each island. Once you've got a "short list" for an island, you can ask specific questions about specific excursions and get much more helpful information about the things that appeal to you.

 

You can also read through the Tahitian Princess reviews written by Cruise Critic members and see what others have done on each of the islands during their cruises. Including what they liked or didn't like about their choices. If you haven't already found the reviews, click on "Reviews" at the top of this page in the orange banner and work your way through to the TP reviews. Lots of great information in them.

 

My TP cruise website also has some information & links that might be helpful: Tahitian Princess. Especially the "Ports of Call" & "Activities" pages.

[candydane]

One more suggestion.

 

Go to the Roll Call for your specific cruise and join the discussions with your fellow cruisers. Find out what others are doing and why they chose what they did. Plan to attend the CC gathering on the ship if there is one. You may find others who share your interests and be able to put something together that you can do as a group, either before you go or once you all meet and you learn who you enjoy spending time with.

[catergirl]

hi, we were on btb cruises in feb and i would without a doubt do private tours.WAY better ,longer,way less people and cheaper. here is one fellow cruisers site http://www.thepreismans.com/ very helpful. bruno(raaitea)l'excursion bleu,good tour.damien on bora bora was great! as was the snorkel safari and 4x4. all can be booked right off the dock. lots of choices on bora bora-my favorite:) raaitea can be booked off the dock as well,but bruno by email. do you do huahine?? if so there is NOTHING off the dock. no stores,tables of things for sale or tuors. so book ahead or you'll have nothing to do! MARCS motu picnic was the BEST. so much fun!! great snorlkling and fun picmic! hope this helps. enjoy:)

[wallaby]

If you go to the web page listed in my signature block you will find some photos taken on Bruno's, Marc's, Damien's and Patrick's (Tahiti) tours. I only have a 10MB server space so I had to cull the photo's fairly viciously. I left in most of the snorkelling ones so you will get a good feel for the drift snorkel etc.:)

[Pammie poo]

Wow, those pictures were so beautiful, thanks for sharing them...I'm going in Nov and this gives me a wonderful vision of what I have to look forward too seeing.

 

Did you book these trips way a head of time or right off the ship?

[alphouston]

Thanks so much for sharing your beautiful pictures. I am waiting for Thursday June 7th when the rest of the 08 Tahiti bookings become available. Thanks again!

[wallaby]

Did you book these trips way a head of time or right off the ship?

 

I booked the Aqua Safari through the ship, they book all the available spaces both days in Bora Bora so you have no option but to use them. The other tours were all booked pre-cruise. Damien wanted a cheque as deposit which he returns to you, Bruno will take a cheque or PayPal deposit (you can pay in full if you wish) and Marc & Patrick did not require deposits.:)

[razorbackcruiser]

Thanks for all the info everyone! It is very helpful. So, what would your advice be for booking these excursions with Damien for example: wait until we get there or book them in advance? If they are available at the dock, does that mean that spaces are usually available? Thanks again!

[wallaby]

Thanks for all the info everyone! It is very helpful. So, what would your advice be for booking these excursions with Damien for example: wait until we get there or book them in advance? If they are available at the dock, does that mean that spaces are usually available? Thanks again!

 

I booked Damien in advance. He only takes six at a time. There were two girls who joined our group of six by booking on the dock. Damien actually charged them $10 less than he had quoted us - he immediately told us that and refunded $10 to each of us. We enjoyed his trip so much that we gave him back the $10 at the end of the day.:)

[micked10@earthlink.net]

Hi Graeme and Geradine,

Your pictures were awesome. We are booked on the Sept. 1st sailing on the PG and looiing at your pictures makes me want to leave tomorrow!! I can't wait.

Could you please tell me how to get in touch with Marc for his Motu picnic?? That looks like so much fun.

Thanks,

Darlene

[wallaby]

Could you please tell me how to get in touch with Marc for his Motu picnic?? That looks like so much fun.

Thanks,

Darlene

 

Hi Darlene,

 

Try this website:

 

http://www.huahine-nautique.com/picnicR.htm

 

:)

[micked10@earthlink.net]

Thanks G &G for your quick response. I looked at the web-site and the snorkeling and picnic with marc sound wonderful. The only problem that we have is ( beofre I read all of these forums I booked a 3 hour snorkeling tour in Huahine with the ship ( PG) I can cancel it ( I think) and then book with Marc. What advice would you give?? Thanks for your help.

Darlene

[dot73]

Definitely cancel the ship excursion and go with Marc. It was a highlight of my cruise. The place where he takes you for a picnic is amazing. You won't want to come out of the water it is so clear and warm. The people who served the food were so friendly and pleasant and the food was excellent. The fresh barbecued fish was the best I've eaten. they also prepare poisson cru (which is raw fish Tahitian delicacy), which I didn't try because I'm allergic to onions, but others thought it was very good. Enjoy.

 

Also, if you get a chance, book with Damien in Bora Bora. He is a total sweetheart and the motu he takes you to is worth the price of the excursion.

[micked10@earthlink.net]

Thanks Dot 73 for your reply. I will cancel the ships excursion and do Marc's. It sounds wonderful. We will be in Huahine from 8:00 until 6:00. Is this enough time? Also, we will be in Bora Bora only 1 day from 8-5. Can we still do Damien's excursion?? If so, how do I get in touch with him now to pre-book? Thank you for all of your help. This cruise is for our 47th Anniv. so I want it to be special.

Thanks for your help.

Darlene

[micked10@earthlink.net]

I just looked up Marc's web-site and couldn't decide which excursion would be the best. One does the drift snorkeling and other goes to the coral garden. Otherwise, they both seem the same. which do you recommend?? I will book as soon as you reply with your suggestions. Thanks again,

Darlene

[dot73]

Before you cancel the ship's excursion, make sure the private excursions are available.

Damien's e-mail address is damien@boraboraphotolagoon.com. The website, boraboraphotolagoon.com is in French but the pictures tell the story. If you e-mail him, he will reply in English. I don't know how to insert pictures on the thread, but if you e-mail me at ejantoc404@rogers.com, I will send you a picture of the motu. Damien will make sure you are back on the ship in time.

As for Marc, I did excursion #1 as I preferred to be on the water and beach instead of in a car. Don't worry about getting back to the ship on time. These guys will get you back to the dock in plenty of time.

[micked10@earthlink.net]

thanks dot73 for your very quick replies. Yes, I thought I would book Marc's and then cancel the other one when we get on the ship. It said we could cancel 24 hours in advance and Huahine is our 2nd day. I may e-mail them to just make sure after I get a confirmation from Marc.

I will e-mail you for some pictures ( really appreciate your help). I did find Damien's web-site on another post and just sent him an e-mail with some questions. How long was his excursion? Our ship has a complimentary shuttle to a motu too and I would like to get that in--too bad we are not there for 2 days. Guess I have to realize I can't to it all--just happy to be going at all!

[peggy1]

Damien's sounds like a great possibility. Can you tell me what you do on his tour? Is there snorkeling, lunch ? It looks like he goes to the Aquariumlagoon?? The pictures on the web site looks beautiful, I didn't see any prices for the excursions though, goes anyone know how much the trip is? Thanks

[dot73]

I had booked a 4-hour excursion with Damien in February. he also has 2-hour excursions. There were only three of us on this excursion. We loved snorkelling and spent a lot of time at the "aquarium" The snorkelling was great. The Motu was wonderful -- lots of sand and shallow water to snorkel in. Except for one person on the motu, we were the only people there. Damien brought with him some mangoes and papaya and we had some water and juice. I have never felt so mellow as I did on that motu. Damien takes a lot of pride in Bora Bora. While in the boat, he would slow down and point out various areas and would also slow down any time we wanted to take pictures. It was a very enjoyable excursion. I think we paid about $110 per person. For me, it was well worth the price just to be away from the crowds of the ship excursions.

[micked10@earthlink.net]

Dot 73 and Peggy 1,

I e-mailed Damien last night around 8:00PM and already had a reply from him this AM. He described his excursions very well and we chose the 4 hr. one with snorkeling in the coral garden, the motu etc. It is $110 pp. He also described one that was 2 hrs. for $65.00. The 4 hr. one leaves at 9AM and the 2 hr. one at 1:45 so you could concievably do both. Hope this helps. dot--thank you for all of your help and suggestions.

Darlene