Choosing excursions in Moorea & Bora Bora??

[petlover]

If you could glance at the following 3 excursions offered in Moorea and Bora Bora and give any opinions, I'd sure appreciate it! I also included prices as maybe we should book independently and not through Radisson....??

My husband has a bad back so the 4 x 4's isn't a good option for us.

Thanks for any opions or other options we should consider for our 1 day in Moorea and 1 day in Bora Bora. Appreciate your help!

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Lagoon Discovery with Snorkeling

Moorea $69. per person

Duration: 3½ Hours.

Boat Ride, Moderate Walking, Snorkeling.

 

Discover the bays of Cook and Opunohu in comfort on a modern covered boat that will protect you from the direct rays of the sun. Travel these majestic bays with a captain who will give a brief lecture on the legends, the geography, and the fauna and the flora of Moorea. Next, snorkel into the magnificent lagoon. The boat will take you near to a gorgeous sandy islet surrounded by transparent turquoise waters, shallow enough to walk comfortably in the sea. As soon as the boat arrives, you will find the rays waiting for you. In exchange for a piece of fish they will gracefully glide around you.

 

After this unforgettable experience, continue and stop close to another uninhabited islet, where refreshments will be served. You will have enough time for snorkeling and swimming in water 6 to 10 feet deep/2 to 3 meters or beach combing before returning to the pier. The boats have excellent ladders that extend deep into the water to facilitate boarding. Snorkeling locations may vary depending on lagoon conditions such as current and visibility.

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Aqua Safari - Underwater Walk

Bora Bora $79 per person

Duration: 2 Hours (30 mins underwater).

Boat Ride, Snorkeling.

 

Wearing your swimsuit, don a yellow diving helmet for a spectacular experience to walk along under Bora Bora's spectacular lagoon; which some say is the most beautiful in the world. No diving experience is required, and you need not even be a swimmer to discover this exciting new world. Your head remains dry inside the helmet, you can even wear your glasses and you remain in total security just a few feet below the surface.

 

A taxi boat will come to pick you from the dock in Vaitape and will take you to a comfortable motorized catamaran where your instructor will explain the basic safety measures and diving signs. Plastic shoes, wetsuit, mask and snorkel are available as there will be time for snorkeling while others are taking the underwater walk.

 

A certified diving instructor will help you put on the helmet and descend the ladder into the crystalline waters for your 30- minute underwater experience. Walk on the sand among interesting coral formations while surrounded by tropical fish in a myriad of beautiful colors. If you wish you can have fish eating right from your hand. You may snorkel while others are on their walk. Return directly to the pier via water taxi at the conclusion of your tour.

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Lagoonarium - Open-air Aquarium Snorkeling Experience

Bora Bora- $75. per person

Duration: 3½ Hours.

Canoe, Refreshments, Snorkeling.

 

Depart from the pier in Viatape by outrigger canoe for a circumnavigation (weather permitting) of Bora Bora Lagoon to the "Lagoonarium", where you have the opportunity to swim in separate enclosed pens and enjoy close encounters with marine life (sharks, rays, jackfish, turtles, parrot-fish and more).

At the Lagoonarium you will be guided by locals who will show you how to carefully approach the animals. As you are starting from the beach, this is a wonderful trip for the novice snorkeler, providing an incredible array of marine life and a beach that has a beautiful view of Bora Bora. You can choose to snorkel in depth ranging from 3 to 10 feet deep. After your time in the water, fresh fruit is served and you can enjoy some time on the beach relaxing before heading back.

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[nic]

I did this in Bermuda and loved the experience. We all had wet suits.

[laurieb]

If you feel comfortable enough, wait and pick up pa water excursion after tendering onshore. We will be doing so again on both islands, generally longer and less expensive and not so big. Johnny is back on Bora Bora I understand, we snorkeled with him last time and can't wait to go again. We picked up a snorkel - motu picnic on Moorea through Albert tours, can't wait to do that one again.

[petlover]

Thanks.

Do you happen to have a website for Albert Tours? I think if possible I'd like to have something booked ahead of time. Do they take credit cards or USD$?

[laurieb]

I haven't been able to find a website, but I think you may be able to find an email address at http://www.thetahititraveler.com . We paid in US. They said they take Visa, but it wasn't working at the time. It was much cheaper than Princess, and went to allthe sameplaces, but stayed at each one longer.

[MVPinBoynton]

Albert's website is: http://www.albert-transport.net/

Good Luck.

[petlover]

Thank you for the website. I read wonderful things about this tour operator.

[cruisernurse]

We didn't do the Bora Bora helmet dive, but we did it in Moorea. We booked it on our own through aquablue.com Vinson was the owner. You can get it cheaper going through him. email him and I think he does it on Bora Bora too. That was one of the most exciting things we have ever done. Since we booked everything we did online, I can't help you with the other things. We saved over 1,000 booking our own stuff to do.

Nancy

[whynotnow]

Cruisernurse,

Am really interested in the helmet dive you did but am not having luck with the aquablue.com website you refer to - comes up as a dive shop in AZ. Help!

[laurieb]

if you haven't already, you might want to check out http://www.thetahititraveler.com . there are links to many different FP websites.

[chamima]

Whynot now,

I did some checking and this looks like the helmet dive. Haven't contacted them yet though.

http://www.boradive.com/

Right now I'm signed up with princess but if this is legit just might switch.

Karen

[RET_REF]

I would like to hear about any feedback from someone who did the helmet dive on Moorea with aquablue .

 

Thanks

[jmike]

Hi, our CC group did the Moorea Helmet dive last May. It was a great tour and a wonderful experience. The tour departs from the Moorea Beachcomber and it takes about ten minutes to get to the dive spot which is in about 12 feet of water. About six at a time go down while the others are free to snorkle the area. The dive was great. There are hundreds of fish to feed and a group of very friendly stingrays to play with. The tour is operated by a very good guide that makes the helmet dive very easy. My wife was worried but had a wonderful experience. Anytime you want to return to the boat, the guide will help you back aboard. The dive lasts about 30 minutes but seems to fly by. Mike

[andydee]

Hi,

Check out Moorea Transport who offer a number of tour options. G.M. Myriam is one of the most helpful and gracious ladies I have encountered anywhere.

Cheers,

Andy

[CAPinBoynton]

Petlover,

 

We just returned from Fr. Polynesia last month. You absolutely MUST do the Aqua Safari. It is fabulous! I did mine in Bora Bora, and if I ever have a chance to do it again, I will. If you want to see pictures of what it's like, check out our website at www.thepreismans.com We used Alberts for two of our tours, and we discussed those in the review.

 

Enjoy,

[RET_REF]

Vincent finally answered our email and we booked the helmet dive with him on Moorea. He first wanted a credit card to guarantee our reservation, but I told him I would not do it unless he had a secure site. So he backed off and took our word as a promise. He said that some times people book a reservation and never show up and he holds a space for them that he could have sold to someone else. I understand his problem, but we have never stuck anyone we have booked on line with. We are really looking forwd to doing this dive after everything I've read here on the boards. Thanks!

[Stranger1]

I found the website (or a website) for aquablue in Moorea. Here it is:

http://www.destmic.com/aqua_blue.htm