How to find a snorkel excursion on Fakarava, Tahiti

[Avidsnorkeler]

I am going on the Paul Gauguin 14-day cruise in Tahiti starting Dec. 4th. I cannot find a snorkel tour to book on Fakarava in the Tuamotu's. Does anyone have any experience with snorkeling on Fakarava, and how did you arrange for it? Any email contact addresses? Everything I can find is just for scuba divers.

[Alberta Couple]

I have run into the same problem. I can't even find out where the ship will tender so that we can go to do our own snorkelling. If someone can't help us out with this before you go on your cruise, I would like to hear what you did in Fakarava when you get back.

[Avidsnorkeler]

So far the closest thing we've come to is contacting the Fakarava tourism committee. It says there is snorkeling a five minute walk from the dock which is at Rotoava town.

[narnia1]

I will have a full day in Fakarava as well and can't find snorkeling exursions. The itinerary was just changed to accommodate JM Cousteayu and divers without any thought for the rest of us. If you have returned from your trip Avidsnorkeler please tell us what you ended up doing. Thanks.

[Avidsnorkeler]

We found the prettiest snorkel beach a 10 or 15 minute picturesque walk from the tender. Facing the island (atoll) we turned right on their one road and walked for about ten or 15 minutes until we found this pretty little beach on our right. There are several little beaches and you could choose any one. Walking down the road we also saw a road bisecting ours, and tried that, and found the rough ocean at the end of it. So we back tracked back to the main road, and kept going. These beaches are inside the protected huge lagoon that the atoll surrounds. We could see the Paul Gauguin in the distance and got some nice pictures. My boyfriend even saw a stingray. There were also colorful big clams, and colorful fish and pretty coral heads. We really enjoyed this snorkel that we found on our own!

[Alberta Couple]

Thanks for this great info, this is exactly what we planned on doing too. Now we know where to go. I checked it out on Google Earth and it looks good. Have a few questions though since you have been there and info on this place seems to be very limited. Are there any places around the tender port to rent bikes? Are there any shops, snacks or restaurants along the walk to the beach? How was the sand on the beaches? Any problems with the private properties in the area?

[Avidsnorkeler]

Renting bikes would be perfect for Fakarava. I don't know if they do that, but you could contact the Fakarava Tourisme Committee <hinanohellberg@mail.pf>. They have a booth at the tender dock to answer questions, but they also answered my email questions.

 

The sand was white and soft. I did not notice any shops, snacks or restaurants, but you could ask Hinano Hellberg of the Tourisme Committee. Our friend brought a bottle of water from the ship. The food on the ship is so good and so easily available that we didn't even think of eating on Fakarava. Paul Gauguin put fresh fruit in our room every morning, so you could take that with you, too. There were no private properties to walk through to get to the beaches. The beaches were right on the road.

 

I envy you your future trip. Ours was just wonderful! Best of times to you!