Amedee Island Day Trip - Is it worth it?

[avalon007]

Hi,

 

Been to Noumea like most regular cruisers many times & the only thing we haven't done that interests us is the Amedee Island day trip at $274 per person at today's rate.

 

We love to snorkel on good reefs with a lot of sea life (think Lifou's Jinek Bay) or Scuba Dive if an option (we are certified divers) & the historical lighthouse interests us.

Is the reef really nice? How does it compare to other regular island stops like Mystery Island, Lifou or Isle Of Pines? 

 

So for those who have been to Amadee in the last year or so - do you think it was worth the price?

 

Thanks.:)

[MadWoofter]

Hmmm, difficult question !  I was there a bit over 18 months ago and did the ships tour on Carnival.

 

Getting to see and snorkel with the turtles was great, but the reef is better at Janek Bay (saying that, I didn't snorkel a long way out and apparently it is better the further out you go).

 

The glass bottom boat was fun, and seeing the dancers at lunch was too.  The food was pretty good.  The lighthouse was closed when I was there so we couldn't go up it.  We did see scuba-divers, but they were with a separately organised tour (and I don't think even on the cruise) so you might be able to organise something separately if you want.

 

I really enjoyed the day trip, but for me I don't think it was worth the price that Carnival charged.  If you could get it cheaper with a scuba tour (and want to risk getting back to the ship on time) that might be a better option for you.

[SinbadThePorter]

Not really.

 

I was in the same position as you, having been to Noumea numerous times and getting less impressed each time. The time before last I stayed on the ship. The most recent time I decided to go to Amedee.

 

It's a long trip out and a long trip back. When we went it happened to be the race day for the local yachties and a big crowd of them were camped out on Amedee waiting for the wind to come up so that they could race back to Noumea. As a result it was a bit crowded.

 

The island itself is not particularly pretty, it's just a big sand cay with some scrubby vegetation covering it. Nowhere near as attractive as Mystery or Dravuni islands. The lighthouse on the island is worth a look. Remember to take some cash for the entrance fee. They took Aussie dollars. There is also a small tourist shop.

 

The snorkeling is OK, but not better than Lifou or Mystery Island. You get a glass bottom boat ride and there is a sit down lunch which was quite nice. To go with the lunch there is a Tahitian style dance show. If you are quick there are lounge chairs strategically placed around the beach. Keep an eye out for the yellow striped sea snakes, they like to come up onto the beach.

 

Overall I thought it was an OK excursion but way overpriced.

[rabbit1971]

Hi,

 whilst i have not been to amdee island ,I have been to escapade island and resort on a private tour and found it to be one of the best days of my life. The resort is gorgeous and you gt full run of the pools and the lunch was really lovely, then a group of us with our guide went snorkelling to see the turtles in the sea grass, and they were everywhere. Not being much of a snorkeller, I thoroughly enjoyed this, and seeing the turtles that close was truely memorable. We were collected from the ship by coach and taken to the ferry and after about 20min were at the resort. It was a very enjoyable day, one i would gladly repeat if we get back to noumea. On their website it is now around $140 AUD. (gateway tours noumea)

 Hope that might help. Maree

Edited January 24, 2019 by rabbit1971

[MicCanberra]

Trip Advisor has Mary D has full day tours to Amedee Island for around $200-220 AUD.

[lyndarra]

We did a ship's tour about four or five years ago for sentimental reasons. It was 35 years since our previous visit with our two sons when they were aged 2 & 4. We enjoyed the day out but it is really overpriced and I can only iterate what has been said above, good food, snorkelling better elsewhere. There was free use of snorkeling equipment and SUPs (stand up paddleboards).

[martin jenkins]

september 2018 we booked a tour to signal island think was about $65 pp, was a fantastic day out.

[avalon007]

Thanks for the replies.

 

Seems it's overpriced for what it is & for what interests us, so we will give it a miss & check out the other options mentioned.

 

[Brisbane41]

I did it 2 years ago and really enjoyed it. I thought it was worth it. They put on a really good lunch with plenty of food and drinks. There was plenty of space on the beach to spread out and a variety of places to swim without being crowded. The lighthouse was worth the climb as well. Overall it was a relaxing and easy day and I am glad I did it. I have done it once so I do not have to do it again and find another activity next time is my opinion. If you have on board credit to cover it then you are not really paying if you can use it.

[IslandHopperPro]

We were there in January 2018 via a shore excursion from Explorer of the seas. On our previous cruise to Noumea on Radiance passengers raved about it so we particularly went on our next opportunity. Yes it wasn't cheap, and though we didn't necessarily go for the snorkelling (but we did enjoy the glass bottom boat), we had a fabulous day out on the island swimming, eating and drinking.  There was plenty of terrific food put on for us and the alcoholic punch was very refreshing and lots of it, bonus!  The entertainment was also a nice diversion. So yeah, IMHO it was a great day out...but only you can determine whether it is worth the price of admission.

[avalon007]

16 hours ago, IslandHopperPro said:

We were there in January 2018 via a shore excursion from Explorer of the seas. On our previous cruise to Noumea on Radiance passengers raved about it so we particularly went on our next opportunity. Yes it wasn't cheap, and though we didn't necessarily go for the snorkelling (but we did enjoy the glass bottom boat), we had a fabulous day out on the island swimming, eating and drinking.  There was plenty of terrific food put on for us and the alcoholic punch was very refreshing and lots of it, bonus!  The entertainment was also a nice diversion. So yeah, IMHO it was a great day out...but only you can determine whether it is worth the price of admission.

 

 

Thanks for your input, but we have decided the price isn't worth it for us.

 

We are scuba divers so the glass bottom boat isn't our thing, not really swayed by food as we get plenty of that on the ship and we get free drinks onboard as well. :) So we are looking into some other options, but not really worried if we end up staying on board this time round in Noumea.

[Gwendy]

On a separate note have you been to the Cultural Centre.   We did this as a fill in one day and were blown away by the displays and gardens and of course the architecture. We also went to the Botanicalgardens once and they were quite interesting, lots of walking up and down hills, I was close to kidnapping a Segway rider and taking his machine.  My delightful daughter then asked me how was I going to ride/drive it.  Hmm kept walking.

[Hunter69]

There's also a big difference in Cruise companies with prices to Amedee; RCL who your going with seem's to be the highest by far, while P&O are $199, so was Carnival when I was in Noumea last OCT. Princess is $225, I have been told.

Escapade Island is a good Alternative. If you want the snorkling experience with fish 7 Turtles & then have a Buffett lunch. But it has gone up condiserably from $85 AUD in 2015 to now over $150 as mentioned above.

I have a few friends & I'm going to try a NEW option it's called Noumea Turtle Tours; To Signal Island only $65 AUD; but no lunch & no real Ammedities (toilet, buildings); But it has just as good or better Turtle snorkling...

 

[SinbadThePorter]

The main point about Amedee is that it's a quite nice island, but it's just not any better than the islands that you will be going to on your cruise before/after Noumea, which cost nothing to get to.

[spirit28]

We went to Amedee in December with RCCL.  Having been to Noumea a number of times, we thought it might be good to do something different.

 

While we had a wonderful day but perhaps did not represent value for money.  Got to agree with Sinbad - I thought Mystery Island was just as good.

 

 

[dbn89]

Amadee was stupid expensive, but well worth it. The sea snakes and turtles offered a unique snorkelling experience compared to the rest of the island. Snakes freaked the ex out, but they are harmless 🙂

 

Only gripe is how remote it was, took quite a while to get to/from which of course eats into your day.