Help Choosing Dreams of Tahiti Shore Excursions

[travelovingnurse]

My husband and I are going on our pandemic delayed honeymoon on the 7 Day "Dreams of Tahiti" Wind Spirit cruise.  

 

It is our first time to French Polynesia.  

 

From recommendations found in this forum we are thinking of the following shore excursions:

 

Raiatea:   Jet Ski Raiatea 

 

Motu Mahaea: Tahaa: Coral Garden Drift Snorkeling 

 

Bora Bora: Snorkel Safari & Stingray Encounter 

 

We have a second day in Bora Bora and would appreciate other suggestions for shore excursions.  

 

We aren't sure what to choose for Moorea as we have 5 nights on Moorea planned before the cruise and don't know what to do while we are there and what to choose while onboard.  We are thinking of doing the Dr. Poole Dolphin and Whale Watch eco-tour during our 5 night stay in Moorea.  

 

We also need shore excursion suggestions for Huahine.

 

Thank you in advance for your help!  

 

 

[6rugrats]

Dr. Poole’s excursion is one of the best I have ever taken.  Highly recommend. 

[r&rd]

I second that!

[milepig]

13 hours ago, 6rugrats said:

Dr. Poole’s excursion is one of the best I have ever taken.  Highly recommend. 

I was very much looking forward to Dr. Poole and it was fine but I thought he was a bit preachy. We had a bad day for Dolphins, but he did work really hard to find some. All in all we had a good time. 

[Petoonya]

Mine are all independents if that interests you.

 

H2O Bora Bora. Some of the best snorkeling I've ever done in Tahiti. Full or half day- only 4-6 passengers. No lunch but they drop you off in an area where lots of choices to eat.

Tohora Bora Bora. Also small group, great snorkeling. You'll see manta rays.

 

Moorea- rent a car and drive the island one day.

Mermaid snorkeling. Fabulous. Expensive but small group.

Whale and shark tour- Moorea Moana. Loved it.

 

Huahine. Rent a car/drive to Le Mahana 20 miles from dock on Huahine Iti. Spend the day at Le Mahana- best beach and snorkeling on Huahine.  For car rental- Compta (used to be Avis). comptasfn@mail.pf

 

Motu Mahaea- definitely do the ship's Coral Gardens tour. Unforgettable. Best!

 

Another Raiatea alternative which is a lot more reasonable than the ship's jetskiing , Jet Raiatea

 

Can't say if any have gone under since COVID but did them all 2018. Doing again on Twice the Tahiti in 2022.

[Heartfelttraveler]

We were on a Tahiti Cruise (Oceania) in February 2019.  We LOVED H2O Bora Bora.  It is essentially a private tour.  At that time he only took four people.  Now he has a bigger boat and can take 6.  We are booked on the Windstar Spirit in about 10 weeks.  I have booked with him again.  We have our fingers crossed that the itinerary will happen, Delta will not cancel the Air France flights, and that we can take non cruise line excursion.

 

Bora Bora H2O snorkeling excursions - lagoon tours

 

I highly second the Coral Gardens drift snorkel.  We are booked through Windstar to do this.  We had done it with Oceania and loved it. A suggestion for this is rash-guard bottoms.  Lots of coral that can snag your legs.

[Petoonya]

Not only rash guard bottoms for Coral Gardens but same on top. We loved it so we did it 3 times 2018.

Water shoes are a requirement. We brought neoprene gloves too.

[Lvwindstar007]

Gloves were a big help for Coral Gardens.  When I did it a few years ago the current was so strong it was hard to get organized in the water for the drift so I held onto the side until our group launched.  Came away with just a couple of minor scratches.  My DW was pleased she skipped this event which she had done many years ago on the Wind Song.

[brandybit]

We did the e-bikes around Huahine through Windstar and really enjoyed it.  They stopped at a resort for 45 min where we could snorkel or have a drink.   Did the jet skis on Motu Mahaea through Windstar, also offered on Raitea.  I didn't try to book on my own (cheaper, I know) because I figured they were all contracted to the ship.    Did Dr. Poole and it was fine for dolphins, but he did not do whale watching which was kind of disappointing, stayed inside the lagoon.   We only found out a week before sailing that we could do independent tours so I didn't have a chance to re-book anything.  Some people did the Coral Garden drift snorkel and said several people got hurt on the coral because water levels were low, and many others said the current was so fast they really didn't get to see a lot.   We loved the stingrays and sharks in Bora Bora,  on the second day did the 4 x 4 jeep tour and also loved that.     Good luck with your flights - we had one on Air Tahiti Nui through American canceled and then re-booked on Air France, which also canceled about two weeks before we left!  Luckily we were able to book something on United at the last minute.   

[NMTraveller]

Do the excursions on Windstar fill up?  Is it OK to book excursions a couple of months before?

[brandybit]

Yes the good ones fill up. 

[Strenz]

We loved the excursion with Dr. Poole, he was knowledgeable, a true scientist, had a great sense of humor, the lagoon is so beautiful drifting around, it was one of our favorites. Happy Sailing