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Excursion Suggestion


REDSTRIPETYPE
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My wife and I went to the French Polynesia on Paul Gaugin 3 years ago and we didn't do any snorkeling excursions as we found them to be too expensive. However people who did came back to the ship telling stories of seeing giant clams opening and closing etc. and I regretted our decision.

 

Now we are going on a Windstar in April and want to snorkel at least  once but we are not into stingrays or drifting over coral where you might get scratched by the coral.

 

We stop at Moorea, Raiatea, Motu Mahaea Taha'A ,and  Bora Bora.

 

Can anyone recommend one snorkeling excursion and/or location that would be the way to go?

 

Thanks

 

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Some of most amazing snorkeling in the world is found in French Polynesia. The ability to swim with sting rays, eagle rays, manta rays and sharks up close and personal, and the opportunity to drift snorkel over the most spectacular coral gardens still left on the planet are some of the most unforgettable experiences I have ever had. However, I have never sailed on Windstar, so I have no idea what excursions they offer.

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Back in 1995, we stayed at Sofitel Marara on Bora Bora for a week, in the best overwater bungalow that they had at the time. We did not request it, or pay anymore for it than any other overwater bungalow, but they told us that we were the only reservation for a week rather than for a few nights so they gave it to us.

We were very happy for our week long stay.They had small boats with an outboard that we could rent to use to go to the private island, as well as a free boat service to take us there and pick us up. At the time, there were no accommodations on the private island; just a canopy for shade. Snorkeling around the island in shallow water, we saw the most amazing giant clams. Some were in water that we could walk in. The colors were amazing, and we were so close to them.

We've been back to the Society islands 3 times since then, and all of that was gone. The Sofitel Private Island development seemed to have destroyed all that was there in the water. Snorkeling around Bora Bora on excursions, we didn't see any giant clams, and none on any of the other Society Islands or Faka Rava. In the Cook Islands, they have a giant clam farm in tanks, with the same beautiful colors we saw in 1995, but not very big. We also saw a farm in Hawaii with very small clams.

We've been on the Paul Gauguin 3 times in 2017, 2018 and 2019, and did a lot of snorkeling excursions with all of them being through Paul Gauguin.

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  • 2 weeks later...

There's nice snorkeling at the south end of Raiatea, don't remember the name.  It was not for the beginner, however, being deep water snorkeling.  Used to be a website devoted to the island with plenty of info about private operators, but that's gone now.  There are tons of private operators on Moorea.  One that I know of is in a popular excursion area, Moorea Trip Tours.

 

Have you tried Tripadvisor?

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