FAKARAVA - Snorkeling from shore near ship?

[jabcruiser]

We are scheduled to be in Fakarava in March.  We are currently on a wait list for Ato's snorkeling excursion. Wondering if we cannot do that if there is an area near tender dock which might have decent shore snorkeling.  A waterside restaurant/tiki bar would be nice for DH to hang out while I snorkel.  Thanks for any info.

Jane

Edited January 24, 2022 by jabcruiser
correct name

[gdlamberth]

You could try these guys:

 

Snorkeling Tour in Fakarava (o2fakarava.com)

 

I've never used them but they have good reviews on Trip Advisor.

 

[Jela]

Hi. 
We were there in 2019 and went to a great resort haiki resort. There is a bus that is there when you get off the ship that takes you there. It’s beautiful!

[Petoonya]

O2 Fakarava is wonderful. They'll meet you at the dock. They are a dive company but do awesome snorkel trips.

[Petoonya]

2 hours ago, Jela said:

Hi. 
We were there in 2019 and went to a great resort haiki resort. There is a bus that is there when you get off the ship that takes you there. It’s beautiful!

By any chance was this Havaiki Lodge? I looked it up and pictures look lovely. Would love to know if this is the place.

[Jela]

10 hours ago, Petoonya said:

By any chance was this Havaiki Lodge? I looked it up and pictures look lovely. Would love to know if this is the place.

Yes! Sorry we are supposedly going with my sisters in March. It really was a nice place. Me and my sister drank rum punch and just hung out with the beauty. I tried to attach pictures but I’ll try again.

[Jela]

    There also were people snorkeling!

Edited January 25, 2022 by Jela

[Jela]

[Mah Jongg]

4 hours ago, Jela said:

Did you buy a day pass for the lodge? Did they shuttle you back to the tender pier? This place looks wonderful.

[Jela]

It was like $5 to take us to the lodge and then another $5 to take us back to the pier. The lodge didn’t charge anything. 

[Petoonya]

What a great find Jela. 

[Petoonya]

Gosh, I looked at the reviews of this on TA and makes me want to do it, even though I've done Ato's tour. It just looks wonderful. It's this or maybe O2Fakarava.

[CruisingGrandmaW]

On 1/25/2022 at 7:53 AM, Mah Jongg said:

Did you buy a day pass for the lodge? Did they shuttle you back to the tender pier? This place looks wonderful.

Hi Jah Jongg

 

We are on same Konningsdam Cruise leaving San Diego on 02/18/2023

My husband & I are very much interested in going to Havaiki Lodge for the day while in Fakarava on 3/14/2023.

I've sent an email to Havaiki Lodge to arrange this.

Can we stay in touch via email with each other on progress towards making this happen.

I did not want to post this info directly in the Cruise Critic Roll Call for our cruise.

2 Reasons:

    Didn't want a bunch of conversation on the roll call going back & forth if this Lodge no longer allows cruise passengers day use.

    Don't know if Lodge could accommodate a large number of cruise passengers showing up as they look like a small facility and could not handle a large group.

   I'm hoping they will take a small number of passengers via a Day Use Reservation.

 

I'll let you know what I find out if you'll be so kind to email me so we can converse via email.

 

Thank you,

Carolyn AKA CruisingGrandmaW

[57redbird]

22 minutes ago, CruisingGrandmaW said:

Hi Jah Jongg

 

We are on same Konningsdam Cruise leaving San Diego on 02/18/2023

My husband & I are very much interested in going to Havaiki Lodge for the day while in Fakarava on 3/14/2023.

I've sent an email to Havaiki Lodge to arrange this.

Can we stay in touch via email with each other on progress towards making this happen.

I did not want to post this info directly in the Cruise Critic Roll Call for our cruise.

2 Reasons:

    Didn't want a bunch of conversation on the roll call going back & forth if this Lodge no longer allows cruise passengers day use.

    Don't know if Lodge could accommodate a large number of cruise passengers showing up as they look like a small facility and could not handle a large group.

   I'm hoping they will take a small number of passengers via a Day Use Reservation.

 

I'll let you know what I find out if you'll be so kind to email me so we can converse via email.

 

Thank you,

Carolyn AKA CruisingGrandmaW

Following --- this would be perfect for us.  Let me know if you find out availability & cost.  TIA.  (patspal162@yahoo.com)

[Petoonya]

On 6/25/2022 at 12:22 PM, 57redbird said:

Following --- this would be perfect for us.  Let me know if you find out availability & cost.  TIA.  (patspal162@yahoo.com)

I'll be in Fakarava 8/13 on Wind Spirit. Emailed Havaiki Lodge today and heard back immediately. Said they don't offer day stays. But if you want to have lunch they'll let you have a table with feet in the water. They didn't say anything about a table if you order a cocktail....😇 But not allowed use of lounge chairs or pool.

They also said that the bus is how to find your way there.

We're doing an Ato day again, but was curious about this beautiful looking place.

[57redbird]

13 hours ago, Petoonya said:

I'll be in Fakarava 8/13 on Wind Spirit. Emailed Havaiki Lodge today and heard back immediately. Said they don't offer day stays. But if you want to have lunch they'll let you have a table with feet in the water. They didn't say anything about a table if you order a cocktail....😇 But not allowed use of lounge chairs or pool.

They also said that the bus is how to find your way there.

We're doing an Ato day again, but was curious about this beautiful looking place.

Thanks & please share your experience there.

[Petoonya]

We were supposed to be doing Ato's famous tour in Fakarava with a group of 8 on 13 Aug. But one in our group found Tripadvisor reviews from less than 2 weeks ago. Ato had no showed. He apparently went to Paris and either forgot about or avoided this group he had booked. Fakarava is not the kind of place you want to be stood up as there aren't last minute alternatives. I feel badly as income is hard to come by in far flung atolls like this. But since you don't visit it but maybe a time of two in a lifetime you want to be sure someone is waiting on the pier for you. We booked the Blue Lagoon with Windstar.

 

We'll see how the time goes.....maybe still have time to attempt a short visit to Havaiki Lodge.

Edited July 26, 2022 by Petoonya

[Gallivanter'sGal]

We rented bikes and had a wonderful day.  Took our snorkeling stuff with us and stopped in several places, parked our bikes and snorkeled from shore.  I was one of our favorite stops!

[Coolcruise02]

Can you please share the info on how and where you rented the bikes?

Thanks!