Q: PG Veterans

[Kane]

In Bora Bora and Moorea ... are there vendors on the dock where the tenders arrive at which folks can sign-up for spur-of-the-moment scuba and/or snorkeling excursions?

 

TIA

[Iamboatman]

It depends on the day. It is not, however, anything like you might see in the Caribbean. It is more like one or two possibilities. Personally, I would not leave wait until the dock.

[AlFrank]

We were in port in Bora Bora and Moorea 2 days each and never saw any

[mikenbob]

Agreed. In my opinion, you should not wait until you get to the dock in Bora Bora or Moorea or you will likely be left high and dry. Both of these islands have very little going on at the area where the tenders drop you off (that is what make French Polynesia so wonderful!). You should probably either book an excursion with the ship or have one reserved in advance to ensure the best use of your time and the availability of a guide. If all you want to do is snorkel, you can easily get to a local beach and snorkel on your own.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

There usually seem to be a fair number around the dock in Bora Bora. But haven't seen much at the dock on Moorea. But I agree, I would pre-book. The PG tours are usually pretty similar to local ones, and priced quite fairly. We've never gone private.

[2manyplaces]

As Wendy said, the PG tours are not excessively priced, and the excursions are quite seamless. The operators appear to be carefully vetted to give you the best excursions available. Book with the ship!

[south seas sue]

I'd like to weigh in on this with my recent experience looking into private excursions for our PG cruise 12-12. The ship excursions are pretty expensive, in my opinion. I can't say "compared to what", but just compared to what I thought they would be, they are high. $90-95 for a half day snorkel trip for example. And, we are a family of 4. So, I assumed the ship was tacking on a hefty middle man fee and that booking directly with the boat owner or operator would be less expensive.

 

For the most part, I was wrong. I contacted about 3 or 4 private excursion operators in Moorea, Bora Bora, and Raiatea, and did NOT find that prices were any less. I did end up going with one private operator, Damien in Bora Bora, but that is primarly because we are going out privately as a family with him - just us four - in the afternoon, when most tours will not be operating,and I thought it would be special to do that. Perhaps in the Carribean it is different, but I agree with what has been said - there aren't that many private excursions or boats available, and those that do exist charge pretty comparably with the ship. In addition, language is a problem in communication.

 

I would also add that many times the boats are booked by the ship, and apparently they haave an agreement that if the boat operator knows you are off the ship, he will not take your reservation but will refer you back to the shp. I don't know what that is all about, but in any event I am happy with booking our one private excursion in Bora Bora, and expect to enjoy the others we have booked through the ship - in Raiatea, Moorea, and Bora Bora.

 

glenda:)

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Interesting to have this confirmed so concretely. Yes, excursions are expensive in FP. In FP, everything is expensive. Keep in mind that on the PG you usually have the motu day (for free, not bad snorkeling, plus kayaking, etc.) Then depending on the itinerary you may have one or two free afternoons on a motu beach off Bora Bora. Lovely beach, great swimming, reef snorkeling if you're brave.