5 Days in Moorea (French Polynesia): Dolphins, Rays & Sharks
We take the ferry to Moorea in the middle of the afternoon. We’ve been to Moorea twice (the first time 10 years ago and the second time for a scouting trip two months ago), but this is the first time we’ve brought a scooter with us. Our itinerary spans five days, but you can do exactly the same thing in two days.
Part 1: Travel Journal
Part 2: Practical Tips
Part 1: Travel Journal
Day 1
For the ferry ride, we were told that scooters don’t need a reservation, but cars must book in advance because there aren’t many spots—especially for the last daily ferry between Tahiti and Moorea. Many people live in Moorea and commute to work in Tahiti. There are annual passes for these commuters, and it’s not that bad because the fastest ferry takes only 30 minutes + being there 20 minutes early = 1h40 of commuting per day, which is nothing compared to those living on the Tahiti peninsula. Those folks, due to traffic, have to leave at 4:30 am to get to work by 8 am in Papeete. Personally, I’d rather live in Moorea if that’s the case.
There are several companies and several schedules; the best is to go to the port and ask. Last time we took a slower ferry (45 minutes) but more comfortable. This time, it’s Aremiti we took, faster (30 minutes) but older.
I still have very fond memories of Moorea because readers often remind me that this trip exists. I don’t know why the content of my old travel diarycould be misunderstood, but I regularly received requests for quotes for excursions to swim with rays and sharks in Moorea!!
Re-reading this travel diary, I confirm that the essence of Moorea is concentrated in the itinerary we did, but if you have a bit of time like us, you could spend a month in Moorea without getting bored.
Moorea resembles a little bit our favorite island Koh Phangan. Buildings are sparse, there are commercial areas here and there, with a small supermarket, fruit stands here and there. And absolutely splendid water. Moorea has less coral and fish than Koh Phangan, but you can swim with rays, sharks, turtles, and whales.
As soon as we got off the ferry, we—our scooter and the suitcase strapped behind—went straight to our Airbnb.
It took me a while to find this Airbnb because I wanted one that is well located, no dogs, and if possible with direct access to the lagoon. Such an Airbnb exists; when I read in the reviews “pool, whales, dolphins,” I booked immediately. In reality, it’s even better than in my imagination: direct access to the lagoon, with canoes provided for free, sharks and dolphins that come regularly, a small but very nice pool; the only downside is that we can’t use the owners’ kitchen. But they offer paid breakfasts and dinners if needed.
It’s austral winter so we have 2 hours before sunset to do some shopping (we buy ready-made meals) and go to Sofitel to book the day pass. The number of “day pass” visitors is limited; we are told the next available date is in 2 days. It starts to rain a little, so we head back to the Airbnb. JB enjoys the hammock in the light rain while I edit videos I’ve recently taken.
It has been raining non-stop for a week; I’m a bit worried about the coming days, but ultimately we chose the best time to go on vacation because before and after our vacation, it rains.
Day 2
The plan for today is very simple:
- Canoe & snorkeling in the morning for JB.
- Visit of Magic Mountain (1h round-trip hike).
- Visit of the Rotui factory, which makes pineapple juice.
- Lunch at the Manava Resort hotel just next to our place.
Here’s the video of the canoe session.
I accompanied JB, but when I saw we were in the channel and couldn’t see the bottom anymore, I freaked out and we turned back ASAP. Actually, you have to cross the channel to reach an area about 2m deep (see the red pole?), and there you see a kind of “cliff” that joins the channel. Because just in front of our place, the water is only 30cm deep; you can’t snorkel and you risk hurting yourself on the corals. The sharks in front of our place are only visible by their fins. As soon as you put your feet (or kayak) in the water, they are very shy and hide.
We then take the scooter to Magic Mountain. You have to pay 200 francs per person because it’s on private land. We park at the parking lot. Then we climb non-stop for 30 minutes to an incredible viewpoint . Excursions come here in 4x4s; we did such an excursion 10 years ago and saw a whale jumping in the distance. This time, no whale, the sun is beating down hard, but the view is very satisfying as well.
Sponsor
I’m posting lots of videos / shorts this time because Insta360 sent us their camera so we could test it during the holidays. It turns out to be ultra easy to film and edit. This is the first time we’ve done this kind of testing with a product we didn’t buy, and we’re thrilled! It’s a brand we already like and use, so there’s little chance we wouldn’t like the camera. If it were an unknown brand, we wouldn’t have dared! However, travel & sponsorship is a delicate matter.
Recently, I saw on Instagram the stories of a female traveler who complains about having only gotten one partnership, a “poisoned gift” for her trip to Switzerland.
Recently, following MY email, NASA also offered to send me to the Moon to benefit from my communication/content creation (i.e., in exchange for a story and two screenshots), but it’s a poisoned gift because I would have had to pay for my flight and the ESTA to the United States. I’ll have to make do with rice-based meals (200 francs per kg) in the coming weeks. It’s really a shame; I could have encouraged so many chickpea and rice eaters to go to the Moon.
Influencers think too highly of themselves. It’s true that when you have 100k, 150k followers, you risk “getting a big head”; snobbery spares no one, as we discussed at length here. A restaurateur we talked to in Argentina told me that influencers do bring in customers temporarily, but they’re not very refined people who leave bad reviews on Google Maps and never come back. We crossed paths with a food influencer; the chef offered him wine because the staff recognized him—he then had to do a little video edit, but without giving his opinion. Because yes, that day, the food was mediocre, I know because we ordered almost the same menu! But he couldn’t criticize; he drank their free wine 😀 In Goreme, we stayed at a hotel that was buzzing on Instagram. At 6 a.m., there were more women in evening gowns who weren’t guests than actual guests, all to pose in front of a fake breakfast. It turned us off from places highlighted on social media.
Rotui
We visit the Rotui juice factory; the tour is free and self-guided; you just have to put on a hairnet and read the signs. There are lots of machines, and today we only see the packaging steps, but we really like it. They tell us that Moorea pineapple is the best in the world (and it’s true we haven’t tasted better yet), so the factory makes LOCAL pineapple juice on site, as well as other juices. If the pineapple juice truly comes from French Polynesian pineapples, that’s not the case for the other juices—they import fruits from other distant countries. But everything is delicious. You can taste them at the factory shop. The price at the factory is slightly lower than in supermarkets.
On the way, we’ll see a fruit & vegetable stand (Google maps link). On Moorea, there are no markets like in Papeete, so locals buy their vegetables in supermarkets or from street stands. The seller tells us everything comes from her garden. She sells us a small pineapple for 300 XPF, and a big one for 500 XPF. I ask if she sells her pineapples to the factory. She replies it’s a last resort. When it’s pineapple season, she takes her truck to Papeete to sell them on the street. Only when there’s too much does she sell the surplus to the factory, because they buy at 100 XPF per kilo. That’s why the factory doesn’t rely only on locals; it also has its own pineapple fields, which you can see along the horrible Pineapple Road, “road” is an overstatement; it’s a bumpy path (even on a scooter, we only dared to go a few meters).
Lunch
We’re all sweaty after the hike, so we don’t see ourselves going to the Hilton hotel restaurant next door; we prefer to go back to the airbnb to shower and then have lunch at the hotel near the airbnb: Manava Resort Moorea. I’ve decided to visit as many overwater bungalow hotels as possible to benchmark for our next stay in Moorea.
I find their pool quite beautiful (I love loungers in the water), and the garden bungalows are cute, the price very affordable for this type of hotel, but the service seems a bit disorganized. The food is excellent, but they got our order wrong, and they insist on speaking English to us even though we reply in French 😀
We do absolutely nothing else for the rest of the day. For dinner, we just have some supermarket desserts.
Day 3
The day’s plan is very simple: day pass at Sofitel Kia Ora Moorea (Booking link).
We visited this hotel during the scouting weekend last time, and it remains the most beautiful hotel in Moorea. The pool is absolutely stunning (infinity pool). The bungalows facing the beach have their own private loungers, so guests prefer to stay on their own loungers rather than come to the pool. At the pool, there are mainly people who paid for a day pass like us. The day pass costs 12,000 XPF/person, but since we are residents, we pay 11,000 XPF/person for pool access + lunch. It’s worth it because we looked into getting a room here, but the rates (even for residents) are too high.
The hotel’s pluses:
- the pool
- one of the best beaches in Moorea for snorkeling
- the overwater bungalows attract a lot of fish
I watch a family of tourists with young children with great admiration, because if I had young children, I wouldn’t have the heart to pay an extra 300/400€ per night for a child’s bed, given that I already can’t bear to pay 700€ a night for the two of us. 700€ is 5 nights at our Airbnb!! When I see people dropping 1500€/night – 3000€/night here, I really wonder what these people’s profiles are, how they usually live. I know someone who has the budget to drop 3000€/night; it’s an extremely determined, perfectionist person fueled by a competitive spirit. It’s proof that where there’s a will, there’s a way. Before, I’d look at these people and think I should have put in more effort to afford 3000€/night hotels; now I tell myself that if I can’t afford 3000€/night hotels, it’s because I’ve decided so and my priorities were elsewhere. I read an article saying that even for Americans, Polynesia is a very expensive destination. Many compare Polynesia to the Maldives and conclude that even the Maldives offer better value for money.
Since I’m afraid of depth, I need to take it easy with snorkeling; I found it safer safe, for the first times, to do it at hotels hahaha, so I really enjoyed snorkeling at Intercontinental Tahiti, and now in front of the Sofitel (Booking link). Unlike Australia, the beaches aren’t supervised, so you need to be confident.
For snorkeling, you need to get close to the corals. It’s quite far and there’s also a current. We eventually found the best strategy: walk up the beach to the bungalows with private loungers. From there, swim to the corals (fins are a plus), let the current carry you toward the overwater bungalows (you’ll be at about 5 meters depth). There, a school of fish awaits; there must be about a hundred white fish. It’s an aquarium!!! I even saw two Nemos and the anemones. The current didn’t allow me to get a nice video, but I took a screenshot.
I think if you’re going to pay for a single overwater bungalow in Polynesia, you should do it at Sofitel Moorea (Booking link) because from your bungalow, you can go straight down into the “aquarium,” saving you a lot of swimming effort from the beach.
I also recommend having a life vest or a pool noodle like me, because it saves energy. When there are lots of fish, at least you can just float and let the current carry you (instead of having to constantly swim like JB who doesn’t have a noodle). Also wear aqua shoes (lots of coral), and UV-protective clothing because the sun is intense and the sun in Polynesia doesn’t spare anyone. Even during the austral winter, the water is quite warm (around 27 degrees), as long as the weather is nice.
We’re starving after all that snorkeling, so we change and head to the hotel restaurant for lunch. We get an appetizer + a main or a main + dessert, water + a hot drink. The portions are generous and everything tastes good (except the entrecôte, which was a bit undercooked).
It’s an absolutely extraordinary place. If you can’t afford an day pass, you can enjoy the same beach by coming via the public Temae beach. It’ll mean more walking and swimming for you.
For the sunset, we head to the Hilton for a little dessert, then we walk to the end of the overwater bungalows to watch the sunset. If you’re after an overwater bungalow, I’d advise against this hotel. They’ve put a crêperie right in the middle of the bungalows!!! Who wants to pay 1000€ a night to have music and people talking/smoking in front of their bungalow? The water here isn’t very deep and there are fewer fish than at the Sofitel. The desserts are top-notch. The pool MEH. The service chaotic. The mountain is slightly curved at this spot, which means when it rains, all the water will flow straight down here and the water will be murky. Not very feng shui at all.
Anyway, come for the desserts and the sunset.
Day 4
After the daily kayak where JB was followed by a few dolphins, we have an appointment at 11:00 AM at Tip Nautic, next to the Tipaniers hotel. We park in the lot facing the mountain and notice several scooters literally tied to trees. When that’s the case, you need to be careful because it means there could be thieves. We secure our scooter with 3 locks since there’s no more space next to the trees, but next time we’ll try to find a tree too hahaha.
The Tipaniers hotel is where we stayed 10 years ago; I know the place very well. It gives access to a very beautiful beach on the island of the same name, and you can easily swim with rays and sharks by kayak/boat, but that means crossing the hotel’s private property. And several tourists have gotten yelled at. When they arrive at the restaurant without a reservation, they get yelled at too. So we’re a bit on our guard.
There’s a small gate you can walk around, and we run into a lady from the hotel who looks displeased. I’m a bit autistic, but I can guess she sees me as yet another tourist who’s going to walk on her lawn, throw trash on her beach, so I say hello and ask, as if I didn’t know, where the agency was Tip Nautic. Their face relaxes and breaks into a smile. And they tell me to keep going straight to the beach and then turn right. Personally, I’d recommend—if you want to make the most of this beach, at least think about renting a kayak (1000XPF/hour) or a boat (6000XPF/hour), because beaches need upkeep, and the more tourists, the more work it creates for them. And it would be a shame to come here without seeing the rays and sharks. We finally arrive at Tip Nautic, where we’ve booked a boat without a license over the phone, and they point us to another bungalow where two very competent and smiling people explain how to use the boat and where to go (expect 6000XPF/hour).
It’s only the second time in our lives we’ve driven a boat without a license, and it really makes you want to get a boating license—it’s actually pretty simple; the buoys are huge, and with the different water colors, you can immediately see where the channel is. Kayaks aren’t allowed to go along the channel, only across it. But several Airbnbs in the area also have kayaks, and they get really annoyed when a boat passes.
We arrive at the sandbar where about a hundred tourists are happily splashing around. I’m relieved because I’ve been dreading this moment for days. With all these tourists around, I figure the sharks have more targets to choose from, so the risk of being attacked is divided by 100.
I suspect the boats feed the rays a bit because some come up spontaneously to certain people’s shoulders. A huge ray even turned around when it saw me, checking if I was a guide who might have food, since I was pointing a camera at it—it was hilarious. There are maybe only three sharks, but they’re pretty big. A friend sees my videos and worries that the blacktip sharks are so bold. True, being able to attract that many rays and sharks must be linked to food.
According to this article, “Professionals in the industry assure, however, that this practice is no longer common. ‘We don’t feed the sharks; we attract the rays with fish scraps that we don’t give them,’ says one provider, distinguishing ‘feeding’ from ‘smelling,’ which involves chumming the animals without feeding them.”
The rays are fed/chummed, but not the sharks. But the sharks see the rays getting excited, and out of curiosity, they come to check it out too. I read another article that said sharks don’t get excited unless they’re fed directly. That’s what we understood. It is FORBIDDEN to feed the sharks. We saw what happened in New Caledonia. My esthetician (who has family in Nouméa) tells me that trash was thrown near the port in Nouméa, attracting lots of tiger sharks and bull sharks. These sharks multiply and eventually become residents, scaring off the blacktip sharks (which are harmless and small). Now, she says, as soon as you step into the water, your foot gets bitten by a shark. According to her, there’s no getting rid of them; it’s all over for New Caledonia. I ask her if the same thing could happen in Polynesia, and she says no, because there’s less fish for bull sharks to eat in Polynesia than in New Caledonia. However, she warns me against swimming with whales. She says whales are increasingly accompanied by oceanic whitetip sharks, which are aggressive and stupid. She tells me these sharks love to ‘test’ things; she was once attacked by an oceanic whitetip shark that chomped her fin. She defended herself by hitting it with her other fin, but since then, she doesn’t swim with whales anymore.
Anyway, I did read that an accident happened somewhere in Polynesia. A shark was chasing an octopus. The octopus was fleeing near a tourist, and she got her butt bitten by accident. In the area, many tourists are in denial; they look at the rays but don’t wear goggles, so they don’t want to see the sharks swimming between their legs. At one point, I felt a little danger. I saw small fish swimming near the tourists and the shark chasing them. Another tourist tried to touch a different shark. I got scared and told JB to get back in. But at that same moment, several groups of tourists left, making the area much more safe and observable. That’s why we stayed in the water 15 minutes longer.
I think next time, I’ll go with a small group like last time, with a guide. We’ll see more sharks and rays. But during the austral winter, Tip Nautic organizes fewer tours like that (1.5 hours for 5000XPF/person).
If we wanted to go to another snorkeling spot, we could have rented the boat for another hour. But apparently, that spot is next to an island whose owner is very mean and trains his dogs to bite tourists. People ask me why I don’t want to see that ‘aquarium,’ but I think it’s very important to be free to say ‘no’ to a risk, even a small one (they tell me the dogs only attack if you walk on the beach, not in the water)… I’ve already seen more impressive ‘aquariums’ in Australia, Thailand, Philippines, Cuba. What often leads to recklessness is FOMO (fear of missing out).
We have a late but good lunch at Snack Mahana RESA, even if our photos might suggest otherwise, it’s absolutely delicious ! (cash only) I highly recommend it without hesitation! The restaurant has two huge dogs, one of which barks for no reason, but they’re not mean at all. We even saw a small ray swim by in front of our little hut.
Ta’ahiamanu Beach
Here’s another public beach well known for snorkeling
Then, we head to the Agricultural High School getting ice cream. I recommend “vanilla” and “tiaré”. The tiaré ice cream tastes like you’re eating a flower.
In the evening, the Airbnb owner cooks for us (2500XPF/person for a main course and dessert, cash only), and it’s delicious and generous:
Day 5
Each day on Moorea is more unforgettable than the last. We no longer expect anything from the final day. In the morning, JB simply takes the canoe to go snorkeling as he does every morning, and then I hear my phone ring: JB tells me the dolphins are here, about twenty of them. I grab my binoculars (when I’m on Moorea, I always have binoculars with me now) and I see dolphins joyfully leaping acrobatically in front of JB’s canoe. He regrets not having taken the 360 camera; well, on Moorea we’ll now have binoculars and the 360 camera on hand at all times.
The owner comes over and asks why I’m not taking the canoe. He tells me the dolphins are swimming to the right, and they’ll have to turn back because the water won’t be deep enough. If I take the canoe now, I can intercept them. I reply that I’m afraid of deep water. He offers me a life jacket. He’s really kind, but how can I explain to him how someone who swims well can still be afraid? Ten years ago, I was afraid of swimming with sharks (and I was on my period then!), and I told myself, “well, I’ve done everything I wanted, I’m going to swim with them; if I get attacked, I have absolutely no regrets anyway”. Fear is, after all, a sign that you still cling to something, that you haven’t fully let go. Absolute freedom is so hard.
Anyway, through my binoculars, I eventually watch the whole scene unfold. JB in his kayak, with dolphins on all sides, appearing and disappearing.
Unfortunately, a group of tourists on jet skis arrives and scares the dolphins away. But 30 minutes later, they’re chased by other boats and come back into our bay. A man on a paddleboard is near JB. He lives on the catamaran that anchored in front of our Airbnb 3 days ago. He’s been traveling non-stop for 6 months. He says he sees dolphins regularly, but this is the first time they’ve jumped non-stop like this. Are they playful? In the evening, the Facebook algorithm (which has certainly been listening to our entire conversation) offers me a video showing dolphins asking a pregnant woman for help in removing fish clinging to their skin. In the comments, a user explains dolphins jump to get rid of them, which would explain why this group of dolphins is jumping non-stop in front of JB’s amazed eyes.
We check out at 10 a.m. and take the ferry at 10:45 a.m. No whales or dolphins during the crossing to Tahiti. We just went on vacation to Moorea, the island facing Tahiti, yet we feel like we’re in another world. We can’t wait to explore other islands in Polynesia.
Part 2: Practical Tips
Budget
- Ferry 4060XPF round trip
- Food: 2700-3000XPF/person/meal minimum
- Sofitel day pass: 12000XPF/person, book in advance by phone or email
- Airbnb: plan around 130€/night (Airbnb link). Even if you have a vehicle, I recommend staying in the area near the island’s 3 beaches: Tipaniers, Temae, Tiahura, to have access to restaurants and beaches. Not much happens in the south of the island.
- Car rental: 50€/day
- Scooter rental: I don’t know
- Kayak rental 1000XPF/hour, cash only
- Boat rental 6000XPF/hour, cash only
- If you come with your vehicle, fill up beforehand; gas costs more in Moorea than in Tahiti
- Bring plenty of cash because you’ll need it
Tips
- There are quite a few wild dogs (or dogs that belong to someone but aren’t properly trained) on the island. There have been dog attacks on public beaches. Even though the dogs we encountered were harmless, still be careful
- Bring binoculars, UV-protective clothing, snorkeling gear, life jacket or float, waterproof 360 camera, and don’t leave anything in your rental car as theft is common
Ferry fares
Menu map for the restaurant at Manava
