Note: the information on this page is provided by Nancy A.. The opinions expressed are her own, based on her own experiences, and are not necessarily the same experiences and opinions of this webmaster. This information is provided to the guests of this site as an additional information resource to make planning your Tahiti trip easier.Tour contact info - an incredibly detailed list of tour providers, phone numbers:
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From Nancy's cover note:
Here's a synopsis of the excursions we took on the 8/4/00 trip on R3 Tahiti run:
To call islands from the States dial 011-689 before the local number
Important: Get to the Tourist office in Papeete where brochures for many independents for all the islands are; explore your options & reserve by phone before you leave Tahiti! Also check out Tahiti websites..you'll find links to many excursion operators.
The best book for latest info is Lonely Planet's Tahiti & Fr. Polynesia (last rev.May 2000)
Saturday: Tried booking an independent 4x4 on Tahiti from the States but got no answer or else a machine with a message in French (buy a little French/English travel book to bail you out on the islands....comes in very handy). The day before we left home, in desperation, we started to leave a message in English on the machine, and to our surprise, a live person picked up and spoke in very good English! We reserved for 4 people. They use Land Rovers and can fit 8 to a vehicle; we ended up sharing with another couple from France who spoke very little English, and another couple from California, all staying at Hotels on the island. My advice is, if you don't want to ride with strangers, try to get 8 people for your group. Fortunately ours turned out to be great people and we had a lot of fun with them.
TAHITI SAFARI EXPEDITION: TEL.42-14-15 (4x4 in a Land Rover across the middle of Tahiti over the spectacular mountains) 8 hours: $55(US) per person includes lunch at a hotel at the top.
REN's: 3 hours $70(US)per person; not enough time to even come close to the top of the mountain let alone down the other side...no comparison. Not for the feeble; we had some hairy moments climbing up and down these very high (over 7000 ft.) mountains, but it was so gorgeous it was worth all the anxiety attacks. You won't believe how breathtaking the interior of Tahiti is...a million worlds away from Papeete. A long trip, but not a single boring minute....fanatastic photo shoot; camcorder even better..ours came out incredible (a little Blair Witchy in spots). Our guide was TEVA, who really took care not to rattle our brains out. A couple of other ones who passed us were real cowboys but their passengers seemed to like it rough; we counted our blessings. August is the dryest month so bugs were at an all time low; just a few near the top where it was more humid (you're IN the clouds). The rest of the trip none to speak of; only used small amount of repellent. Wear bathing suits if you plan to take a plunge in some of the (very cold) Lakes up there...2 or 3 stops for this. Decent restrooms at the hotel on top, about halfway through the trip. Loved this!
Sunday: Took the fast ferry over to Moorea (half hour ride). Cost about 4500 CPF round trip for 2. Missed the 3:30 ferry back (I read the schedule wrong, duh). Since we had to be back for the "mandatory" life boat drill at 4, we grabbed a little plane at the airport for a 10 minute ride back to FAAA airport on Tahiti. Cost us 3200CFP one way for 2, and another 1000CFP for cab back to the ship. I only mention this because it's another quick way between Moorea and Tahiti and a lot cheaper than the 15 minute helicopter ride ($150 US per person ala Ren) if you want a beautiful view of these 2 islands from the air.
Monday: Dolphin Watching Expedition (ala REN) $70(US) per person: 3 hours. Really felt ripped off for the price. NO DR. MICHAEL POOLE ABOARD (one reason we wanted to go). Plenty of dolphins (we did the 8am tour) and we did spot a Humpback whale in distance but they putt-putted over to it so slowly that it wasn't there by the time we got there. Spent over an hour of the tour "chasing" (haha) this thing and never got close enough to see without binoculars...boring! Killed the last 30 minutes eating some really sour grapefruit, inedible coconut meat & KoolAid drinks. We had been told they stopped to let you snorkel after the dolphins (the other reason we booked) but were now told Ren won't let them do it anymore (not even a swim) because a former Ren passenger got caught in a current and later sued Ren. If we had known ahead of time we wouldn't have bothered. Find an independent and book from Papeete.
After this we took a taxi from the tender pier to Sofitel for snorkeling; ran $15 one way (shared with another couple to save). No current, good place to practice if you've never snorkeled.
Tuesday: What To Do On Moorea Tours: phone 56-12-90
6 hours for 4000 CFP per person (app. $30 US)
This was a combo tour; our group of 8 ended up on a double decker boat with about 35 other people (forgot to ask "how many people in one boat"). Stopped for shark feeding, swim with the rays, then to a Motu for a chicken bar-be-que and snorkeling; then they took our group of 8 back in a motorized outrigger canoe right to the tender dock (liked this a lot better). Great tour but too many people at the same time; you might find one with a smaller boat.
Ren's Motu Beach Picnic & Ray Feeding (no sharks) is 4.5 hours on a catamaran (a lot more crowded than our boat) for $70 US per person.
Wednesday: We originally planned on horseback riding on this one, but we never got an answer on the phone. Tried to wing it when we got onshore early (the 2nd tender)...this is not the island to wing anything...not enough options available! Ran from car rentals (not a single one left...all reserved in advance), to the dock for any kind of boat for hire (all gone) and finally worked our way to the bottom of the "food chain" and got the last 4 bikes left to rent for 1200 CFP each. Pedaled to the Sofitel to snorkel at the Coral Gardens (about 45 minutes one way). Very strong current even with our fins; had lunch at the hotel: 5300CFP for 4 including beer. Imperative that you book something while you're in Papeete for Huahine. Check out Tourist Office there for all available options.
Thursday: Raiatea Safari Tour (MICHEL)tel: 66.37.10 or e mail: pensiontepua@mail.pf $3500 CFP each from 9am til ? for motorized outrigger canoe up the Faaroa river; tour botanical gardens; see Pearl farms out in Lagoon; then to a private Motu with (all you can eat) fresh coconuts and fruits; snorkel as long as you like; outrigger "taxi" runs every hour to pick you up. We only stayed til 3pm to be back for a "Bridge Tour" on the ship at 4pm. Michel was great with pretty good English. Loved this excursion!
Friday: Manava Excursions Tel:66.28.26 Fax:66.16. Andrew Brotherson $5500 CFP per person for entire day. Tour Tahaa by motor outrigger canoe to a Vanilla Plantation, Pearl Farm, Turtle conservatory, then to Motu where Andrew grills fresh Tuna on the "pit" (delicious!) with rice and fruits. Andrew steered us to snorkle mainly in "his" section of the Motu, but as good as this was (really good), the snorkling on the other end of the island was even better (swim over the deep part near the beach to where you can stand again...sandy bottom with minimal current...huge coral with huge fish...awesome!). On our way back he manuevered his boat through some unbelievable coral gardens (without hitting any) and got us back to the ship ontime! Loved this excursion!
Ren has 3.5 hours for same tour (gotta do some really fast snorkling) for $70US per pers.
Had trouble getting through on phone from States..answer machine message in French. Better luck e mailing through the "reservation@topdive.pf" URL. Just tell her what you want to do (eg. snorkel, waverunners, catamaran, anything) and the dates you want and she'll e mail back with suggestions. We called when we got to Tahiti just to reconfirm everything and to add people to our group; she speaks and understands perfect English and if she can't accomodate you, she knows everyone and will find someone who will. These were the easiest excursions we arranged...a real pleasure! Check out their Website to see some choices first.
Saturday: Pago Pago Loisir (John) Great snorkeling various spots in lagoon for about 4 hours; the best part...he brought us to see the GIANT MANTA RAYS (wingspan about 12 feet across)...you have to see it to believe it. Not many tours do this, so if you can't get John, ask Maeva to find you someone who will..specify the GIANT Mantas. He and his partner Victor took 7 of us in their outrigger, took great care of us...also went around whole island (even stopped at Bloody Mary's but don't tell Maeva...wasn't in the deal) and entertained us with Ukelele (spelling?) and singing while steering the boat with his foot. Fantastic time for $5500CPF per person but worth much much more.
Saturday night: Maeva got us a Catamaran for a 2 hour Sunset Sail with O'Hana Company for $4300CPF per person including a rum punch onboard. Minimum 12 people, max 20. We went with our group of 12 on this brand new, huge, luxurious Cat with Rene and Bob. We sailed past Ren's Sunset Catamaran, people were loaded on there like cattle..very crowded..a lot were standing..and all this for $60 US. Sorry, but no contest. A great trip! Sunday: Maeva arranged Waverunners for 2 hours around Bora with a stop at a beach for swimming, coconut shucking (and eating) demo. $15900CPF for each waverunner (seats 2) with guides. Ren charges $180 US for same. Had a blast.