Where the boats stop
Best snorkeling Moorea answers usually start with a map. This one starts with the twelve listings on this site and the stops they actually name: a shallow sandbar, coral gardens, the outer reef and the motu islets, with the time at each where a listing gives it. Tours run from $83 per person.
Quick answer
The short answer. On a best snorkeling Moorea day, four kinds of stop come up again and again: the shallow sandbar where stingrays and blacktip reef sharks gather, a coral garden, a turtle spot, and either the outer reef or a motu. For most of them in one morning, the $113 lagoon and reef boat (171 reviews at 4.9) heads outside the reef, stops in the shallows with rays and sharks and dives with turtles. For a timed route, the $141 small-group boat lists every stop in minutes.
How this list works
Every stop here is named in a listing; nothing comes from a map.
Lists of the best snorkeling spots in Moorea mix beach spots with places only a boat reaches. This page keeps to the second kind: every stop below is named in at least one listing here, with the tours that go there.
The listings word things differently. Some promise a stop; others are careful: rays and sharks are “often seen”, or turtles appear “if the weather conditions and your snorkeling level allow it”. We keep that wording, so a best snorkeling Moorea plan built from this page holds no promise the operator did not make.
Only one route gives minutes for each of its Moorea snorkeling spots, and we use it as the yardstick. The other listings give the order of stops, not the clock.
Stop by stop
Six kinds of stop, with the tours that name each one. For a best snorkeling Moorea morning, the first three matter most.
A shallow stretch of sand where stingrays and blacktip reef sharks gather. Seven tours name it as a separate stop; on the timed route it is the Tiahura sandbar, 40 minutes.
Named by the canoe day, the floating lounge, the cooking-class cruise, the kayak (“between the motus”) and the private boat, next to a motu.
The glass-bottom boat starts in a turtle sanctuary with “about 20 of them”. The reef boat, the small-group boat (40 minutes), the canoe and the kayak also look for turtles.
Sacred sculptures brought into the sea. The glass-bottom boat and the canoe day both stop there; on the canoe, it is also a turtle spot.
Two boats leave the lagoon: the reef boat heads outside the coral reef, and the small-group boat spends 20 minutes at the outer reef drop-off, in open water.
Lunch on a private motu (glass-bottom boat), a barbecue on a motu (canoe), a cooking class on a motu (cooking-class cruise) or a white sandbank (south-west lagoon cruise).
The sandbar
Shallow sand, stingrays and blacktip reef sharks, and seven tours that stop there.
If one stop defines a best snorkeling Moorea day, it is this one. The listings describe a shallow area of sand in the lagoon where stingrays and blacktip reef sharks gather. The private boat calls it “a shallow sandbank”; the small-group boat names it the “Stingrays and Sharks Sandbar” at Tiahura and gives it 40 minutes.
No listing gives a depth beyond “shallow”. One traveller on the canoe day, Jaise from the United States, wrote: «The water at the sand bar is about 4.5 feet.» On the $83 cooking-class cruise the wording is softer: rays and sharks are “often seen”. In the kayak they come only “if you're lucky”.
Seven tours name a rays and sharks stop of their own; the table below shows which.
In the water
The kind of scene a best snorkeling Moorea stop is built around.
Six people in masks stand waist-deep while a large grey stingray glides between them.
A snorkeler swims down to rounded coral heads through a cloud of small blue fish.
Tall palms line a narrow sand beach above clear green shallows.
Corals and turtles
Five tours name a coral garden; seven name turtles.
Coral gardens are the slower half of a best snorkeling Moorea morning: you float over the reef and the fish, “at your own pace”, as the floating lounge puts it. The kayak tour snorkels “in the middle of a coral garden between the motus” with a fish identification card, and you bring your own mask and snorkel for it. Cherie from the United States, on the reef boat: «they took us to the best coral reef with so many varieties of tropical fish».
For turtles, the glass-bottom boat starts its day in a turtle sanctuary, where “you'll be able to swim among them”. The small-group boat gives turtles 40 minutes, and its reviewers call it a drift. Anna-Maria from Austria: «The drift snorkel with the turtles was the best snorkel I've ever done!» In the kayak, they pass under the transparent hull.
Every trip, current fare
All twelve tours, with the stops each listing names and what the fare covers. Prices are per person.
| Tour | Price | Price is for | Length | Spots the listing names | What the price covers | Where it starts | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whale swim and snorkel, our top pick | $247 | per person | 3.5 hours | Humpback whales during the season (August to November); rays, sharks, turtles if time allows | Shared boat, maximum of 6 people; life jacket | Tourist office, Paopao | 4.6 · 142 |
| Lagoon and reef boat | $113 | per person | 4 to 6 hours | Outer reef, rays and sharks stop, turtles | Drink and snack; lunch on the islet as an option | Dock at Tiahura | 4.9 · 171 |
| Sea scooter | $159 | per person | 3.5 hours | Coral reefs; turtles, rays, tropical fish | Sea scooter and snorkeling equipment; food not included | Marine centre, pickup as an option | 4.9 · 101 |
| Glass-bottom boat | $160 | per person | 5.5 hours | Turtle sanctuary, tiki statues, rays and sharks sand bar | Lunch on a private motu | By the road, at an orange flag | 4.9 · 87 |
| Canoe with barbecue | $129 | per person | 6 hours | Two bays, rays and sharks spot, tiki and turtles, coral garden | Barbecue lunch on a motu; pickup | Pickup included | 4.8 · 82 |
| Floating lounge | $113 | per person | 3 hours | Rays and sharks shallows, coral garden | Mask, snorkel and fins; tropical fruits and drinks | At the brown gate, 30 minutes early | 4.9 · 56 |
| South-west lagoon cruise | $148 | per person | 4 hours | South-west lagoon, white sandbank | Refreshments; up to 9 people | Pickup included | 4.8 · 54 |
| Small-group boat | $141 | per person | 4 to 6 hours | Tiahura sandbar 40 min, outer reef 20 min, Haapiti 30 min, turtles 40 min | Cocktail and tropical fruits; up to 6 people | Restaurant car park, Tiahura | 5.0 · 23 |
| Cruise with a cooking class | $83 | per person | 3 to 6 hours | Coral gardens; rays and sharks often seen | Cooking class on a motu, fruits and drinks, towels | Pickup from your hotel or the ferry | 4.8 · 21 |
| Private boat with photos | $336 | per person | 3 hours | Marine protected zone, shallow sandbank, coral garden | Private boat, fruit platter and juices, underwater photos | Public boat dock, Papetoai | 5.0 · 1 |
| Transparent kayak | $90 | per person | 3 hours | Coral garden between the motus, turtles | Kayak, fruit juice or fruit; bring your own mask and snorkel | Tiahura Public Beach | 4.9 · 77 |
| Helmet walk | $99 | per person | 2.5 hours | Motu Fareone or Papetoaï, at 12 feet; stingrays | Helmet, wetsuit and water shoes; pickup | Pickup included | 4.9 · 78 |
Beyond the lagoon
Outer reef on two boats, a motu or sandbank on five.
Two boats take a best snorkeling Moorea day past the reef. The reef boat heads “outside the coral reef”, where the listing names blacktip reef sharks or lemon sharks, then returns to the lagoon for turtles. The small-group boat spends 20 minutes at the outer reef drop-off and says plainly that the tour involves swimming in open water.
The motu islets are where the long days slow down. The glass-bottom boat serves lunch on a family’s private motu, the canoe day ends with a barbecue on one, and the $83 cruise holds a poisson cru class on a motu. The south-west lagoon cruise stops on a white sandbank; the kayak adds one if time and weather permit.
Two bays appear by name: the canoe day goes into Cook’s Bay and Opunohu Bay, and the cooking-class cruise visits one of the two.
Before you book
A few minutes on the listing makes a best snorkeling Moorea day go smoothly.
If the sandbar matters to you, pick one of the seven tours that name it as a stop.
The floating lounge lists mask, snorkel and fins, the sea scooter lists snorkeling equipment; for the kayak, you bring mask, snorkel and water shoes.
Four tours include pickup and one offers it as an option. The other seven give a meeting point, such as Tiahura, Paopao or Papetoai.
The small-group boat swims in open water. On the glass-bottom boat, non-swimmers can watch through the glass panels.
All twelve listings offer free cancellation. Check the deadline on the booking page before you pay.
Our verdict
For the most stops in one morning, book the $113 lagoon and reef boat: outer reef, sandbar and turtles, with 171 reviews at 4.9, the most on this site. For a route timed to the minute, the $141 small-group boat. If someone stays dry, the $160 glass-bottom boat. During the season (August to November), our top pick, the $247 whale swim.
Book direct
Our top pick, the reef boat, the glass-bottom boat and the timed route, all priced per person.
★ 4.6 · 142 reviews
★ 4.9 · 171 reviews
★ 4.9 · 87 reviews
★ 5.0 · 23 reviews
Common questions
The tours on this site keep returning to four kinds of stop: the shallow sandbar where stingrays and blacktip reef sharks gather, coral gardens, turtle spots and the outer reef. The timed route spends 40 minutes at the Tiahura sandbar.
Seven name it as a separate stop: the reef boat, the glass-bottom boat, the canoe day, the floating lounge, the small-group boat, the private boat and the $83 cruise, where rays and sharks are “often seen”.
The listings say only “shallow” and give no figure. One traveller on the canoe day, Jaise from the United States, wrote that the water at the sand bar is about 4.5 feet.
The glass-bottom boat starts in a turtle sanctuary with about 20 turtles. The reef boat, the small-group boat, the canoe day, the south-west lagoon cruise and the sea scooter also name turtles; in the kayak they pass under the hull.
Our top pick, the $247 shared boat, sets off to encounter humpback whales “during the season (August to November)”. No other tour on this site names whales.
Yes, on two tours. The glass-bottom boat is “friendly for all swimming level”, and those who stay aboard watch through the glass panels. The helmet walk needs no experience, only being comfortable on and in the water.
Go deeper
The stop with stingrays and blacktip reef sharks, and which tours include it.
Coral gardenThe coral garden stop: what lives there and how long tours stay.
TurtlesWhere tours look for sea turtles, and what the listings promise.
Tours comparedEvery snorkeling tour on Moorea bookable here, side by side: boat, hours, stops and what the price covers.
Kayak and helmet walkPaddling the Hauru lagoon and walking the sea floor in a helmet.
Moorea Shared Boat Tour Whale Swimming and Snorkeling
★ 4.6 · 142 reviews · 3.5 hours