The coral garden stop
Moorea coral garden snorkeling is a stop on five tours bookable here: a canoe day, a transparent kayak, a floating lounge, a cooking cruise and a private boat. This guide sets out what each listing says about the garden, what the price covers and where you meet, from $83 per person.
Quick answer
The short answer. Five listings here name a coral garden. For the lowest fare and a pickup from your hotel or the ferry, take the $83 cooking cruise. For a garden stop with mask, snorkel and fins named in the listing, the $113 floating lounge, rated 4.9 by 56 reviewers. For a six-hour day with a barbecue lunch on a motu, the $129 canoe. To paddle over the garden, the $90 kayak; bring your own mask and snorkel.
Where it happens
The listings make it clear which trips stop at a coral garden. None says for how long.
Five of the twelve listings on this site name a coral garden as a stop. The canoe day crosses Cook's Bay and Opunohu Bay, stops at the spot for pastenague rays and sharks, then visits a coral garden before a barbecue on a motu. The cooking cruise heads for Cook's Bay or Opunohu Bay and snorkels among coral gardens before a poisson cru class on a motu. The kayak trip includes snorkeling in the middle of a coral garden between the motus.
The floating lounge makes its first stop in a shallow area known for stingrays and blacktip reef sharks, then moves on to a coral garden you explore at your own pace. The private boat heads to the motus, the small islets, for its coral garden.
None of the five gives the garden a name, and none gives minutes for the stop. That is the honest frame for Moorea coral garden snorkeling: it is one stop in a longer trip, not a ticket of its own.
Tour by tour
Quoted from the listing descriptions. Trip lengths are for the whole trip, not the garden.
A shallow stop for stingrays and blacktip reef sharks, then a coral garden at your own pace. Mask, snorkel, fins and a life jacket if needed are presented at the safety briefing; tropical fruits and drinks are included.
Snorkeling among coral gardens on a cruise towards Cook's Bay or Opunohu Bay, where stingrays and blacktip reef sharks are often seen. Pickup from your hotel or the ferry, up to 12 people per boat, towels provided.
A canoe for up to 12 people: the ray and shark spot, a stop with a Polynesian statue and sea turtles, the coral garden, then a barbecue lunch on a motu. Pickup is included.
Sea turtles passing under the glass-bottomed hull, then snorkeling in a coral garden between the motus, with a fish identification card. Bring your own mask, snorkel and water shoes.
A shallow sandbank for blacktip reef sharks and stingrays, then the motus for a coral garden. Underwater photos at no extra cost; one review so far.
No garden by name, but the listing says you glide through vibrant coral reefs on a sea scooter. Limited to 7 participants, with snorkeling equipment named.
What lives there
Moorea coral garden snorkeling, frame by frame: coral heads in shallow water and the fish that live around them.
A small white boat with a blue canopy sits on pale turquoise water dotted with dark coral heads, and one swimmer floats a few metres off its side.
An orange clownfish with a bright blue stripe tucks itself into the cream tentacles of an anemone.
A triggerfish with blue and yellow bands across its face swims over pale sand under rippled light.
What you see
What each listing names, then what travellers wrote.
The kayak listing gives the most detail for Moorea coral garden snorkeling: turtles, leopard rays, fish and corals, colorful fish to snorkel alongside, and a card to name them. The private boat mentions beautiful fish and corals. The floating lounge and the cooking cruise simply say coral gardens.
For Moorea snorkeling coral reef time beyond a single garden, the sea scooter is the one whose listing says it glides through vibrant coral reefs, with turtles, rays and tropical fish named. The longest fish list on the site belongs to the $99 helmet walk, which is not snorkeling at all: you walk the sea floor at 12 feet for approximately 30 minutes, past triggerfish, butterflyfish, groupers and parrotfish, from 6 years old.
Travellers fill in the rest. Anamaria from Germany, on the sea scooter: «We even saw clownfish, which I had been looking forward to seeing.» Gabriella from the United Kingdom, on the kayak: «because we brought our own snorkels we got to explore a beautiful reef in a lagoon too!»
Every tour, current fare
The five garden tours, the sea scooter and the helmet walk, plus our top pick, the whale swim (August to November). All prices are per person.
| Tour | Price | Price is for | Length | What the price covers | Where it starts | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cooking cruise | $83 | per person | 3 - 6 h | Coral gardens, poisson cru class on a motu, tropical fruits and drinks, towels | Pickup from your hotel or the ferry | 4.8 · 21 |
| Transparent kayak | $90 | per person | 3 h | Guided kayak, coral garden snorkel, fruit juice or seasonal fruit. Own mask and snorkel | Tiahura Public Beach | 4.9 · 77 |
| Floating lounge | $113 | per person | 3 h | Ray and shark stop, coral garden, mask, snorkel and fins, fruits and drinks | Brown Gate, 30 minutes early | 4.9 · 56 |
| Canoe day | $129 | per person | 6 h | Canoe for up to 12, coral garden, barbecue lunch on a motu | Pickup included | 4.8 · 82 |
| Sea scooter | $159 | per person | 3.5 h | Sea scooter, snorkeling equipment, coral reefs. Food not included | Pickup as an option | 4.9 · 101 |
| Helmet walk | $99 | per person | 2.5 h | Helmet, wetsuit and water shoes, about 30 minutes at 12 feet, ages 6 and up | Departs from the pier or your hotel; pickup included | 4.9 · 78 |
| Private boat | $336 | per person | 3 h | Private boat, sandbank, coral garden, fruit platter, underwater photos | Public boat dock, Papetoai | 1 review |
| Whale swim, our top pick | $247 | per person | 3.5 h | Humpback whale swims during the season (August to November), up to 6 aboard. No coral garden named | Tourist office, Paopao | 4.6 · 142 |
Time and depth
Minutes and metres: what the listings give, and what they leave out.
No listing gives minutes for the coral garden stop. What you can compare is the whole trip: 3 hours on the kayak, the floating lounge and the private boat, 6 hours on the canoe, and 3 to 6 hours on the cooking cruise, which does not say what decides the length. The floating lounge is the one that says you explore the garden at your own pace, and it adds that, depending on conditions, additional stops may be offered.
Depth is the same story. The listings call the ray and shark stops shallow and give no figure for any coral garden; the only depth on the site is the helmet walk. The private boat asks that participants be comfortable in water, and the sea scooter says it suits everyone, from beginners to experienced snorkelers.
Before you book
Five minutes on the listing makes a Moorea coral garden snorkeling day easier on the water.
The kayak asks you to bring a mask, snorkel and water shoes. The cooking cruise recommends snorkeling gear without saying it is handed out.
Kayak: Tiahura Public Beach. Floating lounge: the Brown Gate, 30 minutes before. Private boat: the public boat dock of Papetoai.
Included on the canoe and the cooking cruise, and the cooking cruise also collects from the ferry. The ferry from Tahiti itself is not in any tour.
The kayak operator asks to be contacted at least 48 hours before the trip to confirm the forecast, sizing, meeting point and start time.
All twelve listings offer free cancellation. Check the deadline on the booking page before you pay.
Our verdict
Book the floating lounge at $113 for Moorea coral garden snorkeling as a stop in its own right: 56 reviews at 4.9, gear named, three hours. On a budget, the $83 cooking cruise, with pickup. For a full day, the $129 canoe with a barbecue lunch. To paddle, the $90 kayak.
Book direct
Four of the five listings that name a coral garden. All four are priced per person.
★ 4.9 · 56 reviews
★ 4.8 · 21 reviews
★ 4.8 · 82 reviews
★ 4.9 · 77 reviews
Common questions
On the floating lounge, yes: mask, snorkel, fins and a life jacket if needed. The sea scooter names snorkeling equipment. On the kayak you bring your own mask, snorkel and water shoes. The cooking cruise provides towels and recommends snorkeling gear; the canoe and the private boat do not say.
The canoe day serves a barbecue lunch on a motu, with a small workshop on raw fish with coconut milk. The cooking cruise has a poisson cru class on a motu, with tropical fruits and drinks. The floating lounge includes tropical fruits and drinks, the kayak a fresh fruit juice or seasonal fruit, and the private boat a fruit platter with fresh juices.
Two of the five garden tours include pickup: the canoe, and the cooking cruise, which collects from your hotel or the ferry. The kayak, the floating lounge and the private boat have meeting points. The ferry from Tahiti is not included in any tour.
Most garden listings do not say; the private boat asks that participants be comfortable in water. The glass-bottom boat says it is friendly for all swimming levels, and those who stay aboard enjoy the view through its glass panels. The helmet walk needs no experience beyond being comfortable on and in the water, from 6 years old.
The cooking cruise runs rain or shine unless weather conditions are unsafe. On the private boat, if the weather is judged unsafe, the operator tries to reschedule or you receive a full refund. The kayak stops on the motu sandbank only if time and weather permit. Every listing offers free cancellation.
No listing gives a depth for the coral garden. The ray and shark stops are described as shallow, again without a figure. The only depth on this site is the helmet walk, at 12 feet, where the listing names triggerfish, butterflyfish, groupers and parrotfish.
Your options
Moorea coral garden snorkeling fits three kinds of day: three hours on the floating lounge or the kayak, a 3 to 6 hour cooking cruise, or the full canoe day with lunch on a motu. If whales are the point of your trip, our top pick is the $247 whale swim, during the season (August to November); its listing names no coral garden.
Go deeper
The stop with stingrays and blacktip reef sharks, and which tours include it.
TurtlesWhere tours look for sea turtles, and what the listings promise.
Best spotsThe spots the tours stop at, and what each one is known for.
Kayak and helmet walkPaddling the Hauru lagoon and walking the sea floor in a helmet.
Tours comparedEvery snorkeling tour on Moorea bookable here, side by side: boat, hours, stops and what the price covers.
Moorea Shared Boat Tour Whale Swimming and Snorkeling
★ 4.6 · 142 reviews · 3.5 hours