Getting there
Moorea sits next to Tahiti, and you reach the Moorea French Polynesia lagoon on the ferry from Papeete. None of the twelve tours on this site includes that crossing. This guide shows where each one starts on the island, which ones collect you, and what each price covers, from $83 per person.
Quick answer
The short answer. Cross from Tahiti on the ferry from Papeete and book it yourself: no tour here sells it. Four tours include pickup, and only one description names the ferry as a pickup point: the $83 lagoon cruise with a cooking class. The other tours meet you on the island, three of them at Tiahura. On the Moorea French Polynesia lagoon, plan the day around where your boat leaves, not around the ferry.
From Tahiti
The ferry is yours to book; the Moorea French Polynesia lagoon tour starts on the island.
From Tahiti, you cross to Moorea on the ferry from Papeete. No Moorea French Polynesia snorkeling tour on this site includes that crossing, so you book it separately and check the timetable yourself. We give no ferry times or fares here, because no listing gives them either.
That matters most on a day trip. If your Moorea French Polynesia lagoon tour meets at a dock or a beach, getting from the ferry to the start is up to you. One description solves this outright: the $83 lagoon cruise with a cooking class offers «pickup from your hotel or the ferry». The $99 helmet walk lists a departure «from the pier or your hotel», without saying which pier.
Some travellers write that they were met at the ferry on other tours too, but those are reviews, not promises in the listing. Rachaell from the United States, on the helmet walk: «…come by ferry from Papeete, they were waiting when we arrived.»
Where the boats leave
Moorea French Polynesia lagoon snorkeling tours start from a dock, a beach, a gate, a car park or your hotel. Each listing names its own point.
The $113 reef and lagoon boat meets at the dock of a beach restaurant, with parking. The $141 small-group boat meets at a restaurant car park; be there 10 minutes early. Tiahura Public Beach is the Moorea French Polynesia lagoon beach where the $90 kayak tour meets, by the stairs to the sand.
The $247 whale-season boat meets at the tourist office in Paopao. Its description lists no pickup.
The $336 private tour leaves from the public boat dock of Papetoai, with parking.
The $160 glass-bottom boat asks you to look for an orange flag on the side of the road; there is parking.
The $113 floating lounge meets at the Brown Gate on the operator’s site. Be there 30 minutes before.
Four tours collect you: the canoe day, the helmet walk, the scenic cruise and the cooking cruise. The $159 sea scooter starts at a resort’s sea base, with pickup available depending on the option you choose.
Who collects you
On the Moorea French Polynesia lagoon, pickup is in the price on four tours; seven meet at a set point.
If you have no car, pickup decides more than the price. The $129 canoe day includes pickup, then takes you around Cook Bay and Opunohu Bay with a barbecue lunch on a motu. The $148 scenic cruise includes pickup and asks for your accommodation details on the island; it explores the south-west lagoon, up to nine people.
The $99 helmet walk includes pickup from the pier or your hotel, then a 10-minute boat ride to the walking spot off Motu Fareone or in the waters of Papetoai. The $83 cooking cruise collects you from your hotel or the ferry and goes to Cook’s Bay or Opunohu Bay. Only the sea scooter offers pickup as an option.
Every tour, current fare
All twelve tours, priced per person, with the meeting point and what each price covers as the listing describes it.
| Tour | Price | Length | Where it starts | Pickup | What the price covers | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cruise and cooking class | $83 | 3 - 6 hours | Hotel or the ferry | Included | Raw-fish cooking class on a motu, fruit and drinks, towels | 4.8 · 21 |
| Transparent kayak | $90 | 3 hours | Tiahura Public Beach | Not listed | Guided kayak, fruit juice or fruit. Bring mask and snorkel | 4.9 · 77 |
| Helmet walk | $99 | 2.5 hours | Pier or your hotel | Included | Helmet walk at 12 feet, wetsuit and water shoes. From age 6 | 4.9 · 78 |
| Reef and lagoon boat | $113 | 4 - 6 hours | Beach restaurant dock, Tiahura | Not listed | Reef and lagoon stops, drinks and a snack; islet lunch as an option | 4.9 · 171 |
| Floating lounge | $113 | 3 hours | Brown Gate, 30 min early | Not listed | Mask, snorkel, fins, life jacket if needed; fruit and drinks | 4.9 · 56 |
| Canoe day | $129 | 6 hours | Not given | Included | Canoe for up to 12, barbecue lunch on a motu | 4.8 · 82 |
| Small-group boat | $141 | 4 - 6 hours | Restaurant car park, Tiahura | Not listed | Up to 6 people, cocktail and fruit; lunch with the premium option | 5.0 · 23 |
| Scenic cruise | $148 | 4 hours | Your lodging | Included | South-west lagoon, sandbank stop, refreshments; up to 9 | 4.8 · 54 |
| Sea scooter | $159 | 3.5 hours | Resort sea base | Optional | Sea scooters and snorkeling equipment; food not included | 4.9 · 101 |
| Glass-bottom boat | $160 | 5.5 hours | Roadside, orange flag | Not listed | Glass-bottom boat, turtle sanctuary, lunch on a motu | 4.9 · 87 |
| Whale-season boat, our top pick | $247 | 3.5 hours | Tourist office, Paopao | Not listed | Up to 6 people; whale swims August to November; life jacket | 4.6 · 142 |
| Private boat | $336 | 3 hours | Public dock, Papetoai | Not listed | Private boat, underwater photos at no extra cost, fruit platter | 5.0 · 1 |
On the way
Peaks behind you, reef in front: the setting the tours sell.
The Moorea French Polynesia lagoon and mountains sit close together, and the boat days use both. The floating lounge invites you to «admire Moorea’s majestic mountains from the lagoon». The canoe day names Cook Bay and Opunohu Bay, and the cooking cruise goes to one of those two bays.
If the Moorea Island French Polynesia mountains lagoon picture is what brought you here, the boat days are how you see it up close: the Moorea French Polynesia lagoon mountains beach scenery is the backdrop to the stops. A day on the Moorea French Polynesia tropical lagoon runs two and a half to six hours on these tours, with a stop on a motu or a sandbank on several of them. The frames below show the Moorea French Polynesia tropical mountains lagoon view from the water.
From the water
The Moorea French Polynesia dramatic mountains lagoon setting, in four frames from the boats, a bay and the beach.
A small open boat with a white canopy crosses green-blue water below forested ridges under heavy grey cloud, with palms and low roofs along the shore.
From the bow, a rope runs along the dark deck toward turquoise water with darker coral patches, and a forested ridge drops to the shore on the left.
Seen from above, an outrigger canoe and a small dinghy float in pale turquoise shallows off a white beach, with palms throwing their shade across the sand.
A sharp green peak and a ridge of rocky spires rise over a forested shore, with still grey water in the bay and a few masts by the trees on the left.
Before you book
A few minutes with the listing makes the Moorea French Polynesia lagoon day run smoothly from the moment you land.
Pickup is in the price on four tours. If you are not on one of those, work out how you reach Tiahura, Paopao or Papetoai.
The ferry is never in the price. The cooking cruise is the one listing that names the ferry as a pickup point.
Contact the kayak operator at least 48 hours before to confirm the meeting point and start time; the listing asks you to.
The floating lounge asks you to arrive 30 minutes early, the small-group boat 10 minutes.
The reef boat asks for beach shoes, eco-friendly sunscreen, waterproof bags and your own towel, and has no toilet on board. The kayak needs your own mask and snorkel.
For a Moorea French Polynesia lagoon family day, the helmet walk is the only listing with an age: from 6 years old, with pickup included.
Our verdict
Staying near Tiahura, book the $113 reef and lagoon boat: you reach the dock yourself, and 171 reviewers rate it 4.9, the most reviews on this site. Coming over from Tahiti for the day, take the $83 cooking cruise, the one listing that collects you from the ferry. Between August and November, our top pick is the $247 whale-season boat from Paopao, rated 4.6 on 142 reviews, with up to six people aboard.
Book direct
Four Moorea French Polynesia lagoon tours. Two collect you; the other two are our top pick and the reef boat with 171 reviews, the most on this site.
★ 4.6 · 142 reviews
★ 4.9 · 171 reviews
★ 4.8 · 21 reviews
★ 4.8 · 82 reviews
Common questions
Yes, by the ferry from Papeete, which you book yourself: it is not part of any tour here. For an easy day, pick a tour with pickup. The $83 cooking cruise is the only listing that names the ferry as a pickup point.
Four tours include pickup: the canoe day, the helmet walk, the scenic cruise and the cooking cruise. The sea scooter offers it depending on the option. The other seven meet you at a dock, beach, gate, roadside spot or car park.
Three tours start at Tiahura: the reef boat, the small-group boat and the kayak. The whale-season boat meets at the tourist office in Paopao, and the private boat at the public dock in Papetoai. The glass-bottom boat waits by the road under an orange flag.
Its description sets out to meet humpback whales «during the season (August to November)». It is our top pick at $247, with up to six people aboard. No other tour here mentions whales in its description.
The sea scooter runs «rain or shine». The cooking cruise also runs rain or shine unless conditions are unsafe. On the private boat, unsafe weather means a new date or a full refund.
All twelve listings offer free cancellation. Check the deadline on the booking page before you pay.
Want every Moorea French Polynesia lagoon tour side by side, not just by where it starts?
Tours compared→Go deeper
Every snorkeling tour on Moorea bookable here, side by side: boat, hours, stops and what the price covers.
Boat daysLagoon boat days: a glass-bottom boat, a canoe with lunch, a floating lounge.
Whale seasonSwimming with humpback whales in the season, August to November, and what the listing says.
With childrenWhich tours suit a family: ages, boat types and time in the water.
Moorea Shared Boat Tour Whale Swimming and Snorkeling
★ 4.6 · 142 reviews · 3.5 hours