Boat days on the lagoon
A Moorea lagoon tour does not have to mean long hours face-down in the water. Five boat days on this site pair short snorkel stops with a glass-bottom hull, a canoe and a barbecue, a floating lounge, a white sandbank or a cooking class on a motu. They last three to six hours, from $83 per person.
Quick answer
The short answer. For a Moorea lagoon tour with lunch in the price, take the $160 glass-bottom boat (5.5 hours, 87 reviews at 4.9) or the $129 canoe with a barbecue on a motu (6 hours, pickup included). For a short morning, the $113 floating lounge runs three hours. The $148 scenic cruise takes nine people at most and collects you. The $83 cooking-class day is the lowest price on this site.
Five boats
Short stops in the lagoon, then back on board. The boat is the point.
Each Moorea lagoon tour in this guide is a boat day first and a snorkel trip second. You slip into the water at stops in the lagoon, then climb back aboard for the next one. Four of the five name a stop for rays and sharks; the scenic cruise lists stingrays and sharks among the marine life it sets out to find, together with sea turtles.
What sets the five apart is everything around the snorkeling: whether lunch is in the price, how you reach the boat, how many people share it, and whether you can stay dry. The glass-bottom boat is the one listing that says non-swimmers can watch through the glass panels while the others snorkel. The canoe and the cooking-class boat add time on a motu, a small islet in the lagoon, with a cooking workshop or class.
Stop by stop
The stops as each listing describes them, from the shortest day to the longest.
A safety briefing and kit, then a shallow area known for stingrays and blacktip reef sharks, a coral garden at your own pace, and the island's mountains seen from the lagoon.
The south-west lagoon, with sea turtles, stingrays and blacktip reef sharks named, a rest on a white sandbank, and stories about the island's heritage.
Cook's Bay or Opunohu Bay, a spot where stingrays and blacktip reef sharks are often seen, coral gardens, then a hands-on class on a motu.
It starts in a turtle sanctuary with about 20 of them, passes tiki statues set in the sea, stops at a sand bar with grey rays and blacktip reef sharks, then lunch on a motu.
Cook's Bay and Opunohu Bay, a stop for rays and sharks where you can get in, a tiki and sea turtle stop, a coral garden, and a barbecue on a motu.
Food on board
Two lunches in the price, one cooking class, and fruit or refreshments on the rest.
Lunch is in the price on two of the five. The $160 glass-bottom boat stops on a private motu for lunch: a Tahitian raw fish salad in coconut milk, chicken kebabs, grilled fish and seasonal fruit, and a taste of the island's rum. The $129 canoe lands on a motu for a small cooking workshop, raw fish with coconut milk, and a barbecue made by the cook.
A Moorea lagoon cruise with a cooking class is the $83 option. On the motu you make the raw fish dish by hand, watch braiding, learn about medicinal plants and how to tie a pareo, with fresh tropical fruit and drinks; towels are provided. The listing never calls it a lunch, so read it as a class with fruit and drinks.
On the floating lounge, tropical fruit and drinks are included. The scenic cruise lists refreshments.
On the water
What a Moorea lagoon tour looks like between the snorkel stops.
White padded sofas and armchairs sit under a wide canopy on a striped wooden deck, moored beside green water and a palm-lined quay.
A weathered wooden picnic table stands in shallow, clear water, with the lagoon stretching out behind it.
A small white boat with a canopy crosses blue-green water below steep green ridges, palms and houses along the shore.
Getting to the boat
Three Moorea lagoon tour options collect you; two meet you at the water.
Three of the five come to you. Pickup is included on the $129 canoe and the $148 scenic cruise, which asks for your accommodation details on the island. The $83 cooking-class day picks up from your hotel or the ferry, the only listing in this guide that names the ferry.
The other two have no pickup in their listings. The glass-bottom boat meets by the road at an orange flag, with parking. The floating lounge meets at a brown gate on the operator's property, and asks you to be there 30 minutes before. The ferry from Tahiti is not part of any price here, so book the crossing yourself.
Every trip, current fare
The five boat days and our top pick. Prices are per person.
| Trip | Price | Price is for | Length | What the price covers | Where it starts | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cooking-class day | $83 | per person | 3 to 6 hours | Class on a motu, fruit and drinks, towels. Snorkel gear recommended | Pickup from your hotel or the ferry | 4.8 · 21 |
| Floating lounge | $113 | per person | 3 hours | Mask, snorkel, fins, life jacket if needed; fruit and drinks | Brown gate, 30 minutes early | 4.9 · 56 |
| Canoe day | $129 | per person | 6 hours | Barbecue lunch on a motu, raw fish workshop. Up to 12 people | Pickup included | 4.8 · 82 |
| Scenic cruise | $148 | per person | 4 hours | Refreshments, a white sandbank stop. Up to 9 people | Pickup included | 4.8 · 54 |
| Glass-bottom boat | $160 | per person | 5.5 hours | Lunch on a private motu, a taste of local rum, glass panels | By the road, orange flag, parking | 4.9 · 87 |
| Whale swim boat, our top pick | $247 | per person | 3.5 hours | Humpback whale swims during the season (August to November). Up to 6 people | Tourist office, Paopao | 4.6 · 142 |
Who it suits
Stay on the glass, or get in with the crew beside you.
If someone in your party would rather not snorkel, the glass-bottom boat is the Moorea lagoon boat tour built for it: the listing calls it friendly for all swimming levels, and the others watch from the glass panels. It also has shade and a ladder at the back. Juanita from French Polynesia: «The glass bottom boat was great as my dad does not like swimming so he got to see lots while i was snorkeling.»
The scenic cruise is limited to nine participants and calls itself perfect for families and adventurers alike. The canoe and the cooking-class boat take up to 12. On the canoe, Jaise from the United States wrote: «While my wife and I couldn't swim, they made sure it didn't dampen the experience.» None of the five listings gives a minimum age.
Before you book
A few minutes on the listing makes your Moorea lagoon tour run smoothly on the day.
The canoe sails Cook's Bay and Opunohu Bay; the cooking-class boat names one or the other. The scenic cruise works the south-west lagoon.
Only the floating lounge lists mask, snorkel and fins. The cooking-class day recommends snorkel gear; the other three do not say.
Three hours on the lounge, six on the canoe. The cooking-class day runs three to six hours; ask which before you book.
The floating lounge asks you to be at the gate 30 minutes early.
All five offer free cancellation. Check the deadline on the booking page before you pay.
Our verdict
For a full day with lunch, book the $160 glass-bottom boat: 87 reviews at 4.9, a turtle sanctuary and lunch on a private motu. With pickup and a barbecue, the $129 canoe. For a short morning, the $113 floating lounge. On a budget, the $83 cooking-class day. Our top pick on this site is the $247 whale swim boat, during the season (August to November).
Book direct
The glass-bottom boat, the canoe, the floating lounge, the scenic cruise and the cooking-class day. All five are priced per person.
★ 4.9 · 87 reviews
★ 4.8 · 82 reviews
★ 4.9 · 56 reviews
★ 4.8 · 54 reviews
★ 4.8 · 21 reviews
Common questions
Yes, on the $160 glass-bottom boat. Its listing calls it friendly for all swimming levels: those who stay aboard watch through the glass panels while the others snorkel. The other four listings do not say.
Two of the five: the $160 glass-bottom boat, with lunch on a private motu, and the $129 canoe, with a barbecue on a motu. The $83 cooking-class day has a hands-on class with fruit and drinks, but its listing does not call it lunch.
Pickup is included on the canoe and the scenic cruise. The cooking-class day picks up from your hotel or the ferry. The glass-bottom boat and the floating lounge have a meeting point and no pickup. The ferry from Tahiti is not in any price.
On the floating lounge, yes: mask, snorkel, fins and a life jacket if needed. The cooking-class day provides towels and recommends snorkel gear. The other three listings do not say, so ask when you book.
Up to nine on the scenic cruise, up to 12 on the canoe and on the cooking-class boat. The glass-bottom boat and the floating lounge say small groups without giving a number.
Judge by the numbers: the five boat days are rated 4.8 to 4.9 across 300 reviews, cost $83 to $160 per person and last three to six hours. All five offer free cancellation.
Your options
Choose by the day you want: a hull you can see through, a barbecue on a motu, a short morning on a lounge deck, a sandbank with nine people at most, or a class on a motu. Then check how the day starts and which bay it sails, and book the date while there are seats.
Go deeper
Every snorkeling tour on Moorea bookable here, side by side: boat, hours, stops and what the price covers.
Rays and sharksThe stop with stingrays and blacktip reef sharks, and which tours include it.
With childrenWhich tours suit a family: ages, boat types and time in the water.
Whale seasonSwimming with humpback whales in the season, August to November, and what the listing says.
Getting thereReaching Moorea from Tahiti, and where the tours start on the island.
Moorea Shared Boat Tour Whale Swimming and Snorkeling
★ 4.6 · 142 reviews · 3.5 hours