Tours compared
Ten trips on this site put you in the water off Moorea. This Moorea snorkeling tour guide lines them up: boat or canoe, hours, what the price covers, where each one meets and who it suits. Prices start at $83 per person.
Quick answer
The short answer. For one Moorea snorkeling tour with the most reviews here, take the $113 lagoon and reef trip: 171 reviews at 4.9, a stop outside the reef and a shallow stop for rays and sharks. From August to November, our top pick is the $247 whale swim. For lunch in the price, the $129 canoe or the $160 glass-bottom boat. For the lowest fare and a pickup, the $83 cooking cruise.
The ten
Ten boats, three to six hours, and very different things in the price.
Every Moorea snorkeling tour on this list puts you in the water, but the days differ. A floating lounge or a private boat takes three hours, the canoe with a barbecue six. Groups range from a private boat and 6-person trips to boats for 12.
Prices run from $83 to $336 per person, and seven of the ten cost $113 to $160. All ten offer free cancellation. This page compares guided trips by boat, canoe and sea scooter; it does not cover Moorea beach snorkeling on your own. Two related listings, a transparent kayak at $90 and a helmet walk on the sea floor at $99, have their own page: kayak and helmet walk.
Tour by tour
Each listing in a few lines: boat, stops, what is included and the meeting point.
Up to 6 people, from the tourist office in Paopao. Humpback whale swims during the season (August to November); rays, sharks and turtles if time allows.
From a dock in Tiahura. Past the reef for sharks, a shallow rays and sharks stop, turtles in the lagoon. Drink and snack, or lunch as an option.
Limited to 7, snorkeling equipment included. Starts on the north-east shore; pickup as an option. Food is not included.
A turtle sanctuary, sculptures on the sea floor, a sand bar with grey rays and blacktip reef sharks, then lunch on a private motu.
Up to 12, pickup included. Cook's Bay and Opunohu Bay, rays and sharks, turtles, a coral garden, then a barbecue lunch on a motu.
Mask, snorkel, fins and a life jacket if needed. Stingrays and blacktip reef sharks in the shallows, a coral garden, fruit and drinks.
Pickup included, up to 9 people. The south-west lagoon, sea turtles, stingrays, a white sandbank and refreshments.
Up to 6, from Tiahura. A rays and sharks sandbar, the outer reef drop-off and turtles. Cocktail and fruit; lunch with the premium option.
Pickup from your hotel or the ferry. Stingrays and sharks often seen, coral gardens, a raw-fish cooking class on a motu.
From Papetoai. Stingrays and reef sharks on a sandbank, a coral garden, turtles if conditions allow. Underwater photos at no extra cost.
Reef or lagoon
Two trips cross the reef; seven stop where rays and sharks gather.
Two trips go beyond the reef. The $113 lagoon and reef tour heads outside it for blacktip reef sharks or lemon sharks, and the $141 small group tour spends 20 minutes at the outer reef drop-off, in open water. The other listings describe sand bars, coral gardens and motu shallows.
In Moorea lagoon snorkeling stingrays get a stop of their own: seven of the ten listings name a shallow spot where stingrays and blacktip reef sharks gather or are often seen. For Moorea sea turtle snorkeling, the $160 glass-bottom boat is the most specific: it starts in a turtle sanctuary with about 20 of them, and you can swim among them. For Moorea snorkeling tropical fish get a direct mention on the sea scooter and private listings.
On the water
The lagoon from the air, under the surface and at the water's edge.
A small white boat with a blue canopy, moored over pale sand and dark coral heads, a swimmer beside it.
A snorkeler in mask and fins above coral heads, in a shoal of small blue-green fish.
A weathered picnic table stands in clear shallow water, the shore far behind.
Every trip, current fare
All ten trips from the lowest fare up. Prices are per person, as listed; the kayak and the helmet walk are on their own page.
| Trip | Price | Price is for | Length | What the price covers | Where it starts | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cooking cruise | $83 | per person | 3 to 6 hours | Raw-fish cooking class on a motu, fruit and drinks, towels | Pickup from your hotel or the ferry | 4.8 · 21 |
| Lagoon and reef | $113 | per person | 4 to 6 hours | Drink and snack; lunch as an option | A dock in Tiahura | 4.9 · 171 |
| Floating lounge | $113 | per person | 3 hours | Mask, snorkel, fins, fruit and drinks | The operator's brown gate, 30 minutes early | 4.9 · 56 |
| Canoe and barbecue | $129 | per person | 6 hours | Barbecue lunch on a motu, up to 12 people | Pickup included | 4.8 · 82 |
| Small group | $141 | per person | 4 to 6 hours | Cocktail and fruit; lunch with the premium option | A car park in Tiahura, 10 minutes early | 5.0 · 23 |
| Scenic cruise | $148 | per person | 4 hours | Refreshments, sandbank stop, up to 9 people | Pickup included | 4.8 · 54 |
| Sea scooter | $159 | per person | 3.5 hours | Sea scooter and snorkeling equipment; food not included | North-east shore; pickup as an option | 4.9 · 101 |
| Glass-bottom boat | $160 | per person | 5.5 hours | Lunch on a private motu, a taste of island rum | By the road, at an orange flag | 4.9 · 87 |
| Whale swim, our top pick | $247 | per person | 3.5 hours | Whale swims August to November, life jackets, up to 6 | Tourist office, Paopao | 4.6 · 142 |
| Private boat | $336 | per person | 3 hours | Fruit platter, juices, underwater photos at no extra cost | Public dock, Papetoai | 5.0 · 1 |
What you pay for
Read this before you compare prices: the same fare can cover a full lunch or just a drink.
In the price on the $160 glass-bottom boat and the $129 canoe; an option on the lagoon and reef trip and the small group tour.
Included on the canoe, the scenic cruise and the cooking cruise; an option on the sea scooter. The rest meet at a set point.
The floating lounge lists mask, snorkel and fins; the sea scooter, snorkeling equipment. The cooking cruise recommends bringing your own.
Whale season
One trip swims with humpback whales, from August to November.
Our top pick is the $247 whale swim, the one Moorea snorkeling tour here built around humpback whales, with the chance to swim alongside them during the season (August to November). The boat is shared but takes a maximum of 6 people, and 142 reviewers rate it 4.6. If time allows, the day adds stingrays, blacktip sharks and turtles.
French rules require a life jacket on whale swims unless you wear your own wetsuit; the boat has life jackets. Sightings are not promised. Emma from the United Kingdom: «We saw whales pretty much right away and had plenty of time in the water with them.» Isabel from Guernsey, late in the season: «Despite not seeing any whales (end of the season), we saw lots of dolphins …»
Who picks what
Match the trip to the person, not to the price tag. Every Moorea snorkeling tour below is bookable with free cancellation.
The $247 whale swim, our top pick: up to 6 people on board.
The $113 lagoon and reef tour, 171 reviews at 4.9.
The $160 glass-bottom boat, friendly for all swimming levels; others watch through the glass panels. Juanita from French Polynesia: «my dad does not like swimming so he got to see lots while i was snorkeling.»
The $159 sea scooter, for everyone from beginners up. Morris Andrew from the United States: «a fantastic activity for someone who wants to see a lot while snorkeling and is unsure about a lot of swimming.»
The $129 canoe with a barbecue on a motu, or the $160 glass-bottom boat.
The $141 small group tour, up to 6 people, 23 reviews at 5.0.
The $336 private boat, with one review so far.
Our verdict
From August to November, book our top pick, the $247 whale swim: up to 6 people, humpback whales in season, rays and turtles if time allows. For one Moorea snorkeling tour with the most reviews here, the $113 lagoon and reef trip, rated 4.9 by 171 reviewers. For lunch in the price, the $129 canoe. On a budget, the $83 cooking cruise with pickup.
Book direct
The whale swim in season, the lagoon and reef trip, the glass-bottom boat with lunch and the lowest fare. All four are priced per person.
★ 4.6 · 142 reviews
★ 4.9 · 171 reviews
★ 4.9 · 87 reviews
★ 4.8 · 21 reviews
Common questions
Seven of the ten name a shallow stop for them: the lagoon and reef trip, the glass-bottom boat, the canoe, the floating lounge, the small group tour, the cooking cruise (where they are «often seen») and the private boat. The sea scooter and the scenic cruise name both animals too; on the whale swim, only if time allows.
Two: the $160 glass-bottom boat serves a meal on a private motu, and the $129 canoe a barbecue lunch on a motu. The lagoon and reef trip offers lunch as an option, and the small group tour with its premium option. The cooking cruise includes a cooking class, fruit and drinks.
The floating lounge lists mask, snorkel, fins and a life jacket if needed; the sea scooter, snorkeling equipment. The cooking cruise says snorkeling gear is recommended. The other listings do not say, so check before you pay.
The $160 glass-bottom boat is the one built for it: it is friendly for all swimming levels, and anyone who stays aboard watches through the glass panels. The sea scooter suits beginners. The small group tour and the private boat ask that you are comfortable in water.
Yes, but no tour includes the ferry. For a day of snorkeling in Moorea Tahiti guests book the crossing themselves. The $83 cooking cruise is the one listing that offers pickup from the ferry. Judy from New Zealand, on the glass-bottom boat: «they got us back to our ferry back to Tahiti just in time.»
Only on the $247 whale swim, during the season (August to November). A life jacket is required unless you bring your own wetsuit. Sightings are not promised: a reviewer at the end of the season saw dolphins, rays and turtles instead.
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.
Boat daysLagoon boat days: a glass-bottom boat, a canoe with lunch, a floating lounge.
With childrenWhich tours suit a family: ages, boat types and time in the water.
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