Rays and sharks
Moorea snorkeling with rays usually comes down to one stop: shallow water inside the lagoon where stingrays and blacktip reef sharks gather. Seven of the twelve tours on this site name that stop in their listing. This guide shows which ones, what each listing actually says and what the price covers, starting at $83 per person.
Quick answer
The short answer. For Moorea snorkeling with rays, book a boat whose listing names the rays and sharks stop. The most reviewed is the $113 lagoon and reef tour, 171 reviews at 4.9, which ends at a shallow spot for rays and sharks. The $113 floating lounge makes it the first stop, and the $141 small-group tour gives it 40 minutes. If not everyone in your group swims, the $160 glass-bottom boat has glass panels to watch from. The lowest fare is $83, where the animals are «often seen».
The stop
One shallow stop, worded seven ways, on seven of the twelve tours.
On most of these tours the stop is a sandbar or a shallow patch inside the lagoon. The listings word it differently: «a stop at a spot for rays and sharks where the water is shallow», «a shallow area renowned for its stingrays and blacktip reef sharks», «a shallow sandbank». The small-group tour calls it the Stingrays and Sharks Sandbar and starts there, in Tiahura on the north side.
Moorea stingray snorkeling is therefore shallow-water snorkeling: «Swim in shallow water as these magnificent creatures glide around you», as the small-group listing puts it.
On a day of Moorea snorkeling rays are one stop among several, next to turtles, a coral garden, a motu or a cooking class. So the tour you pick matters as much as the stop: Moorea snorkeling with rays is the highlight on some boats and a bonus on others.
Tour by tour
What each listing says about Moorea snorkeling with rays, quoted where it matters. Prices are per person.
Outside the reef for «blacktip reef sharks or lemon sharks», then turtles, then «a stop at a spot for rays and sharks where the water is shallow» to finish.
The first stop is «a shallow area renowned for its stingrays and blacktip reef sharks», entered with your guide.
Forty minutes at the Stingrays and Sharks Sandbar in Tiahura, then 20 minutes past the reef with «possibly lemon sharks». Up to six people.
The last snorkel stop is a sand bar with «grey rays and the famous black tip reef sharks». Non-swimmers watch through the glass panels.
A stop at the spot for rays, sharks and fish, «where you can dive to admire them». Up to 12 per canoe.
Heads to «the places where friendly stingrays and blacktip reef sharks are often seen», then a raw-fish cooking class on a motu.
Black tip reef sharks and stingrays «on a shallow sandbank», underwater photos at no extra cost. One review so far.
Both name stingrays and blacktip sharks among the marine life, but neither sets aside a stop for them.
On the helmet walk, stingrays gather «as your guide feeds them» at 12 feet. From the kayak, «if you're lucky».
Built around humpback whale swims during the season (August to November). Rays and sharks come «with enough time», a bonus.
In the water
What Moorea snorkeling with rays looks like: rays on the sand, a shark over coral and a ring of swimmers around a ray.
A dark stingray glides over pale sand streaked with sunlight, its long tail trailing past a small coral head.
A blacktip reef shark swims low over white sand between rounded coral heads, with small fish in the green-blue water behind it.
Six people in masks stand chest-deep in turquoise water in a loose ring while a large stingray passes between them.
The fine print
How each listing words the rays and sharks, from a set stop to a maybe.
No listing promises Moorea snorkeling with rays and a shark on cue, and the wording shows how sure each one is. Seven name a stop. The $83 cruise says «often seen», the kayak «if you're lucky», our top pick «with enough time» after the whale swims of August to November.
Moorea shark snorkeling happens in two settings. Inside the lagoon, the shallow stops name blacktip reef sharks. Past the reef, the lagoon and reef tour and the small-group tour add open water and a chance of lemon sharks. To look for Moorea blacktip reef sharks snorkeling over the shallow stop is the usual way.
The blacktip reef shark Moorea lagoon tours describe appears by name in ten of the twelve listings. During Moorea lagoon snorkeling rays come in more than one kind: stingrays at the shallow stops, grey rays at the glass-bottom boat's sand bar, and eagle rays named by three listings.
Every tour, current fare
All twelve tours, lowest fare first. Prices are per person; the rays and sharks column shows how each listing words the stop.
| Tour | Price | Price is for | Length | Rays and sharks | What the price covers | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cooking-class cruise | $83 | per person | 3 - 6 h | «Often seen» | Hotel or ferry pickup, cooking class on a motu, fruit, drinks | 4.8 · 21 |
| Transparent kayak | $90 | per person | 3 h | «If you're lucky» | Guided kayak, juice or fruit; bring mask and snorkel | 4.9 · 77 |
| Helmet walk | $99 | per person | 2.5 h | Stingrays fed by the guide | Pickup, wetsuit, helmet, about 30 minutes underwater | 4.9 · 78 |
| Lagoon and reef | $113 | per person | 4 - 6 h | Shallow stop to finish | Drink and snack; islet lunch as an option | 4.9 · 171 |
| Floating lounge | $113 | per person | 3 h | First stop | Mask, snorkel, fins; fruit and drinks | 4.9 · 56 |
| Canoe with barbecue | $129 | per person | 6 h | Rays and sharks stop | Pickup, barbecue lunch on a motu | 4.8 · 82 |
| Small group | $141 | per person | 4 - 6 h | Sandbar, 40 minutes | Cocktail and fruit; lunch with the premium option | 5.0 · 23 |
| Scenic cruise | $148 | per person | 4 h | Named, no set stop | Pickup, refreshments, white sandbank | 4.8 · 54 |
| Sea scooter | $159 | per person | 3.5 h | Named, no set stop | Sea scooter, snorkeling equipment; food not included | 4.9 · 101 |
| Glass-bottom boat | $160 | per person | 5.5 h | Sand bar, last stop | Lunch on a private motu | 4.9 · 87 |
| Whale swim, our top pick | $247 | per person | 3.5 h | «With enough time» | Whale swims August to November, up to 6 people | 4.6 · 142 |
| Private boat | $336 | per person | 3 h | Shallow sandbank | Private boat, fruit platter, underwater photos | 1 review |
Guides and safety
Feeding on one tour, a guide in the water on most.
One listing mentions feeding: on the helmet walk, the stingrays gather «as your guide feeds them» at 12 feet. The other eleven say nothing about it.
On safety, the listings describe how Moorea snorkeling with rays is run rather than rate it. The floating lounge enters the water «accompanied by your guide» for «a respectful and guided encounter». The glass-bottom boat visits the animals «during the less crowded moments», and the kayak calls its outing «calm observation, not harmful to marine animals».
On the helmet walk, guests sign a waiver, and some health conditions need a doctor's note. On our top pick, French regulations require a life jacket for whale swimming (August to November) unless you wear your own wetsuit.
Before you book
A few minutes on the listing makes Moorea snorkeling with rays easier on the day.
Seven listings set aside a rays and sharks stop; the sea scooter and the scenic cruise only name the animals.
The floating lounge lists mask, snorkel and fins; the sea scooter, snorkeling equipment. On the kayak, bring your own.
Four tours include pickup, and the sea scooter offers it as an option. Three others meet in Tiahura.
The lagoon and reef tour asks for beach shoes or sandals, eco-friendly sunscreen and waterproof bags, and has no toilets on board.
All twelve listings offer free cancellation. Check the deadline on the booking page before you pay.
From the reviews
Quoted as written, with the traveler's name and country.
On the lagoon and reef tour, Cherie from the United States found «a great sandbank with stingrays, many coral fish, and small reef sharks». On the canoe tour, Robert from the United States had «a great lunch on a motu with stingrays swimming around our feet», and Jaise from the United States, who could not swim, wrote that the crew «helped us float around the sharks and the stingray».
One honest note from Peter from Germany, on the glass-bottom boat: «only 15min at the highlight (stingrays & sharks). We’d prefer more time there.» If time matters most for your Moorea snorkeling with rays, the small-group tour lists 40 minutes.
Our verdict
Book the lagoon and reef tour at $113 for Moorea snorkeling with rays: 171 reviewers rate it 4.9, the most reviews on this site, and it ends at the shallow stop. For the longest time at the sandbar, the $141 small-group tour. With non-swimmers, the $160 glass-bottom boat. On a budget, the $83 cruise. From August to November, our top pick at $247 adds whale swims.
Book direct
The most reviewed first. All four are priced per person.
★ 4.9 · 171 reviews
★ 4.9 · 56 reviews
★ 5.0 · 23 reviews
★ 4.9 · 87 reviews
Common questions
The listings do not rate safety; they describe how the stop is run. The sharks named at the shallow stops are blacktip reef sharks; two tours add a chance of lemon sharks past the reef. On the floating lounge you enter «accompanied by your guide».
Seven: the lagoon and reef tour, the floating lounge, the small-group tour, the glass-bottom boat, the canoe with barbecue, the private boat and the $83 cruise, where the animals are «often seen».
The listings only say «shallow». Jaise from the United States, on the canoe tour, wrote: «The water at the sand bar is about 4.5 feet.» That is one traveler's day, not a promise.
One listing says so: on the helmet walk, the stingrays gather «as your guide feeds them». The other eleven listings say nothing about feeding.
No listing promises it. Seven name a stop for them, the $83 cruise says «often seen» and the kayak «if you're lucky».
On two tours. The glass-bottom boat is «friendly for all swimming level», with glass panels to watch from. The helmet walk needs no snorkeling experience, from 6 years old, and its highlight is a gathering of stingrays.
Your options
Moorea lagoon snorkeling with rays starts at $83 per person. For Moorea snorkeling with rays as a set stop, pick one of the seven listings above whose other stops you want too.
Go deeper
Every snorkeling tour on Moorea bookable here, side by side: boat, hours, stops and what the price covers.
TurtlesWhere tours look for sea turtles, and what the listings promise.
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