Moorea was the last island in French Polynesia on our visit. In my personal opinion, we saved the best for last! We experienced a mixture of adventure, beauty, tranquility, and luxury.
Getting there, and getting around
Initially we had bought a multi-island pass through Air Tahiti, however due to COVID travel restrictions at the time, we canceled our flight. There are two ferry companies that travel between Tahiti and Moorea. Our VRBO host recommended the Aremeti Ferry. We had rented a car at the airport in Tahiti, and drove it on the ferry. Although I have mixed feelings about taking a car on the ferry due to the price, I would definitely recommend having a car to get around Moorea!
Accommodations
During our 5 days, we split our accommodations into two locations. The first place we stayed was a VRBO on the northwest side of the island. It was located near Hotel Les Tipaniers and Sunset Beach Suites and Bungalows. This side of the island was recommended to us due to the beautiful beach, lots of water activities, and amazing sunsets. Our VRBO home provided us with the use of their kayaks (both single and tandem), which we put to good use!
Our last two days we spent in luxury at our stay in an overwater bungalow. Initially I reserved an overwater bungalow at the Moorea Hilton using points. Unfortunately, the Moorea Hilton canceled our reservation (less than a week before we left the USA) because they weren’t going to be open until the middle of August. I decided to splurge and pay for an overwater bungalow at the Sofitel Moorea Ia Ora Beach Resort Hotel. I had never paid so much $$$ per night! Gulp! However, the relaxation I felt at the uniqueness and the beauty surrounding me made it worth it. It was a once in a lifetime experience!
Moorea: Day 1
Photo Shoot
We decided to get up early to walk down to the beach to see the sunrise. To our surprise, a few other families also had the same idea. Because my husband and I came to French Polynesia in honor of our 20th anniversary, we wanted to take some pictures. (Hint: French Polynesia provides ample idyllic settings for family photo shoots). We brought our drone, and also set up the camera on a tripod to get pictures we could frame later. (FYI, during our 11-day stay in French Polynesia, there was so much wind that I only could use my drone two days.)
Snorkel with Rays and Blacktip sharks
Once we finished our photo shoot, we went back to the house to get the kayak. Earlier, when we first arrived, our VRBO host told us we only needed a short paddle for an ideal place to snorkel with rays and blacktip reef sharks. She pointed out the buoys on the right of the beach and told us that if we went before 10:00 am or after 4:00 pm that we might be the only ones there. By the time we ate breakfast and got everything together, we were back on the beach around 9:00.
As we paddled our tandem kayak out toward the buoys, we saw our first ray glide underneath us. One other couple beat us to the spot, so we weren’t the only ones there. But there was plenty of space and also plenty of rays and sharks. By the time we left a few hours later, a few tour groups had arrived.
Magic Mountain
Our host recommended Magic Mountain as a quick hike with an amazing view. A road turns inland around PK21. A small smoothie stand (that also sells yummy homemade jam), is on the corner of the main road and inland road. Officially Magic Mountain is on private property, but if you pay $2 per person at the stand, they allow you to park and hike. The hike is approximately 40 minutes each direction, but it is steep! Bring plenty of water, especially if it is a sunny day. ATV tours also use the trail, so it is plenty wide, and paved in parts. Initially we weren’t the only ones at the summit, but they soon left. Beautiful spot and amazing views!
Food
Initially we stopped at Snack Mahana on our way to Magic Mountain. Snack Mahana is right on the edge of the water. It is obviously a popular spot, as all the tables were full, and there were a few other families ahead of us in line. Since their sign said they closed at 3:00, we decided to hike Magic Mountain and come back later. We arrived back at Snack Mahana at 2:30, but were told that their kitchen closed at 2:00. Island time is a real thing!
We drove around and found that most places only opened for a few hours around lunch time. Even the restaurant at Hotel Les Tipaniers closed by 3:00. They recommended that we try “Sea You Soon” which was about a mile further, and fortunately for us they were open! The staff were very friendly, and our server admitted that his English was rusty, because we were his first English speaking guests in 4 months (due to COVID closure). I really enjoyed their pizza, but if you are looking for traditional “American” pizza, this is not your spot.
Star Gazing
Around 9:30 in the evening, we walked out to the beach, which was pretty much deserted, and star gazed. The stars were incredibly bright and numerous! Definitely a must do!
Moorea: Day 2
Moorea Ocean Adventures
This was a day I was super excited about! Moorea is one of a few places that you can swim with humpback whales along with other ocean animals. I researched and found Moorea Ocean Adventures, owned by a marine biologist. It also provided private and individualized tours (and put together a video of your tour). You can watch that video here.
Moorea Ocean Adventures picked us up on the beach by our VRBO. We were told before we went that because it was early enough in the season, it was a 50/50 chance of seeing whales. We fell in the bottom half….no whales for us. However, we did see a variety of sharks: blacktip reef sharks; whitetip reef sharks; gray reef shark; and lemon sharks. Only the blacktip came up close and personal. Our guide told us that out in the deep ocean (versus the lagoon), we were in their territory and more curious. In the lagoon they are more shy. We also saw a school (is that what they call a gathering) of rays. Our guide told us that one of the eagle rays was the largest he had ever seen.
Even though we didn’t see any whales, our tour was amazing, our guides knowledgeable, and time memorable. I would recommend taking dramamine with you. I don’t normally get motion sickness, but after an hour or so, I started feeling queasy. One dose took the edge off and I was able to enjoy the remainder of the trip. I would recommend the tour, and personally I would love to go again!
Food
Although we had a late lunch, we learned from our experience the day before not to go too late. We ate at the road-side stand “A L’Heure du Sud.” Comparably, the food was priced very well (at least for French Polynesia). The food itself was average (I had to look back at pictures to remember what I had to eat…that’s to say, it wasn’t memorable). They did have delicious homemade lemonade.
Sunset in Haapiti
I had read that Haapiti was a cute town with amazing sunsets, so we headed down there in the evening. In Haapiti, our GPS said to go down some random dirt road which led to nowhere, so we tried the next random road. This too was a dead end. When we got back to the main road, some locals that had been watching our unsuccessful attempts, told us we needed to take the next road. This road looked just like the others….and also brought us to a dead end. At the dead end was a rental home, which I assume the locals thought we were trying to locate. Fortunately for us, we asked the neighbor how to get to the beach, and she told us we could walk on the outside of the fence, and follow it to the beach.
The beach itself was not all that pretty….it was rocky and somewhat littered. We did see a nice sunset, but with the trouble that we had getting there, and since the other sunsets from Tipaniers beach were just as nice, watching the sunset in Haapiti did not make it on our list of recommendations.
Moorea: Day 3
Sunrise Kayak
Early mornings are great time to have a quiet, peaceful kayak. Or in my case, to man the drone. My husband kayaked out the the spot we went to on day 1, except this time he was the only one there. He reported that it was surreal to swim with no one near you except the sharks.
Snorkeling between Motus
After a quick breakfast, we headed out for our last kayak together before we checked out of our VRBO. This time we kayaked to the left-side of the beach toward the Motu Tiahura and Motu Fareone. We had heard that between these motus there was an abundance of fish. We had heard correctly! Although we didn’t get a photo of it, we saw an eel also.
Belvedere Lookout
After checkout, we headed to Belvedere Lookout off of Opunohu Bay. It is a winding, narrow road (i.e. looks like a one lane road) to get to the top, but the view is beautiful. There are some trails that I wanted to hike, but we ran out of time.
On the drive back down from Belvedere, we stopped at this marae, which is an ancient sacred open air temple.
I have mixed feelings about going up to Belvedere Lookout. Although I thought it was beautiful, it wasn’t one of my favorite spots. That being said, I didn’t have time to really explore or go hiking in the area. My personal opinion is if you don’t have much time, this might be a spot to skip.
Lunch at Moorea Tropical Garden
This is a spot I wouldn’t skip! I don’t remember where I read it, but this place was recommended as maybe the most authentic Tahitian food on Moorea. As a vegetarian, I can’t personally report on the poisson cru, however my husband reports of the three places that he had poisson cru, this was by far the best. (Poisson cru is a traditional Tahitian dish consisting of raw fish marinated in citrus juice and coconut milk.) I can report that the fried breadfruit, or uru, was delicious, and so was their homemade ice creams (I sampled three!).
The views at the top were beautiful, the service was friendly, and the atmosphere laid-back, and a few cats and dogs roamed around looking for handouts. The garden area was beautiful with lots of flowers. There is also a greenhouse where they grow vanilla. We took a short hike to see the waterfall, but I recommend skipping it. (The trail was quite overgrown, plenty of mosquitos, and the waterfall wasn’t that impressive).
Be advised that the drive up to Moorea Tropical Gardens was steep, and there were some impressive potholes. We didn’t have a 4-wheel drive, but I think maybe we should have!
Sofitel Moorea Ia Ora Beach Resort
I have never really spent time before at a resort, mostly because of costs, but also because I didn’t understand why people would just want to hang out at the resort and not go and DO something. Now I get it. There is something special about sitting in a private overwater bungalow, and drinking in the beauty surrounding you–to look out at the expanse of ocean in front of you, and let peace quiet the soul.
Moorea: Day 4
The clear turquoise water were so inviting that we took a morning swim. Something about the water was captivating, almost magical. When we worked up enough appetite we headed down to indulge in an amazing breakfast.
Then we attempted to go worship and fellowship at church. Unfortunately we couldn’t find the church close to us, so we ended up driving back to the other side of the island to where we had previously seen a church. By the time we arrived, the service was over, but we ended up and had a wonderful conversation with some locals.
On the drive back to Sofitel, we picked up a family hitch-hiking to the ferry (the resort is only a few minutes from the ferry). They told us their story of how they live in a sailboat, and sail from one country to the next.
Once we dropped off the hitch-hikers we spent the rest of the day hanging out on/in the water.
Outrigger Canoeing and Paddle Boarding
I am not sure why I was drawn to these two activities, but they were on my list of things I wanted to do in French Polynesia, and I hadn’t done either yet. The resort had both these activities available at no extra charge. The outrigger canoe appealed to me because it seems like a culture experience, that I had never done. During our stay on Motu Ahuna in Bora Bora (you can read about our stay here), some local boys were practicing/racing around the motu. Now I had my own chance to experience it!
I had done paddle boarding only once before, and of all places in Colorado. I enjoyed the experience then but was worried if I fell off the water was super cold. In French Polynesia, if you fall off a paddle board it would be a refreshing experience. Although I never fell off, at times I would sit down and dangle my legs or hands in the water to cool off.
Moorea: Day 5
Snorkeling at Sofitel Coral Gardens
Sofitel has an amazing coral garden that are teeming with fish. Since we brought our snorkel gear, we could start right from our bungalow. Of course the resort has snorkel equipment available also. We made sure to get in the last of our snorkeling before checking out.
Le Jardin Spa and Beauty
We had a few hours between checking out of our room and catching the ferry back to Tahiti. My husband wanted to have more time paddling an outrigger canoe, but I preferred to spend that time getting a massage! Although more expensive than any massage I have had, it was also the best massage I have ever had! It was a worthwhile splurge!
The Infinity Pool
With still some time to spare, we hung out by the pool. My husband took a dip in the pool, but it was too cool for me. Although there was shade to sit in, if it got too warm, I would dip my toes in. It was a perfect ending to our stay in Moorea.
Watch our video from our stay in Moorea.
You may also want to check out my blog on general recommendations for French Polynesia and my blogs on our stay in Bora Bora and Tahiti. If you are heading to French Polynesia during the remainder of 2020, learn from my experiences of traveling to French Polynesia during COVID.