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Travel guide
Moorea
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: May to October (the dry season)
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Welcome
Moorea, in a few days
Moorea lies 17 km from Tahiti, about 30 minutes by ferry, its two bays, Cook's and Opunohu, cut between 1,200-metre peaks and a reef-ringed lagoon. You drive up to the lookout through pineapple fields, hike to the Three Coconuts Pass, swim with rays at Tiahura and, from August to October, meet humpback whales.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 2 things
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Belvedere lookout free · about 30 minAt 240 metres, at the head of the Opunohu valley, it takes in both bays either side of Mount Rotui, via pineapple fields and forest.
- Afternoon · Marae Titiroa free · about 45 minStone platforms under giant Tahitian chestnut trees, restored in 1967 by Yosihiko Sinoto, the traces of pre-European society in the Opunohu valley.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hotel Kaveka€130 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Three Coconuts Pass free · 2 to 3 hMoorea's classic hike, about 90 minutes up from the lookout to a pass beneath Mouaroa and Tohivea, with views over Opunohu Bay and the lagoon.
- Afternoon · Cook's Bay free · 2 to 3 hA 3 km tropical fjord below Mount Rotui, with Paopao at its head; Cook never actually anchored here but in neighbouring Opunohu Bay, in 1777.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Fare Vaihere€170 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Magic Mountain · about 1 hA 200-metre hill above Papetoai on the north-west coast, its flattened top looking over the lagoon, the islets and Opunohu Bay.
- Afternoon · Humpback whale watching · half a dayFrom August to October humpbacks arrive from Antarctica to calve, and regulated boats let snorkellers into the water at a set distance.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Moorea Beach Lodge€200 a night
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Swimming with rays at Tiahura · 2 to 3 hA sandbank a metre deep between the Tiahura and Fareone islets, where stingrays used to people gather and blacktip reef sharks keep their distance.
- Afternoon · Temae beach free · half a dayThe island's public beach on the east coast facing Tahiti: a kilometre of white sand, clear shallow water and coral a few strokes from shore.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hotel Hibiscus€160 a night
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
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Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Poisson cru: raw tuna marinated in lime and coconut milk (e'ia ota), the national dish.
- Grilled fish: tuna and mahi-mahi fresh off the boats, with lagoon seafood alongside.
- Po'e: a baked fruit pudding, banana or papaya, served with coconut milk.
- Uru: breadfruit, cooked in the ahima'a, the Tahitian earth oven.
- Fruit and coconut: fresh juice at every roulotte, and coconut water drunk straight from the nut.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Expect high prices: almost everything is imported.
- Do not stand on the coral, even where it looks dead.
- The sun is fierce: wear reef-safe sun cream and a lycra top in the water.
- Book guesthouses and inter-island flights early, above all for July and August.
Getting by
Words that help
English ↔ French
| English | French |
|---|---|
| Hello | Bonjour |
| Thank you | Merci |
| Please | S'il vous plaît |
| Yes | Oui |
| No | Non |
| Excuse me | Excusez-moi |
| Goodbye | Au revoir |
| Do you speak English? | Parlez-vous anglais ? |
| I don't understand | Je ne comprends pas |
| How much is it? | Combien ça coûte ? |
| Where are the toilets? | Où sont les toilettes ? |
| The bill, please | L'addition, s'il vous plaît |
| Help! | Au secours ! |
| Cheers! | Santé ! |
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyCFP franc (XPF)
BudgetAbout €225 a day, mid-range
Best seasonMay to October (the dry season)
PlugA/B/E · 110-220V
Tap waterSafe to drink in Papeete, bottled elsewhere
TippingNot customary
Emergency15 / 112
EntryFrench Polynesia is not part of the Schengen area. EU citizens need only an ID card or a passport; UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports get 90 days in any 180 without a visa, with a return ticket.
HealthHepatitis A is recommended. No malaria, but dengue is present: use repellent.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/moorea
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.