MO’OREA, FRENCH POLYNESIA

Mo’orea is the mountainous gem of French Polynesia, with 8 impressive peaks surrounded by forest, villages and a bright blue lagoon. It is second to Bora Bora for being the most popular honeymoon destination amongst the islands of Tahiti, and has more of a local feel due to the limited number of luxury resorts.

How to get there

Mo’orea is accessible by a short ferry or plane ride from Papeete, the capital of Tahiti. Our flight from Auckland to Papeete was ~5 hours and arrived in the middle of the night/morning, meaning you need to book at least one nights’ accomodation in Papeete. We opted to spend 2 nights at the Intercontinental Resort Tahiti, which was a good choice as we didn’t make it to our room until 3.30am, and were pretty wrecked the next day. We had a hotel transfer organised prior to landing (7500xpf plus 100xpf per piece of luggage), but you can also wait at the taxi line and pay in local currency for a cheaper rate (~1500xpf plus 100xpf per piece of luggage, the rate is more expensive at night time).

Intercontinental Resort Tahiti

We picked the Intercontinental as it was just 5 minutes by car to the airport, and we intended on having a day of rest and recovery from arriving in the wee hours of the morning. We stayed there the night before we flew back to Auckland as well (half a night, as our flight was at 3.15am), and the concierge was very helpful in organising taxis for our rides to the ferry terminal and airport. We were able to change our larger local currency notes to smaller ones at the reception desk to pay the taxi drivers, and were also given 5000xpf resort credit on our last night as we would be leaving before breakfast, and this was included in the room rate I had booked.

We stayed in a ground floor and third floor room during our transit times in Papeete, and our experiences in them were quite different. In both room types, two free bottles of water are included in the mini fridge, and there are both European and American plug socket types and USB-A outlets. The third floor room offered a pillow menu and had a balcony with ocean views. Some unfortunate cons included sandflies/mosquitos in both rooms causing bites, sticky wooden surfaces and dirty floors (no slippers are provided so you can see how black your feet get), and lack of sound proofing for hallway and airplane traffic. The shower in our ground floor room had terrible water pressure and fluctuating temperature with luke warm at best. There was also no shampoo (2 shower gels instead), the conditioner bottle was faulty/blocked, and there were ants in the room.

Despite our room woes (mainly the ground floor room), we enjoyed the resort facilities, including the Lagoonarium where they have a turtle rehabilitation centre, coral and fish, the pools, the buffet breakfast, and happy hour at the Tiki Bar where you can get 50% off selected cocktails and cocktails between 4.30pm and 6.30pm. We sat outside on the patio to enjoy our drinks and dinner as we watched the sun set, and the island music gently playing from the speaker next to us made for a great atmosphere.

Taking the ferry to Mo’orea

Our taxi driver to the ferry terminus took us right to where we would board the ferry, and advised us where to buy tickets, where to put our luggage, and where to sit and wait for boarding (2500xpf). As I had already pre-booked online with Aremiti, we left our luggage on the trolley next to the ticket counter, got a physical ticket printed, and headed upstairs to the waiting area. If you have a small carry-on sized suitcase or bag, you can keep these with you when you board if that is your preference. On board the ferry, there is a small shop selling bagels, sandwiches, paninis, bakery sweet treats and pizza. The ferry ride took only 25 minutes and as you approach Mo’orea, I would recommend standing outside to witness the epic mountains loom closer.

Getting around Mo’orea

When you disembark the ferry at Vaiare ferry terminal, you can collect your luggage from the same trolley and head over to the taxi stand, look for your pre-booked transfer, or in our case, cross the road and walk a couple hundred metres to the AVIS car rental shop. We booked an automatic car for 48 hours, and they were careful to explain that even with extra insurance, roof damage is not covered, so DO NOT PARK UNDER COCONUT TREES. There is just one road circling the perimeter of Mo’orea, a couple of supermarkets and petrol stations close to the ferry terminal, and we ended up spending 1100xpf in petrol to drive around the whole island including up to Belvedere Lookout. The taxi cost (by meter) to get to Hilton Mo’orea Lagoon Resort & Spa from the ferry terminal was 3500xpf.

Beaches of Mo’orea

There are three public beaches in Mo’orea, all are worth a visit and have ample parking. Leaving the ferry terminal, we headed anti-clockwise around the island, stopping at Toatea Lookout above the Sofitel overwater bungalows, before turning down the road to Temae Beach. This white sand beach is lined with coconut and palm trees, and the water is calm, shallow and crystal clear. Toilets are available and there is a food truck Roulotte Le Spot 64 Mo’orea at the far end of the beach (away from Sofitel) that is open between 10am and 2pm Tuesdays to Saturdays, serving baguette sandwiches, poke bowls, burgers and ice blocks.

We continued around the island and headed towards Belvedere Lookout. As you turn left off the main road to go inland, there is an eco-museum Te Fare Natura that is worth a visit. As we are from New Zealand and considered neighbours, we were charged a discounted rate of 1600xpf pp instead of 2400xpf. The museum has a lot of information about Polynesian and Mo’orea culture, ecology and geography, as well as aquariums mimicking the lagoon conditions at various levels under the sea. The remainder of the road up to Belvedere Lookout is narrow and windy, and you can either drive the entire way, take an ATV tour, or hike the various trails.

Back onto the main road, and at the mouth of Opunohu Bay, is Ta’ahiamanu Public Beach. There were plenty of beach goers including school groups enjoying the winter sun in the afternoon, but it is empty and secluded if you visit in the morning. Surrounded by towering mountains and sail boats anchored in the bay, this stretch of golden sand beach has stunning views and is a great sunset spot. There are showers and toilets, and it is possible to go snorkelling to see turtles, rays and fish.

On the northwest coast of Mo’orea is Tiahura Beach, a quieter white sand beach with a grassy area and showers and toilets. When we stumbled upon this beach, the sight of the water colour made me go WOW – electric pale blue and shallow for snorkelling. There are some shops nearby (Le Petit Village) if you want to pick up some food for a picnic, and the carpark area is next to Hotel Hibiscus, just beyond the shops/petrol station on Google Maps.

As you drive around the island, you will see impressive mountain peaks appearing around the corners and the dazzling lagoon on the other side of the road. Along the west side of the island, we stopped at a dairy (Magasin Yilian) to pick up some snacks and enjoy a bounty bar ice cream in a nearby field with the backdrop of mountains. Closer to the ferry terminal, you may see locals with a chilly bin roadside selling freshly prepared sea urchin. One of our taxi drivers insisted this is a delicious snack for 15-20USD.

Join a snorkelling tour

We organised a half day snorkelling tour with Voila Mo’orea that takes you sailing on a small catamaran to a coral garden sandwiched between Motu Tiahura and Motu Fareone, an area populated by reef sharks and stingrays, and the submerged Tiki Sculptures near Papetoai. The weather was cooler, raining and windy on the day that we went, so the water conditions weren’t as clear and we could only stay in the ocean for 30 minutes or less before getting quite cold. As such, Leo offered us a free sunset cruise on another day (but we would not be on the island anymore), and I managed to get some photos of the coral garden location the following day when the conditions were much better. On the tour, our skipper Lucas went in the water with us at the Tiki Sculptures to tell us more about them and to point out his favourite fish. We were also served a fruit platter during the 4-hour excursion and there is a sheltered area on the boat that blocks the rain and wind.

I have to give a shout out to the Gear Aid Sea Drops Anti-Fog and Lens Cleaner that I brought with me on this trip as it was super effective in our snorkel masks. The Mares Dual Snorkel I have is also a great option as I found the mouthpiece flexible/comfortable and the length to be compact and packable.

If you visit French Polynesia from August 1st to November 1st, you will get the opportunity to swim with humpback whales on various snorkelling tours. We just missed out as we were there mid to late July!

Hilton Mo’orea Lagoon Resort & Spa

We stayed 3 nights at the Hilton Mo’orea Lagoon Resort & Spa, our first time in an overwater bungalow. Nothing compares to snorkelling right off your room’s pontoon, especially with the abundance of coral beds and colourful fish. The lagoon here is sheltered, shallow and calm, rather than the much stronger current we felt when snorkelling in Bora Bora, and we found it was better than the coral garden on our snorkelling tour, and saw eels and stingrays too.

The Hilton Mo’orea has its own private beach, pool, and free kayak, stand up paddle board and snorkelling equipment hire. There are 4 restaurant/bar areas and a variety of happy hour options for cocktails/mocktails and beers. A buffet breakfast was included in our room rate and for dinner we ate at Toatea Bar & Creperie, Rotui Bar & Grill and ordered room service. Stand out dishes included the Kanahau crepe at Toatea (spicy chorizo, spinach, white wine cream sauce, parmesan cheese and raw egg), the French toast at breakfast (it has some type of custard on it, and is seriously SO yummy!), the made-to-order omelettes at breakfast, and the big portions of room service meals (we ordered a cheeseburger with fries and pizza).

Our room was an overwater bungalow with panoramic view, which overlooks Opunohu Bay, the mountains, Hilton’s beach, and gets the sunset. The room has beautiful tall vaulted ceilings, a spacious double vanity bathroom with separate toilet, and loungers and a dining table on the outdoor two-story deck/pontoon. There were no mosquitoes or ants, the mini bar is restocked daily for free with bottled water, local beer and Coke, and there was a bottle of champagne and macarons upon arrival. A highlight was the shower – spacious with great water pressure and nice and hot, and the Crabtree & Evelyn bath products (shampoo, conditioner, shower gel and body lotion) were a lovely touch. The plug sockets are European (with one American type in the bathroom), slippers and bathrobes are provided, and there is an air conditioner. The property has golf carts to transport luggage to and from the rooms, which can be a bit noisy as they go past, and we also found the noise from the 6am roosters and music from late night beach goers travelled all the way out to the bungalows.

One thing to note, when we were checking into the hotel, they charged us up front for the 3 nights plus a ‘hold’ for predicted food expenses. Luckily, I asked for and kept the receipt, as they tried to charge me AGAIN for the full final amount on check out. In the end, they cancelled the check-in charge which took a few days to come through. For those who are interested to know, we spent 27,250xpf on food and drink between two people for the duration of our stay.

Travelling around French Polynesia is expensive no doubt, from food, domestic flights, car rentals and of course, the accomodation. If you don’t have the flexibility to drive independently to pick up groceries and food, I would definitely recommend packing some from home. If you want to check out the Mo’orea video from this trip, have a look below!