14 Best Things To Do In Moorea French Polynesia: The Ultimate Travel Guide

Planning Your Visit To Moorea

When people think of French Polynesia, the first place that comes to mind is Bora Bora. And while we loved it there, we also recommend visiting the lovely island of Moorea.

We spent 10 wonderful days exploring the island and found it to have a more laid back feeling. In our opinion, it is more rural and rugged, which has its own charm and authenticity. Although in speaking with locals, we heard there are a lot of proposed developments so we hope it can maintain a healthy balance.

The nice thing is that there are so many things to do in Moorea, French Polynesia. This blog gives you a run down on what we think is the best.

Highlights of Moorea

Best Things To Do In Moorea French Polynesia

Depending on how long you are visiting, for those who like to have some things to do in between lounging around in paradise, here are some great options.

1. Swim With Whales

If you can, plan your visit to coincide with when the whales are in Moorea from July to early November. This is the most unique thing to do in Moorea and isn’t available in many other places. We have to say this excursion was the highlight of our trip! It is truly magical to be able to swim with humpback whales. Their sheer size and gracefulness are something to see.

We took a trip with a company that was careful and respectful of the whales and we appreciated that approach. Our small group tour was able to maintain safe distances while in the water and still have an amazing interaction.

There is nothing like travelling out past the protective reef and seeing these majestic animals gliding past you and hearing the mating call under the water. We had an 11-metre whale come right in front of us and we quietly waited as he passed by.

It is extraordinary. This is one of the best things to do in Moorea. If you do nothing else while there – make sure it is this activity.

✅ This is the tour that we took to swim with the whales. We felt safe and well taken care of. It was amazing and is highly recommended.

2. Taste Your Way Around The Island On A Food Tour

Moorea is well known for its food truck culture. But as a visitor, it can be hard to know which ones you should try. We took an amazing food tour with a local and had a wonderful time touring around and trying many foods that the locals enjoy.

The offerings on this tour were varied. For instance, the first stop was at the ferry terminal, where we tasted crunchy mango and pineapple with dried prune seasoning being sold by one of the vendors there. It was slightly tangy on the sweet fruit – something we never would have tried!

We then visited a roadside vendor who had fresh coconuts in a cooler and we drank fresh coconut water – a very popular and healthy drink that the locals enjoy.

We sampled many other Polynesian dishes including food truck specialties – chicken dumplings served with dijon, fish and pineapple pizza, breadfruit chips, chow mien noodle sandwiches, churros made with coconut flour and Nutella for dipping and homemade ice mango and pineapple sherbet.

There was also a stop at a great restaurant to try fried parrotfish, tuna poisson cru, coconut milk, mitihue (fermented coconut milk) and breadfruit that was stewed almost like a jam.

We love a good food tour like the ones we have done in Valletta or Galway and Bordeaux, and this was an exceptional experience (even though we were beyond stuffed when we finished) being able to try a variety of options that we would never have chosen ourselves. 

✅ Check out the tour we took – it was a fantastic day exploring the food scene on Moorea. We ate a lot but also learned so much at the same time.

3. Bask In The Light Of A Sunset Cruise

The sunsets in French Polynesia are spectacular. We saw many from nice restaurant locations along the coastline. However, there is nothing like seeing a sunset from the sundeck of a boat out on the water. 

One evening, we took a beautiful sunset cruise, being picked up from our accommodations around 3:30pm. We were transported to the water’s edge where we boarded a small boat to be taken out to our waiting catamaran.

Our Captain Leo took us on a wonderful tour through both Cook Bay and Opunohu Bay, where we had incredible views of the island from the water. And we were able to see some of the yachts sitting that were moored including a Windstar Cruises ship.

We also went out into the open water where he opened the sails up completely and we coasted along enjoying the beautiful weather of the evening.

As the sun was beginning to set, we re-entered the sheltered area of the bay, were served Mai Tai drinks and settled in for a wonderful sunset. Nearby there was even a boat playing live music so we were treated to that as well. It was a perfect evening.

✅ Want to have an awesome experience like we did? Click here for the exact tour we took with Captain Leo. It is a spectacular experience.

4. Swim And Snorkel With Rays And Sharks

Another very popular activity in Moorea is swimming with stingrays and sharks. This was included in our swimming with whales excursion. The area we visited was quite windy, making the water a little rougher. 

There were quite a few stingrays and tropical fish in the shallow water of the lagoon and one of our guides was very comfortable attracting the rays to him so you could have a good look and pat them.

Not sure if it was the day, but we thought the water was slightly better in the lagoon experience in Bora Bora. But if you aren’t going to Bora Bora, and you enjoy having a close encounter with wildlife, definitely check it out.

5. Relax At Coco Beach

For a fun day, make a reservation to visit Coco Beach. This is a beach club located on a motu (a small island in the lagoon) and is a very picturesque place to see.

You can only reach the private island by boat so you either need to get dropped off there from an excursion (like we did) or take the water taxi from their designated parking lot on the mainland. Be sure to make a reservation in advance and calling them is the best option.

Once you arrive, you are assigned a table with an umbrella and you can stay for as long as you like. There are stunning views to see, music to enjoy and the cold drinks are great. 

We also opted to enjoy a nice lunch of fish skewers and poisson cru. The food was cooked fresh onsite over large BBQs, and we were pleasantly surprised at how good it was, given the remoteness of this location.

We went for a refreshing swim in the lagoon, allowing us to cool off. But we also found that there was a lovely breeze and many trees on the islet so it was quite comfortable.

6. Visit The Best Viewpoints

Since Moorea is so mountainous there are some awesome viewpoints around the island. Here are two that you should try to visit:

Belvedere

The road up to this lookout is very bumpy and can only be done in a 4WD. And to be honest should be left to a professional driver since the road is not in good shape.

But if you do make it to the Belvedere lookout, it is an amazing place to see. From this location, you can see both Opanohu Bay and Cooks Bay, with Rotui Mountain in between. It is a wonderful spot to take in the lush surroundings.  When we visited, it was very serene and quiet (except for the roosters!)

Magic Mountain

If you are up for another very steep and even bumpier road, be sure to visit the summit of Magic Mountain.  This location provides extraordinary views of the valleys, mountains and the lagoon in the distance. In our opinion, it is one of the nicest spots to see on the island.

✅ We visited these two locations as part of a full-day island tour around Moorea and would highly recommend that you let a local handle the transportation.

7. Dine At Snack Mahana

If you are looking for an amazing lunchtime meal in a very relaxed atmosphere, then plan a visit to Snack Mahana. 

The location is very casual and located right on the water. We initially had a table by the water’s edge, but the day we were there was quite windy, so we moved to one of the cute cabin tables. The staff is friendly and very willing to make recommendations.

Our lunch of breaded mahi mahi in coconut milk was one of the best dishes we had on the island! Make sure you stop in here for a fantastic lunch, but keep in mind they are only open between 11:00am-3:00pm.

8. Learn About The Rotui Juice Factory

Visiting this location is really interesting. There is a self-guided tour through their manufacturing factory. They have created a raised platform that provides an overview vantage point of all the machinery used to make the products. There are also detailed placards that explain the harvesting of the fruits and the process of making the different combinations.

Then you can visit the store where there is a tasting bar. They offer tastes of their juices and alcohol. We tried several and ended up purchasing the popular Tahiti drink and Tahitian gin. So yummy!

9. Take A Ride On An ATV Tour

One of the more popular Moorea activities is taking an ATV tour. We didn’t have a chance to do this but heard from others that we met, that it was a fun excursion.

We certainly saw a lot of the ATVs on the road and, in particular, when we were up at the lookouts of Belvedere and Magic Mountain. This seems to be a great way to enjoy the interior areas of the island.

✅ Check out this popular tour with a state certified guide and have an awesome time exploring the interior of the island.

10. Enjoy The Beaches

You have your choice of several public beaches around the island. During our stay, we visited three to enjoy the beautiful warm waters of Moorea.

Temae Beach

This location has a long stretch of white sand and really gorgeous water. The edge has a considerable amount of coral, so keep that in mind and perhaps come with some water shoes to get yourself through the sharp parts. It is a nice shallow beach that is great for swimming.

The parking lot is set back from the beach, and you walk through a sandy park area to gain access to the beach.

Tipanier Beach

This location has a parking lot across the street and you need to access the beach through the Tipaniers Hotel. It is a smaller beach but very nice with a large sandbank.

Due to its proximity on the northwest side of the island, it is much more windy in this area. The wind attracts the kite surfers. We spent some time relaxing on the beach and watching the surfers gliding across the water and then lifting high into the air with flips. It was quite a sight to see.

Ta’ahiamanu

In our opinion, this was the nicest Moorea beach that we visited. It is well set up with ample parking across the street, washrooms, and showers. 

Once you walk past the accumulated seaweed at the water’s edge, the water is shallow and has beautiful white sand. We spent more than an hour just sitting in the extremely warm, turquoise water. It was perfect! You can venture out further where it gets deeper if you want to swim.

Then we sat on the beach under the shade of a palm tree, enjoying the view and breeze. 

11. Explore Cook Bay & Opunohu Bay

If you rent a car, we do recommend driving around the bays to see them not only from the overhead viewpoints but also to enjoy the scenery at ground level.

Driving through these areas, you see tall palm trees at the water’s edge and the large majestic mountains covered in lush greenery on the other side. The vistas out to the sea with the shimmering water really highlight what a beautiful island Moorea is.

12. Enjoy Nature While Hiking

There are several marked hiking trails in Moorea. With the mountainous terrain, there are a lot of options with the most popular trails centered around Belvedere. You can hike up to the lookout or you can start at the Belvedere parking lot and access Three Coco Pass (moderate) or Three Pines Trail (easy).

Since we are more leisure hikers, we attempted to hike to the Afareaitu waterfall, but after parking our vehicle for a fee demanded by a local man, we walked through a forested area for quite a while and found only a babbling brook at the end of the trail.

Upon returning to the car, we saw there what could be another path, but at this point, we were hot and decided to abandon the effort. 

✅ In hindsight, we probably should have hired an experienced guide to take us on some hikes. This five-star tour looks like a terrific option to get in some great hiking.

13. Play A Round Of Golf

Denis spent a morning golfing at the Moorea Green Pearl Golf Course.  The course combines several ocean holes on the front nine with mountain holes on the back offering incredible views out to the ocean.  

The rental clubs were quality Titleist A2 woods plus A1 irons and included a Scotty Cameron putter.  The greens and fairways were in superb condition with strategically placed white sand bunkers and highlighted by majestic palms.

Definitely a course he would come back to.

14. Check Out The Moorea Tropical Garden

A hidden gem, this garden is lush with many tropical plants and one of the interesting things to see is the vanilla greenhouse. It reminded us of the lush countryside of Nordeste in the Azores.

Above the garden is the family-run business offering wonderful jam tastings – we tried guava, mango, pineapple vanilla and banana coconut.  All were very tasty. And the location offers a lovely viewpoint of the island.

FAQs

Where To Stay

Moorea has a variety of accommodation options. Many luxury resorts offer an overwater bungalow experience such as Sofitel Kia Ora Moorea or the Hilton Moorea Lagoon Resort and Spa.

But some smaller resorts such as Manava Beach Resort which has some beautiful grounds, or even guest houses (where we chose to stay) can be more affordable.

Where To Eat

Our food experience in Moorea was exceptional. Here are some of the spots that we tried:

✦ For a great outdoor patio: The Moorea Beach Cafe has a nice location with an outdoor patio right on the water. Mostly serving local seafood and fish dishes with refreshing bottles of rose make for a lovely evening.

✦ For top notch dining: Check out Rudy’s. A more upscale dining experience including fish specialties and steaks. Make sure to try the parrot fish stuffed with crab – it was delicious!

✦ For a stunning sunset: Visit Le Sunset at the Hibiscus Hotel. Here we dined on the beachfront and watched a beautiful sunset over the lagoon. Our food of mahi mahi and shrimp cooked in vanilla sauce was excellent.

How To Get To Moorea

Moorea is easily accessible by plane. There are regular flights from the international airport in Tahiti (Papeete), or smaller flights from Bora Bora, Huahine, and Raiatea. We took an easy flight from Bora Bora.

The other option is to take the ferry to or from the island of Tahiti. This is what we did when leaving Moorea. It was a pleasant 30-minute trip and took us right into the Papeete port which is easy walking distance to downtown Papeete.

What Is The Best Month To Visit Moorea?

Moorea is most comfortable during the dry season so any month from May to October is ideal.

How Many Days Do You Need In Moorea?

We spent 10 days in Moorea, and it was a great mix of relaxation days, exploration of the island and many activities. It is quite a distance to travel there so spending at least 7 days would be recommended.

Is Moorea Worth Visiting?

If you are looking for a more authentic Polynesian experience, we highly recommend visiting Moorea. This island offers a lot of activities without being over-the-top commercial. We hope that Moorea will maintain its balance between being a wonderful tourist destination and a true natural paradise.

What Is Moorea Known For?

Moorea is known for its nice beaches, stunning scenery, and some wonderful activities. They are also known for having wonderful food that mixes French culture with a Polynesian twist.

What’s Better, Bora Bora or Moorea?

This question depends on what your priority is for your visit. If you are looking just to do water activities and enjoy the lagoon then Bora Bora offers a superior underwater experience.

But if you want to participate in a variety of activities, enjoy beautiful scenery, and eat more local food, then we would recommend Moorea. It is also less commercial unless you consider staying on the Bora Bora mainland rather than a motu.

The Final Word….Best Things To Do In Moorea French Polynesia

We hope we have inspired you to visit one of our favourite islands of French Polynesia. We think it is one of the best places to visit in the region for relaxation, a variety of available activities, terrific food and welcoming people. Be sure to add Moorea to your bucket list.