Snorkeling in Moorea and Bora Bora in September 2024

By Pauli Mahoney

We just returned from a trip to French Polynesia. We spent a fantastic 10 days snorkeling in Moorea and Bora Bora in September 2024. We stayed at the Sofitel Kia Ora Moorea Beach Resort and the Intercontinental Bora Bora Le Moana Resort, both because they were both located near the best snorkeling areas. We snorkeled everyday, early and late in the day. I used a DJI Osmo Action 4 camera that I thought was better than my GoPro for true colors.

Snorkeling in Moorea

The Sofitel in Moorea had the best snorkeling on the island, with great coral, anemones, colorful clams, fish and rays right under our over water bungalow, and we could jump right in and snorkel all over.

It is also located right next to Temae Beach which shares the protected bay. So, we would walk barefoot north up the white sand beach to one of the coral reefs, which extended from the beach and out to the reef break, and get in the water to ride the current, which flows south, back to our bungalow.

We saw blacktip sharks and barracuda along the way. Not to mention, the most beautiful purple coral of all different shades. We also saw lots of sea anemones too, and tons of tropical fish. We loved the black and white clownfish. The most bizarre thing I saw were these little yellow and purple anemones that would retract fast into the coral when I got close.

In Moorea we took two excursions. Alex Lagoon Tour took us to a shallow sandbar where we swam with tons of blacktip sharks and sting rays. That was fun. He also pulled us on a ski rope over coral areas where we saw lots of turtles. That was really funny and fun! We also saw and swam with spotted eagle rays.

The other excursion was a whale tour with Moorea EcoTour Cata Manu. We swam with the humpback whales and that was a dream come true for me. It was done in such a beautiful and respectful way, and the guide Maire has what they call “mana” which is a sense of where the whales are located. We saw lots of whales, babies, and males fighting. It was incredible! The whales are only there from August-October.

Snorkeling in Bora Bora

In Bora Bora, the Intercontinental Le Moana is located next to good snorkeling, and the rooms are over white sand. Although the best snorkeling can only be accessed by boat. But near the hotel, you have to walk west, from the hotel, on the beach about 100 feet to get into the water to snorkel over 20 feet depth of giant coral mountains. There is a boat dock that separates it. There were not a lot of snorkelers there so the fish were friendly. We saw lots of puffer and box fish. And I swam with three spotted eagle rays there. The coral wasn’t as colorful as Moorea though.

We took two snorkel excursions in Bora Bora and both were fantastic! The first was with Lagoon Services and we went to three different snorkel spots. One was in the open ocean, deep blue sea, where we swam with tons of blacktip sharks. Then off to the coral gardens and that was great fun too. Saw lots of fish, but coral not as colorful. This garden is famous for its “I Love Bora Bora” rock sign on the ocean floor. It was crowded with people.

The next day, we went with Reef Discovery to three different locations and this was the most amazing experience of my snorkeling life! We swam with manta rays at their cleaning station. We saw five rays and they were big. The female was nine feet across. It was magical how they swam with each other, and would come up close.

Then off to a beautiful coral garden that was colorful with anemones, coral and fish. And we saw a tiny seahorse, which was yellow. And lastly, we went to an area of deep water, but within the lagoon, where we swam with hundreds of spotted eagle rays!

Our guide drove over to the area, looking for a ray to surface, and when he saw a flip of its wing, he said “jump in now!” So we put on our fins fast and got in the water to see the most incredible vision ever! Layers of spotted eagle rays swimming in concert with each other, like flocks of birds. Going in patterns of curves around us. (Picture at the top of the page.) This was a dream come true for me!

Our French Polynesia Snorkeling Recommendation

Going on boat snorkel excursion tours is a must in French Polynesia because it’s the only way to see the bigger creatures and some of the isolated coral gardens. Which means, there are usually other people in the water as well, from other boats. That didn’t bother us at all. But thankfully, there is snorkeling in Moorea and Bora Bora off the beaches as well.

We look forward to going back! It was beautiful and we loved the lagoons that are protected by motu’s around the islands, which made snorkeling accessible all the time throughout the day.