Tahiti Diving on Paul Gauguin

[tdallen]

I just returned from a 10 day cruise at the beginning of the month. We did a two tank dive at Taha'a with an outside operator, though arranged as an excursion through PG. The diving was quite good but not exceptional. We had a bunch of black tips follow us around like puppies. It takes a while because it's a 45+ minute ride on the dive boat from the private motu where PG moors to the dive site. I'd do it again but I'm not one for laying on the beach all day.

 

[AuroraB]

I have been debating whether to do that dive, or just stick with the coral garden drift snorkel in the morning.

Do you remember about what time it was when you got to back to the Motu? I don't want to lay on the beach ALL day, but some decent R&R in and a BBQ lunch sounds great!

 

[Altamira]

I have been debating whether to do that dive, or just stick with the coral garden drift snorkel in the morning.

Do you remember about what time it was when you got to back to the Motu? I don't want to lay on the beach ALL day, but some decent R&R in and a BBQ lunch sounds great! [/QUOTE

I would do the Coral Garden Drift snorkel, and then enjoy the rest of the day on the private island. On our PG stop in Taha'a a couple of years ago, we did the Coral Garden Drift Snorkel, with plenty of time to enjoy the beach BBQ, and then had a lot more time to snorkel from the beach. We don't like just laying on the beach either, and found our excursion snorkel, eat, explore the island, snorkel, and relax schedule pretty much used up the very enjoyable day. We would do the same thing on our next visit to Taha'a.

 

[Cali_diver]

I have been on the boat a few times. I agree with @Altamira ... do the snorkel and enjoy the BBQ on Taha'a. That was the best day of the trip and I am a hard core diver. On Moorea you will hopefully see Lemon sharks that are really amazing but the reef is trashed. Bora Bora we saw sharks, mantas and spotted eagle rays but viz can be problematic. On Bora Bora I would opt for a lagoon cruise and beach bbq. We snorkeled with sharks and sting rays (similar to Grand Cayman) on ours. The lagoon (although overtaken by over-the-water bungalows) is a beautiful sight.

The diving was horrible in Huahine... we did the tour and eels in river thing. It was ok.

 

[tdallen]

Do you remember about what time it was when you got to back to the Motu?

If I recall correctly it was an 8am start and 5 hour duration, so we got to the Motu around 1pm. That was in time for a late lunch, though things were winding down. The outside operator actually brought us directly to the Motu (and the PG folks picked up our gear at the dock). I'm not sure if that's standard, or just something they did for us.

The snorkel would make for a more relaxing day but you do get some time on the Motu if you dive.

 

[AuroraB]

Thanks! That pretty much settles it on what to do in Taha'a.

I think in Bora Bora we are going to do two dives one morning, and a snorkel/BBQ type day the second day.

Wish me luck weather wise - we are going in Feb

 

[AuroraB]

Also, this is my first trip away from my kids (7 and 3) where I get to plan what I want to do, which seems to have me stressing over the details way more than I normally would. Or maybe it is just because this stay at home mom is VERY excited for some time off! ha

 

[Altamira]

On Taha'a, there is a fairly narrow inlet separating your picnic area from another island to the west, with one end opening to the ocean area where the tender docks, and the other end to the breakers to the north. That is a fun area to snorkel with lots of juvenile fish, anemones, and small coral mounds attached to the rocks. We did not venture out past the breakers though because the water was pretty shallow, and did not need a trip to the ship's doctor to deal with coral cuts. You will have a blast, even if it rains a bit.
BTW, if you are interested, you can look at Google map, satellite view of Taha'a, and I think Motu Mahana is about 7000 ft east of the eastern tip of Motu Tehutu on the north atoll. PG's Motu Mahana is a smallish island just east of a larger kidney bean shaped island, and your motu has a small dock on the southwest tip of the island. We enjoyed the snorkeling on the west side of your motu.

 

[sjkoen]

I just returned from a 10 day cruise at the beginning of the month. We did a two tank dive at Taha'a with an outside operator, though arranged as an excursion through PG. The diving was quite good but not exceptional. We had a bunch of black tips follow us around like puppies. It takes a while because it's a 45+ minute ride on the dive boat from the private motu where PG moors to the dive site. I'd do it again but I'm not one for laying on the beach all day.

So, it's been a long time since you were there, but curious about the boat ride itself. We are choosing between a land tour of Taha'a and diving. The diving is with an outside operator and is 5 hours on the schedule, so sounds the same. What was the boat ride like - I've only done long boat rides like that in Palau and the scenery was spectacular and the boats comfy, so the long boat ride was part of the fun - curious if similar to your boat ride in Taha'a. thx