Suggestions for Bora Bora and Moorea

[aimeee021]

I am from California but living in Moorea. I live across the street from the Pearl resort and love the hotel. I just visited their dive office this weekend and although I have yet to dive with them I was happy with the amount of sites/packages they offer and the husband/wife operators were very helpful.

If you want to do over the water bungalows there are only four hotels on the island that off these: Pearl Resort, Hilton (just changed from being the Sheraton in January), Intercontinental Resort, and the Sofitel. They all have pluses and minuses depending on what you want. I would say that the Pearl Resort is the closest to any town/shopping area. If you will be buying your own food, a shopping center is about a 5 minute walk (compared to a drive from the others.) Although it is still very nice, I would say it has the 'simplest' ambiance out of the four. Next would be the Hilton and then the Intercontinental and Sofitel are the nicest. I'm sure you've seen pics online but that's just my opinion. They all have their personal (usually man made) beaches but the Sofitel is right next to the major public beach for the island (Temae). Personally I like the Pearl Resort best because if you are getting over water bungalows they will all be very similar--But with the Pearl you have a little more 'action' around the hotel (it is still incredibly peaceful but anything you need would be in walking distance) and it is the only hotel with free wifi (only available in the bar). But like I said--depends on what you are looking for.

As far as dive operations go--I believe that all dive operations on Moorea have been bought out by Top Dive (I could be wrong but this is what I heard). All major hotels have a dive operation so there really won't be much difference between them, I suspect. Hope some of this helps-have a great trip here.

 

[aimeee021]

Xxxxx

 

[mickeyroi]

Nice. I am also going to both Moorea and Bora Bora in less than three weeks (same time than the person who placed the original post). He/she was also asking about dive operators in Bora Bora also, but I don't think anyone had any suggestions ... anyone?

Michael

 

[jpassov]

I was in Bora Bora in Nov. 2007. We stayed at the Sofitel Motu in an overwater bungalow. It was an amazing experience. I did 3 days of diving with Nemo World. They seemed very good, but keep in mind I am still a newbie and don't have much to compare them to.
NEMO WORLD BORA BORA | BORA DIVING CENTER
I ended up buying the DVD of the dives I did. Not cheap, but worth it!
If you are into seeing sharks, this is the place for you! There were tons of black tips, lemon, reef, white tips and some others as well. We also saw an enormous manta ray.
The water is so calm and clear. Very beautiful.

 

[SandyUT]

TopDive is world class. I would use them anytime I could. Great boats and great divemasters. I rented all my gear from them as well and everything was great. I had some once in a lifetime experinces with them. Check them out.

I was staying at the Bora Bora Lagoon resort and they were there promptly everymorning to pick me up!

 

[mickeyroi]

Thanks, I am staying at Sofitel Motu over the water as well.

I've now read good things about both Nemo World and TopDive (and I have a feeling that they are the only two outfits on the island). TopDive is a bit more expensive but looks like a larger operation. I guess I'll just play it by ear when I get there.

Thanks again!

Michael

 

[jpassov]

Michael,
you will have such an incredible time. If you can, try to reserve Bungalow # 128 or 129.
You can book all your dives right from the hotel desk. They can set up everything for you. Diving, Restaurants, excursions, etc. No matter who you use you will still take the boat from the Motu over to the main island. Nemo is just a short walk along the beach.
If you have a chance, sign up for the 4x4 jeep tour. You will not be sorry. It offers the best views you can possibly imagine. You can't get up that high any other way.

Have a great time!

 

[mickeyroi]

Thanks, I'm counting the days!!!

 

[TSandM]

We used Top Dive in Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora and Rangiroa, and were happy with them everywhere except Moorea. Not only did we have issues with the dive staff (trying to rush us into the water before we had finished gearing up and doing checks) but they had had a serious accident two weeks before on one of their boats, and had done nothing to their procedures to try to prevent it from happening again. I know this because the person who got hurt was one of our best friends, and she was injured trying to get back on an unattended boat -- and they were still running the boat unattended two weeks later. I didn't like that.

The dive was okay, but heavily focused on shark feeding dives. Rangiroa was MUCH better, and were I to go back to the South Pacific, that's where I'd head. The reef is much healthier, more colorful and vibrant, and there is no comparison on the number of fish.

 

[mickeyroi]

Interesting, thanks. Safety is always a concern, especially when my wife is involved. I was actually leaning towards them because they offer a 10 dive package that can be used across islands (great for hoppers), but now I'm rethinking that.

Any other tips welcome