Backpack and Snorkel Travel Guide for the Best Snorkeling in Bora Bora - Bora Bora Best Snorkeling Purple Travel Guide
This Best Snorkeling in Bora Bora Travel Guide you tells you what you need to know about the best snorkeling spots in Bora Bora are and we show you photos of what you will see.
Table of contents
Why you should visit Bora Bora
Bora Bora has many wonderful beaches, but unfortunatley all but one are private beaches that you cannot access unless you stay at the particular resort that owns it.
The only public beach is Matira Beach.
Matira Beach has some wonderful snorkeling. If you join a lagoon tour, then you will get the opportunity to see lots of colorful fish and corals and to snorkel with sting rays and sharks.
Matira Beach in Bora Bora
Matira Beach is one of the best beaches in French Polynesia and in the world. It has two public beach access points. The southern access point (2) is the only one that most people seem to know about. The northern access point (1) is the preferred access for snorkeling.
1 = Matira Beach North
2 = Matira Beach South
3 = good snorkeling
4 = fantastic snorkeling
Snorkeling at Matira Beach North Access (1)
The best snorkeling can be found near the north access of Matira Beach. Get into the water and swim to the west for about 150 ft (50 m) and then away from the beach. You will soon see rocks and corals appear in the water. This is where you will find lots of colorful fish.
Snorkeling at Matira Beach South Access (2)
You will need to walk in the water or on the beach as far south as you can. The only good snorkeling here is at the underwater rocks near very southern tip of the main island from Bora Bora. The water here is not very deep, and the current can make the water a little hazy in some areas. Here you will see rocks, corals and colorful fish.
Lagoon Tour in Bora Bora
Bora Bora has many companies that offer lagoon tours. Some of them go only by boat and others add sightseeing in a tour bus or 4WD adventures. You should choose the tour depending on what your interests are.
Well, since my interest is primarily in snorkeling, we decided on a full day lagoon cruise operated by Lagoon Service Bora Bora.
Lagoon Service Bora Bora pick up their passengers at various docks on the islands or motus. In our case that was the dock at the Maitai Polynesia Hotel near Matira Beach.
The tour goes counterclockwise around the island visiting lots of beautiful spots with beautiful scenery and snorkeling. The ever-present turquoise waters and the traditional songs that the boat operator sings make this is fun cruise.
Besides the usual snorkeling stops where you can snorkel among lots of colorful fish and healthy and colorful corals, one of the highlights was snorkeling with probably 20 Blacktip Reef Sharks between Motu Tevairoa and Motu Ahuna.
A late lunch was served towards the end of the cruise near the southern tip of Motu Piti Aau. The buffet style food was plentiful and good and consisted of many different dishes including fish, chicken, beef and many different fruits and vegetables.
From the 3 lagoon cruises that we participated in in French Polynesia and the Cook Islands, this was the only cruise where the plates were made from palm leaves. What a wonderful idea. Like on the other cruises, we were taught how to open coconuts and what the individual parts of the coconut can be used for - for cooking and non-cooking purposes. They showed how to weave hats and the plates we used for lunch from coconut palm leaves.
Long story short: This was probably the best lagoon tour that we have participated in in French Polynesia and the Cook Islands.
What part of French Polynesia do you want to expolore now?
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