5 Must Do Things in Moorea, French Polynesia
My husband and I got the opportunity to explore the beautiful island of Moorea, French Polynesia on your honeymoon, and there are definitely some items of interest that I wanted to share with anyone who is planning visit to this beautiful island. So here goes!
If you are staying at one of the big resorts, you will most likely not need a car. You have plenty of stuff to do at the resort and most of the tour companies will pick you up from your hotel dock; however, I still think it was an amazing experience to rent a car for 1 day. First off, it was super easy to do. If you are staying at one of the big resorts, they concierge can call and make the arraignments for you, but you can do it on your own too. I recommend checking in with Albert Tours (https://albert-transport.net/) to see if they have any cars available the day you want to go because they have the best prices and will pick you up and drop you off at your hotel. My husband and I rented the car so we could drive around the entire island at our own pace. There are tons of 4-wheeler tour trips on Moorea, but honestly, my husband and I are not that in to stuff like that. Instead, we preferred to drive around the island in the comfortable, air-conditioned car. It was great because we could pull off the road and take pictures wherever we wanted and just enjoy the relaxed pace.
My husband and I are not big morning people, but we have learned over our travels, that sometimes, the feel of a place and change in the blink of an eye, and it can be worth missing out on a little shut eye to get some places early and have them all to yourself. We definitely found that to be the case with Belvedere Lookout. We honestly got lucky that we got there when we did. The rental car we had needed to be returned mid-day, so we had to get an early start. I honestly didn’t know what to expect from the road up to Belvedere Lookout because I had watched all these travel videos where people were riding 4-wheelers up there and it looked like it might be a super intense, hard-core road. In actuality, it’s a pretty short drive up there (maybe 30 minutes tops) and the road, while fairly narrow, is well paved an easily drivable even in a small car. When we got up to the top of the road at Belvedere Lookout, there were only a couple of other people there and we got to enjoy the super peaceful time on the lookout, take pictures, and having a romantic lookout view. As we were ready to leave, the 4-wheelers were beginning to roll on up to the lookout. In the space of about 5 minutes, the lookout went from a quiet, peaceful place to a rumbling metropolis swarming with 4-wheelers ready to take their Instagram-worthy pictures.
. Don’t miss this place. The food was fabulous, but honestly, the food wasn’t even the best part of the place. The restaurant has a nice patio seating right on the water, and sharks and sting rays come right up to the side of the restaurant in the super shallow, 2 foot high water. It’s amazing- getting to eat delicious food, and getting to enjoy watching the sharks. If you are staying at one of the big resorts, they have designated times when they will pickup for dinner; however, we have also found that you can just give them a call and ask them to pick you up, and they seemed happy to do so if you were a little flexible on your pickup time. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g297570-d1500299-Reviews-or10-Restaurant_Te_Honu_Iti-Cook_s_Bay_Moorea_Society_Islands.html
This was something my husband and I decided to do the last night we where in Moorea, and boy were we glad that we did. The tour picks you up and drops you off at the resort dock and goes to the two bays on Moorea, You get to watch the sunset, sail out in the open ocean, and get to enjoy a Mai Tai. I can’t think of a better way to enjoy an evening on your island vacation! https://www.viator.com/tours/Moorea/Moorea-Sunset-Cruise-on-a-Sailing-Catamaran-named-Taboo/d5182-70711P7
Sadly, we did not go during the right season for the whale watching tour, so we didn’t go; however, we heard from our sailing guide that the whale watching tour is super great and they always see whales. Okay, he said always at first, but then he clarified that it is not always, but super often! He told us that the whales calf in the bay so it you can predictably find them there with baby in tow during certain seasons.