It’s a long way from the Hawaiian Islands to Tahiti if you are flying and even longer if you are arriving by cruise ship. Once we left Kauai, we traveled for 6 days across the pacific to the beautiful island nation of Tahiti.

Tahiti and Mo’orea, the two islands that we will be visiting, are part of the Society Islands of French Polynesia. The average daily temperature is 80° and the trade winds blow across the islands throughout the year. That’s what makes this such an amazing place to visit and snorkel.

We arrived in Pape’ete where we strolled through the town and then took the ferry over to the island of Mo’orea. This is where it gets a bit interesting in our visit to these islands.

The ship was spending one day in Pape’ete and one day in Mo’orea and we wanted as much snorkel time as we could get. So, after much research we booked a hotel on Mo’orea to spend the night and rejoin the ship a day later. You must get written permission from your cruise line BEFORE you board the ship. It’s an easy process but it MUST be done in advance.

So, once we cleared immigration and had our passports back in our possession, we were free to snorkel for the next 30 hours in Mo’orea.

Jeff found the ferry company online and bought tickets months ago. Electronic ticket, show it to the purser, step onto the ferry for the fast 30 minute ride, simple. Our hotel recommended a taxi company and she was waiting for us, sign in hand. Just 30 minutes later and we walked into our slice of paradise.

The Mo’orea Island Beach Hotel

The Mo’orea Island Beach Hotel checked all the boxes for us – leeward side of island, nice separate cabañas, literally a few steps to the beach, two more steps into the coral reef. And there we stayed; sting rays, all sorts of colorful fish, huge sea anemone, bright healthy coral, nice warm water and beautiful sunset to enjoy. Did I mention black-tipped reef sharks?

Tahitian Black Pearls

Tahiti is known for its cultured black pearl market. You can buy them in all shapes, sizes and prices from many locations around the island. We visited P.Originals and enjoyed a look around the store. No worries about the correct currency because everyone takes credit cards.