FRENCH POLYNESIA (2025)
More photos and videos can be viewed on my SmugMug site at lorrainehornby.smugmug.com
When
Late August through early September.
What
Swimming with humpback whales, snorkeling with stingrays and reef sharks, floating through coral gardens, and other wonderful experiences.
My primary reason for this trip was to be in the ocean with humpback whales. On Mo’orea I went on four whale swim excursions (three full days and one half-day), which were organized by Yuri Awanohara (who was the tour leader for the guided segment of my trip to Japan in the fall of 2024). If you are interested in Yuri’s travel consulting for French Polynesia or Japan, please visit her website. You can also check out her Instagram.
Where
A couple of days on Tahiti, then 10 days on Mo’orea.
Good To Know
These are just a few of my travel tips. I have no affiliation with any of the services or resources for which I provide links—it is simply to share what I learned when I was planning my trip.
Communicating
English and French are widely spoken. I only managed to learn three words in Polynesian:
Ia Orana (yah-oh-RAH-nah): “hello” or “welcome”
Mauruuru (mah-ROO-roo): “thank you”
Manuia (MAH-nu-EE-ah): “cheers!”
Staying Connected
I used a Vini eSim on this trip. In Europe and Japan I had very good experiences with Airalo, but I had been advised by Yuri that it did not work well in French Polynesia, so I did more research and chose a local service provider. It worked perfectly for me on both Tahiti and Mo’orea. My bed-and-breakfast on Tahiti and my AirBnB on Moorea had decent WiFi.
Money
You will need local currency. Some restaurants were cash only, as well as most taxis. I always order some local currency from my bank before I leave on foreign travels, it’s one less thing to deal with when I’ve just landed in a new country.
Transportation
I rented a car on Tahiti and took it on the ferry to Mo’orea. You should reserve your car in advance as supply is limited (it is even more limited if you require an automatic). If you are taking a car on the ferry, you should also reserve the spot for the car in advance. Public transportation is limited, and taxis are very expensive. I returned my rental car the night before I flew out, because I had an early flight and needed to check in before the car rental office opened. I stayed in a hotel that was less than a 10 minute drive from the airport, and the fare was about $25 USD.
Navigating
Traffic in Papeete is congested and the scooter drivers are aggressive - they will come at you from all directions. The rest of the island is easy, there is one main road that circumnavigates Tahiti, and the roads are generally in good condition.
On Mo’orea, there is also one ring road, and the pace is slow and easy.
Climate
It will be hot and humid. Being in the southern hemisphere, it was winter when I was there in August and early September. But it was still hot and humid, and I made sure I rented places with air conditioning, because I am a weather wimp when it comes to hot & humid.
On Tahiti
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Papeete Market
Imported items, such as a baseball cap (which I was looking for because I had forgotten to bring my hat with me this day) are ridiculously expensive ($90 USD!!!). Yet stunning arrangements of tropical flowers are only $25 or $30 USD. How I wished I could bring one home!
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Museum of Tahiti and Its Islands
Located near Papeete, this small museum is beautifully designed and thoughtfully curated. Don’t miss wandering around the inner courtyard, where there is a lovely garden.
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Tahiti Art Moahi
This local artisan shop prints traditional designs on fabrics, which are then used to make clothing and decorative items (such as lampshades).
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Teahupoo Wave
This was the site of the 2024 Olympic surfing competition. What I wish I had known before driving out there is that you can barely see the wave from shore. You must hire a boat taxi to take you out to look at it. Which I did not do, because I had not allowed time for such an activity.
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Vaipahi Water Gardens
This is a small garden you can wander around at street level, and there is a loop hike which climbs in elevation. The trail is not too bad, but it is muddy and slippery and quite steep in places.
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View of Mo'orea
In the Vaipahi Water Gardens, I only hiked to the first panoramic viewpoint. And was rewarded with this sight!
First whale swim, August 26, 2025.
Later that afternoon….
After spending the morning out in the ocean and having my first encounter with humpback whales, I took a snorkeling tour with Alex Lagoon Tours. We stopped at four spots. The first was a channel where we saw sea turtles, the second was a coral garden, the third was a well-known sandbar inside the lagoon heavily populated with stingrays and black tip reef sharks, and the fourth was another coral garden.
Stingrays and Reef Sharks. If the stingrays approach you, it’s OK to touch them, but never try to touch the sharks! The man seen at the end of the video is Alex, our guide for the afternoon.
On Mo’orea
Humpback whales migrate to Moorea between August and November, to mate and give birth. The island is surrounded by a marine protected area, and the government has strict regulations governing interactions with the whales. A limited number of permits are issued each year and in 2025 that number was reduced. Other regulations included:
boats are not allowed within a 100 meter radius of the whales
only three boats at any given time can approach to 100 meters - others which arrive in the area must wait further out until a boat leaves.
each boat can have a maximum of six swimmers plus a guide, and swimmers must stay on the surface (no freediving).
A few humpback whale facts:
Adults are 45 to 60 feet in length and weigh around 30 to 40 tons.
Their fins are about 15 feet long.
Humpbacks feed on krill. They stock up in the cold waters of Antartica, then migrate to the warmer waters of French Polynesia to give birth. However, the warmer waters do not provide them with a food source, so they do not eat during this time.
Males “singers” vocalize complex songs. These songs can last 10–20 minutes and are repeated for hours, likely to attract females or establish dominance with other males.