Whale Watching Moorea
Moorea, French Polynesia
- 3 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
What's Included
- Drinks (water and fruit juices served on board)
- Hydrophone (listen to singing whales !)
- Reef safe sunblock
- towels
- Sea sickness medicine
- Snacks
- Restrooms
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- MOOREA EXPEDITIONFrench Polynesia
Follow Google map instructions. We have a large road sign with "Coco Beach restaurant" and "Whale watching"
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.What To Expect
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Infant seats available
- Not recommended for travelers with back problems
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Most travelers can participate
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 12 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
We booked in last minute and since our son is under 12, we booked this non-swimming option for a discount rate. Nonetheless it worths every penny and time spent! The guide Louis and the whole crew were so knowledgable and informative for us. We saw 2 groups of whales and 4 jumps. It was such a magnificent view! The guys booked swimming option were able to see jumping in front of them in the water. Louis took video and kindly shared with us. A must tour when visiting the island, recommend to everyone.
Reviews
3.7
based on 23 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
So exciting to see humpback whales in the wild. Marine biologist and captain explained what to look for and what to expect. Felt safe.
Note this review doesn’t apply to the staff (friendly, knowledgeable) or the SWIMMING tour.
But - we would not recommend at all booking a whale watching tour from this operator, as the description “watching only tour” is extremely misleading. You will end up on the same boat as swimmers. And the boat is going to optimize for exactly that : they will chase sleeping or static whales, as those ones can be easily approached by swimmers. Those whales are sleeping underwater, meaning you’ll see nothing from the boat. See some whales moving, jumping, playing in the distance? Too bad, we’re not going to follow them, as they are not the right whales for swimmers. Having the 2 groups mixed on the same boat was just a super frustrating experience. They should have separate boats for separate experiences.
The weather was not good and still they continued with the boat trip . There was no option to return back unless there was an emergency according to the captain.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Robert,
Thank you for taking the time to review your experience.
Weather was as normal as it gets at this time of the year. No one complained on board at all besides you, especially once you were told that the tour your booked was a non swimming tour (just watching from the boat). You were on a shared tour with other people who enjoyed watching the many whales present that day.
We cannot penalize those enjoying the tour for someone whose ocean conditions is not to their liking.
We wondered if we would see whales since sometimes people don’t see them on excursions. We saw 2 sets of mom and calf as well as a male. My husband and I signed up for a non-swimming ticket because neither of us were prepared for open ocean swimming. Our view was from the boat, quite a distance from the whales, and it was still thrilling to see them! There were others in our boat who swam near the whales. We plan to return to Moorea to do this again!
When I booked this experience I contacted Viator to check the max capacity for this trip/boat and was told six. As a family of 5 we were happy with max one other person being on the boat so booked. There was another 6 people on the boat when we arrived. It was not clear from the description that the other people on the boat are swimming with whales. We would never have booked had we known this. It was a whale swimming trip which we’d paid to watch a load of strangers do.
It was like booking an airplane tour and then being on a plane where everyone else was skydiving. Yes, you still get a nice view but miss the whole point of being there.
Had I just misread, that’s one thing but I contacted to Viator first to confirm and clarify. Very disappointing and wouldn’t trust them again to deliver what they advertise.
Response from Host, Aug 2025
Hello Gemma,
The poor rating you gave us has clearly nothing to do with us since you are complaining about Viator who might have mislead you... we are not Viator. It would have been nice to rate us for the experience we gave you, all the whales you were able to observe and our crew's professionalism.
Have a great day,
Team Moorea Expedition
Guide was very good. Captain urinated off the back of the boat with my wife sitting next to me. The captain could make an effort to be more friendly. Whale experience was very good. Cort
We booked in last minute and since our son is under 12, we booked this non-swimming option for a discount rate. Nonetheless it worths every penny and time spent! The guide Louis and the whole crew were so knowledgable and informative for us. We saw 2 groups of whales and 4 jumps. It was such a magnificent view! The guys booked swimming option were able to see jumping in front of them in the water. Louis took video and kindly shared with us. A must tour when visiting the island, recommend to everyone.
C’était génial, le guide était super et le capitaine aussi. On a vu les baleines, la plongée était top pour ceux qui ont pu plonger avec elles. Quelle chance. Merci, inoubliable
Insgesamt waren 4 Pärchen mit an Bord. Schon mal irreführend war der Satz, "Waalbeobachtung,Nicht schwimmen ", da erstaunlicher Weise 3 Paare schon mit Badebekleidung an Bord kamen. Für uns natürlich blöde, da wir extra keine Badebekleidung mitgenommen hatten, da wir auf Beobachtungen ja eingestellt waren. Leider sahen wir aber keine Waale in den 4 Stunden Bootsfahrt. Aus welchen Gründen auch immer, wurde jetzt mit aller Macht weit raus auf dem Südpazifik gefahren, wo das Meer schon erheblich Tobte, um Waale zu sehen. Mit an Bord waren 2 kl. Kinder ca. 6 Jahre alt. Uns war es unverständlich, das der Kapitän keine Sicherheitswesten anlegen lies, den Eltern war es anscheinend egal, wohl gemerkt, das Boot bekam Schlagseiten und wir mussten uns extrem festhalten. Es dauerte nicht lange, und es übergaben sich 4 Mann an Bord heftig. Das war aber den Kapitän und den Guide anscheinend völlig egal und es ging weiter raus auf hoher See.
Mit den Getränken an Board war auch nur ein Fake, Es gab nur zögerlich für die, die erbrochen haben ein Schluck Wasser zum Mund ausspülen. Wir hatten den Eindruck, der Kapitän und der Guide hatten ihr Spaß dabei, man konnte das Lächeln leider auch beobachten, während sich die anderen Übergeben hatten.
Am Ende waren wir froh, heil von diesem Kahn zu kommen.
Eine Abzocke hoch 15!!!
Un capitaine au top; un maître nageur (il gère le gars) qui vous fait vivre un moment rare. Il est ferré sur les baleines à bosse et possède une grande connaissance de la faune locale. La mise à l'eau est uniquement autorisée aux enfants de > 13 ans qui savent bien manger (très physique).
Petit bateau sans toilette ..
Merci infiniment pour cette très belle journée. Je recommande vivement.
Nonostante avessimo mal di mare e avessi un attacco di panico non ci hanno né aiutato né ripostati indietro perché c’erano altri viaggiatori che facevano snorkeling. Sono quasi svenuta ma a loro non importava nulla
Response from Host, Aug 2025
Sara,
You booked an ocean boat tour and you are subject to seasickness … maybe not the wiser decision.
We gave a clear briefing at the beginning of the tour that if anyone is subject to seasickness they can be dropped back off. Once the tour has started and we are far from our base looking for whales we are not going back if someone is seasick as it is not an emergency situation. We couldn’t penalize everyone else because you were uncomfortable on a boat in the ocean. Our crew cared and checked on you often. They even dropped you back off an hour early when they were closer to our base and went on with the tour with the other passengers. They did their best to accommodate you but they didn’t stop the excursion because you were seasick.
Member Pricing
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$134.05
per personWas $141.11(-5%)
up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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Whale Watching Moorea
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