Ultimate tropical vacation guide to Moorea Island in French Polynesia. From snorkeling at resort hotels to swimming with whales and sharks. This has to be one of the dreamiest places on Earth.
Moorea Island is the little island 15 kilometers or so from Tahiti and part of the nation of French Polynesia. When we were booking lodging on Moorea, we were concerned that if we didnโt stay at the pricey resorts right on the lagoon, we wouldnโt have access to all the coral wonders. Now that weโve been here, we know thatโs not the case. There are numerous Air BnBs, hotels and cottages priced significantly cheaper than the resort and because of the many public beaches, a budget trip is in the cards.
HILTON MOOREA RESORT
At the Hilton Moorea resort you can stay in a dreamy bungalow right over the lagoon
for around $1200 a night. Or you can do like us and get the room right by a parking lot
for 450 bucks. Snorkeling right off the resort shore, we saw sharks, butterfly fish, batfish, boxfish and Moray eels. Plus tons of chromis, humbugs and wrassesโฆ The works!
The highlight at the Hilton though is the crepery over the water where guests devour
an assortment of delicious crepes while sharks make the rounds below. In our opinion, Sofitel Kia Ora Resort was much nicer and almost half the price. We go into that in the other video.
FARE CLUB HOLIDAY COTTAGE
To avoid filing chapter 11, we relocated to something a little more reasonable. Close to the beach and super relaxed bohemian vibe, the Fare Club Holiday Cottage was $140 a night. Our modest room came with a complimentary mosquito net and pit bull. Complimentary breakfast, of bread, jams, cereal and coffee is served in the local charm.
SWIMMING WITH SHARKS AND RAYS
Boating with a small group to a sandy island beach, we observed several breaching humpback whales. Along the way, our tour guide collecting random floating coconuts that would end up in our lunch. The boat ride was beautiful! On a white sandy shore we got to swim among peaceful rays and black tip reef sharks. On the nearby reef, we saw sunset wrasses, pinktail triggerfish, lagoon triggerfish, sailfin tangs, bristletooths, dasโcyllus and raccoon butterfly fish to name a few.
GOLD DUST DAY GECKOS (Phelsuma laticauda)
Moorea translates to โyellow lizard.โ The island was named after a yellowish nocturnal gecko that is common sticking to to walls and structure ridding the place of what bugs they can snag. A more recent colonizer to the island is the gold dust day gecko. These are originally from Madagascar but might have made their way to Moorea via Hawaii first. Day geckos have smaller eyes than their nocturnal cousins and like us have to turn their heads and look over their shoulders to make sure youโre not up to any mischief. This gives them the cutest little personality and a good bet why the video game Gex and GEICO insurance chose this species over their more mysterious seeming nocturnal cousins.
MOUNTAIN TOURS
To explore the majestic mountains of Moorea, there are ATV tours that caravan you to scenic overlooks, or you can rent a more quiet car like we did and go at your own pace. The iconic mountain with the hole through it is Mouโa Puta which means โpierced mountainโ in Tahitianโฆ
Something different in Spanish. For the hardcore climbers and hikers, there is a steep trail
up to the ridge. Beware of changing weather conditions! For the more hobbyist hikers like us, we recommend the 45 minute to 1 hour hike to the top of Magic Mountain. We paid a couple dollars to park at a little shop that sold snacks and nit knacks and hiked to the gorgeous overlook. If thereโs a point on the globe thatโs the farthest from noisy industrialization and air pollution, this might be itโฆ At least until the ATV tours arrive.
MUSIC CREDITS
Solo Ukulele by Spencer Schyma
โLa Maleโdiction de la Danse du Pouletโ โ by Pecos Hank
โPillBoxโ โ by Southern Backtones
โHow Did You Get To Be So Meanโ โ by Pecos Hank
Tahitian music recored live at Tiki Village
source
Hearing you laugh while underwater is delightful.
My dog tipped her head and pawed at my phone at the sound of the Whale's song.
It's so beautiful just get away from your normal chasing tornados.
Zoltar found the sea cucumber
thank you for sharing your travels and world experience with us ๐ your videos are always an exciting and fun time!!
Well shoot, Hank. I was going to fly out west to the Rockies next year, but after seeing this I might push it further one more year and do this instead.
great memories of cooks bay . we stayed 4 weeks on anchor there . great video Hank . thx for awaking great memories
Tornadoes + Vacation = A perfect life
Does the hotel come with the girl on the bed? Pecos Hank youโre a cool dude with an interesting life. Thank you for letting us see it.
Always a joy to be a part of your amazing picturesque adventures. Thank You for sharing all your qualities and talents with the world!
We loved your filming, Hank. Much love from my daughters and I ~Wendi๐บ๐บ๐บ
Nice vid, who was the girl he was with? Just wondering if it was a girlfriend or something.
what a change of awesomeness scenery…
That Dog Guide had the best job on the island hands and legs down… and never a complain whatsoever. Best Guide ever
dhhuuuude are you even real? this is what heaven must be like. ima go get my shit together and manage to go there, mark my words!
Such good vibes man, thank you so much for sharing this kind of content! Definitely puts a smile on my face ๐
Also the guide dog is awesome!
I sure do love animals
WARNING: Some scamming wanker is impersonating me in the comments saying "You won" trying to get people to follow them to Telegram. I would never do that, so please beware.
Another video from the man himself. Love you hank.
keep up the good work
If Warren Miller was into tornados, reptiles, and tropical travel.
Using the bad gate noise guitar for a non tornado video?
Watch some other videos on the same thing bro, they use dance/ pop music like to dance to ๐
This music feels like tikis dancing ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐
Man, that does not look anything like my home.
Amazing shots man
Beautiful! Your videos never disappointโฆ
It's 32ยฐF here today but this video warmed my spirit. Thank you Hank.
hell yes. I love Tornado videos but this is awesome too. Great production and editing bro. See ya back in North Texas one day.
Nicely done video, Hank and wife. ๐
And to think, the highlight of MY vacation vids was… FINDING the elusive sea cucumber ?? ๐
….. Now they're in the trash bin !! โน
"dovetailed with bs"….. classic!
Awesome video and awesome trip! What a paradise and the people are so friendly! Having a dog as a tour guide was precious and I know you guys appreciated it for what it was. Your wife is so beautiful and you make such a cute couple. Thank you for this awesome video! I love ๐ your content!!! ๐๐๐ฌ
A travel vlog? I thought you did volcanoes! Meh, I'll take it. LOL great video. thanks for sharing!
Awesome video hank! Did you end up catching the tornado outbreak on Nov 4th in Texas, Oklahoma ?
11:39 HAHAHAHAAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAHAA
yes
A true paradise! The landscape and the animals are amazing! Thanks for the tour!