shore excursions raiatea

THE 10 BEST Raiatea Shore Excursions

Shore excursions in raiatea.

• Cultural Tours
• Ports of Call Tours
• Sightseeing Tours
• Archaeology Tours
• Private Tours
• Hop-On Hop-Off Tours
• Historical & Heritage Tours
• Shopping Tours
• Walking Tours
• Multi-day Tours
• Photography Tours
• Self-Guided Tours & Rentals
• Up to 1 hour
• 1 to 4 hours
• 4 hours to 1 day
• 5.0 of 5 bubbles
• 4.0 of 5 bubbles & up
• 3.0 of 5 bubbles & up
• 2.0 of 5 bubbles & up
• Likely to Sell Out
• Special Offers
• The ranking of tours, activities, and experiences available on Tripadvisor is determined by several factors including the revenue generated by Tripadvisor from these bookings, the frequency of user clicks, and the volume and quality of customer reviews. Occasionally, newly listed offerings may be prioritized and appear higher in the list. The specific placement of these new listings may vary.

1. 5 Hours Tahiti Island Tour - West and East Coast

2. Private Island Tour

3. ARE TOURS an authentic Polynesian experience

4. 1/2 day Tahaa coral garden - departure Raiatea / ideal for cruise passengers

5. Unique Tahiti Tour - personalised, small group west coast tour

6. Unique Tahiti tour to Teahupoo, small group, full day combo tour

7. Discovering the emblematic sites of Tahiti

8. Tahaa Excursion in Electric Paddle Snorkeling Coral Garden

9. Enjoy snorkeling with our multicolors fishes in TAHAA FAMOUS CORAL GARDEN

10. Tahiti Half Day Coastal Private Tour

11. 1/2 day "Treasures of Raiatea" by boat - ideal for cruise passengers

12. 3 Hour JetSki Excursion around Taha'a

13. Tour Tahiti in Private

14. One Day Cruise and Catamaran Excursion

15. The Vanilla tour of Taha'a in a comfortable outrigger canoe

16. V.I.P Boat Trip in Tahaa and Raiatea

17. Amazing attractions of Tahiti charming island – Private half day circle tour

18. 2-hour discovery by jetski in the lagoon of Raiatea and Taha'a

19. Half day excursion Tahaa - departure Raiatea / ideal cruise line

20. Private tour from Raiatea - 1/2 day excursion to Tahaa or other

21. Tahiti Full Day Private Coastal Tour

22. Private full day tour around Tahiti: the island's nature wonders

23. 6-Hour JetSki Excursion around Raiatea

24. 6-Hour JetSki Excursion around Taha'a

25. Private sunset on Blue Lagoon

26. 2 Days and 1 Night in Catamaran on Raïatea and Tahaa

27. Snorkeling with underwater scooter in Taha’a lagoon from Raiatea

What travellers are saying.

RAIATEA EXCURSION

Tours and private charters in raiatea, french polynesia, choose your raiatea excursion.

• Hour Glass 3 Hours
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RAIATEA PRIVATE CULTURAL IMMERSION

Embark on a journey of awe and wonder on this Private Cultural Tour in Raiatea, French Polynesia! Step into a mesmerizing panorama and go on an unforgettable odyssey, retracing the footsteps of our ancestors as you navigate your way through breathtaking landscapes.

• Hour Glass 2 Hours

RAIATEA PRIVATE SUNSET CHILL

Get ready to explore the fascinating myths and geology behind the creation of these volcanic masses and their history. Your cruise will start from Uturoa Wharf and take you past Tapioi Mountain. You’ll sail through the only channel that connects two islands in the same lagoon in French Polynesia.

• Hour Glass 6 Hours

FULL DAY PRIVATE EXCURSION WITH LUNCH

Explore the northern and western lagoon of the island formerly known as Havaiki. Marvel at stunning views of Tahaa and Raiatea plus the legendary Temehani plateau and the beautiful valleys around. Go on a scenic cruise & soak in the natural wonders of this enchanting destination.

RAIATEA CULTURAL IMMERSION

Embark on our covered motored boat and hear the fascinating story of our “Sacred Island”.

RAIATEA SUNSET TOUR

Embark on our covered motored boat on a blissful cruise of the lagoon between the twin islands of Raiatea and Tahaa under the colors of the setting sun.

• User Ages 12+

RAIATEA FULL DAY EXCURSION WITH LUNCH

Climb aboard a covered motorboat and cruise the northern and western lagoon of the island once called Havaiki. Enjoy breathtaking views of Tahaa and Raiatea, including the mythical Temehani plateau and its surrounding valleys.

RAIATEA REEF DISCOVERY TOUR

Our naturalist guide will take you on an educative and thrilling adventure where you will discover the coral reef’s ecosystem, its origins, its composition and its evolution.

RAIATEA PRIVATE LAGOON FISHING EXPERIENCE

Embark on our motored boat for a fishing adventure in the lagoon of our “Sacred Island”. Our fishing guide takes you on an exclusive mission, the hunt for reef fishes!

PARADISE IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC!

Escape to Raiatea, a tropical sanctuary in French Polynesia. Immerse yourself in pristine beaches, lush rainforests, and vibrant coral reefs.

Experience the enchanting culture, explore ancient temples, and indulge in the warm hospitality. Raiatea awaits, where paradise becomes your reality!

• MOST POPULAR!

RAIATEA PRIVATE REEF DISCOVERY TOUR

Discover the mesmerizing underwater world of Raiatea with a thrilling snorkeling trip. Dive into crystal-clear waters, witness vibrant coral reefs, and encounter tropical marine life. An unforgettable adventure awaits in French Polynesia’s aquatic paradise.

Looking for more experiences in French Polynesia?

Check out our tour company, Moana Adventure Tours , in Bora Bora!

Our outrigger canoe

Discover “Blue Lagoon” our wonderful aluminum outrigger canoe. An atypical boat built in Raiatea, born from a subtle blend of tradition and modernism. With its trampoline above the water and its comfortable lounges, it is your best choice to contemplate the wonders of Raiatea or Tahaa.

Located in the center of the Polynesian triangle and having the singularity of sharing the same lagoon, these sister islands are known for their wild beauty and breathtaking landscapes.

Get onboard the “Blue Lagoon”!

Your Captain

Jimmy, experienced captain and local boy, will have the pleasure of being your guide for a memorable experience aboard “Blue Lagoon”.

During the day or at sunset, head for Raiatea “the sacred island” or Tahaa “the vanilla island” to guarantee you unforgettable memories.

Note that a second captain and/or a hostess will sometimes be on board to provide you with top-of-the-range service.

Get ready to explore !

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THE 10 BEST Raiatea Tours & Excursions

Tours in raiatea.

• Cultural Tours
• Ports of Call Tours
• Sightseeing Tours
• Archaeology Tours
• Private Tours
• Hop-On Hop-Off Tours
• Historical & Heritage Tours
• Shopping Tours
• Walking Tours
• Multi-day Tours
• Photography Tours
• Self-Guided Tours & Rentals
• Up to 1 hour
• 1 to 4 hours
• 4 hours to 1 day
• 5.0 of 5 bubbles
• 4.0 of 5 bubbles & up
• 3.0 of 5 bubbles & up
• 2.0 of 5 bubbles & up
• Likely to Sell Out
• Special Offers
• The ranking of tours, activities, and experiences available on Tripadvisor is determined by several factors including the revenue generated by Tripadvisor from these bookings, the frequency of user clicks, and the volume and quality of customer reviews. Occasionally, newly listed offerings may be prioritized and appear higher in the list. The specific placement of these new listings may vary.

1. 5 Hours Tahiti Island Tour - West and East Coast

2. Private Island Tour

3. ARE TOURS an authentic Polynesian experience

4. 1/2 day Tahaa coral garden - departure Raiatea / ideal for cruise passengers

5. Unique Tahiti Tour - personalised, small group west coast tour

6. Unique Tahiti tour to Teahupoo, small group, full day combo tour

7. The Tahaa Lagoon Tour in Full Day

8. Discovering the emblematic sites of Tahiti

9. Guided sunset cruise on Raiatea Lagoon

10. Tahaa Excursion in Electric Paddle Snorkeling Coral Garden

11. Enjoy snorkeling with our multicolors fishes in TAHAA FAMOUS CORAL GARDEN

12. Tahiti Half Day Coastal Private Tour

13. 1/2 day "Treasures of Raiatea" by boat - ideal for cruise passengers

14. 3 Hour JetSki Excursion around Taha'a

15. Tour Tahiti in Private

16. One Day Cruise and Catamaran Excursion

17. The Vanilla tour of Taha'a in a comfortable outrigger canoe

18. Apetahi day trip around Raiatea on a modern outrigger canoe

19. V.I.P Boat Trip in Tahaa and Raiatea

20. Amazing attractions of Tahiti charming island – Private half day circle tour

21. 2-hour discovery by jetski in the lagoon of Raiatea and Taha'a

22. Guided tour of the island of Tahaa with Revanui Excursions

23. Private flight, in a light plane over the Polynesian motus from Raiatea

24. Half day excursion Tahaa - departure Raiatea / ideal cruise line

25. Private tour from Raiatea - 1/2 day excursion to Tahaa or other

26. Shuttle beach to Motu Ofetaro Island Special cruise ships

27. Tahiti Full Day Private Coastal Tour

28. Private full day tour around Tahiti: the island's nature wonders

29. Private and guided visit to Mystery House Raiatea

30. 6-Hour JetSki Excursion around Raiatea

What travellers are saying.

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Raiatea, Society Islands, French Polynesia

Most first-time visitors to French Polynesia end up on one of the three best-known Society Islands: Tahiti, Moorea and Bora-Bora. And repeat visitors often head to the Tuamotu Archipelago or the Marquesas Islands, to scuba dive, seek out traditional Polynesian culture or learn about the cultivation of Tahitian black pearls. One of the sleepier Society Islands, Raiatea—located adjacent to Tahaa and within viewing distance of Bora-Bora—offers travelers all those things and more.

Cruise lines have discovered the quiet allure of Raiatea, French Polynesia’s second-largest island, home to a flower so rare it grows nowhere else on Earth. Its landscape is dramatic and mountainous—its tallest peak tops ‎1,000 meters (3,330 feet)—fitting for a place whose name means "faraway heaven." Tahitians consider this their sacred island, and a journey here will take you to sites associated with legends and lore. But adventure seekers will also find plenty of outdoor activities, including hiking, kayaking, diving and exploring by horseback, while shoppers can browse a handful of shops and the daily market in the port of Uturoa.

Featured Shore Excursions

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Cruise Etiquette: How To Get the Most Out of Shore Excursions

By Scott Laird

All products featured on Condé Nast Traveler are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Cruising is an efficient means of travel, allowing you to tick off multiple bucket-list destinations in one fell swoop. However, that means you might only spend about 8 hours in each port (although more and more cruises are staying in ports overnight .)

To make the most of their limited time on the ground, many passengers book cruise shore excursions : multi-hour tours and activities organized specifically for cruise passengers at the port of call. Typical cruise line excursions have long featured bus tours—with stops for shopping and photo opps—but have recently grown to include a diverse range of activities for all types of travelers.

Active passengers can go on a fishing excursion in Alaska (and some cruise lines, like Princess and Holland America , cook and serve the fish they catch), while the culinary-minded might learn how to grind cacao beans into chocolate and pair it with wine in Cozumel. Relaxation seekers might choose a day trip to an all-inclusive resort in Roatán, Honduras where they can lay on the beach, sipping drinks from the open bar–that is, if they’d rather not go ziplining or play a round of golf, also excursions offered in Roatán.

Of course, passengers can always go off on their own–but new-to-cruisers should note that not all ports are convenient for self-exploration, particularly if the cruise terminal is far from local attractions.

There are two ways cruise passengers can book shore excursions: directly through the cruise line or with independent tour operators based at the port. Below, we break down the pros and cons of each option, when paying for a shore excursion makes sense, plus other expert tips on how cruise-goers can best organize their time on shore.

When to book your shore excursions through the cruise line

Cruise lines have entire teams dedicated to selecting a diverse array of high-quality shore excursions vetted to ensure they meet the line’s defined standards. But cruise lines are also known to add markups to their excursions—many of which tour operators also sell directly to travelers at a lower cost.

The main benefit of booking a shore excursion directly through the cruise line is convenience. Cruise line-offered excursions are charged directly to shipboard accounts, can typically be changed or canceled up to a day prior to the excursion, and offer a seamless experience: passengers are escorted off the ship when the excursion is ready to depart, and tour leaders on shore maintain contact with the shore excursion team onboard the ship to communicate any changes or delays.

Anxious travelers have good reason to fear delays on shore; passengers on private excursions who don’t board by the ship by the “all aboard” time can be left behind at the pier. But when the cruise line arranges the excursion, the ship won’t depart until the group returns. Earlier this year, staff on a NCL ship refused to board late-returning passengers, stranding them on a remote island in West Africa. The group of ten passengers who missed their ship were on a private excursion, a fact that NCL pointed to as a reason for initially refusing to reimburse any of the expenses they incurred to rejoin the ship at a later port.

Condé Nast Traveler Top Travel Specialist Tom Baker , president of CruiseCenter, says that cruise lines play on passengers’ fear of missing the ship to sell their own excursions at higher costs. Approximately 40% of Baker’s clients elect to book private excursions instead of cruise line offered excursions, he says, adding that he’s never had a passenger on those tours miss the ship.

But in some ports, booking a group excursion through the cruise line is the best option. Many big-ship cruises, especially in the Mediterranean , dock in ports that are located several hours away from popular tourist sites.For example, passengers on ships docking in Civitavecchia (for Rome ) or Le Havre (for Paris ) will find themselves a 1.5 to 3 hour drive away from their respective cities—meaning if you try to make the lengthy trip on your own, there's a higher chance of missing the cruise ship’s departure time. Even some coastal cities, like Barcelona and Marseille, have sprawling industrial ports that may appear close to the main attractions, but in reality, they are not quite walkable or easily accessible from the ship.

On a recent cruise aboard the new Sun Princess , an excursion to Florence proved to be an all-day affair. The ship was docked 2 hours away from Florence in the port town of La Spezia; our tour bus greeted us immediately upon disembarking, ready to whisk us off to Pisa and Florence . It was a fulfilling, jam-packed day, with several hours spent in the bus watching the Tuscan countryside. But, pulling off this carefully planed itinerary required precision—we arrived back to the port just before the lines were cast off for departure. Any delay would have compromised a timely return to the ship, and knowing that the ship would have waited certainly provided me with peace of mind.

However, most cruise ports don’t require such lengthy transit times. For example, port calls on smaller Caribbean islands where the excursion lengths are just a fraction of the ship’s overall time in port, the need for precision arrivals and departures is simply less necessary.

First time cruisers who are still getting adjusted to the rhythm of cruise travel may benefit from booking a shore excursion through the cruise line at the first port in order to get accustomed to the process. A trusted travel advisor can be invaluable in figuring out which ports are better for structured tours, and which walkable ports are best for exploring on foot.

How to plan a personalized shore excursion

A main complaint surrounding cruise line shore excursions is that, due to their size (the average excursion group on a large ship is around 30-50 people), the tours don’t feel personalized and can often be held up by stragglers. On larger ships, there’s a definite “mass travel” experience: passengers are given color coded stickers to wear before being herded into a public area, where they’re escorted off the ship to rows of waiting buses. For independent-minded travelers, this alone can be off-putting.

By Jessica Puckett

By Devra Ferst

By Chris Dong

By Melissa Liebling-Goldberg

However, the size—and type—of shore excursions vary by cruise line. Just as expedition cruises , river cruises , and luxury small ship lines offer different experiences at sea compared to large ship brands, the same goes for the shoreside experience. Before booking, you can check to see the specific excursions that will be offered on your voyage on the cruise line’s website.

While you can expect intimate excursion groups on small ships, some larger cruise lines also offer more personalized alternatives. Celebrity Cruise passengers can book tailored excursions through the line’s Private Journeys program; and Oceania Cruises also offers Oceania Exclusive excursions, which limits groups to 16 passengers.

For those seeking a highly-personalized experience on shore, another option is to book a private excursion with a tour operator or through a travel specialist. Top cruise specialists like Mary Jean Tully can tap a network of trusted guides in each port to tailor shore excursions to her guests’ preferences.

“We always encourage people to do something privately whenever possible,” Tully says, adding that she recommends booking a private car instead of a bus tour if flexibility is what you're after, as they can stop on a moment’s notice if travelers see something of interest.

Regardless of the type of shore excursion booked, don’t forget to take identification, cash, and most importantly, contact information for the cruise line’s port agent—they’re the local contact who can alert the ship if any emergencies or delays arise on shore. Cruise lines typically publish the port agent’s contact details in the daily program; some even hand out cards with the information or display it on monitors so passengers can take pictures with their smartphones.

In any case, the most important thing to ensure a successful shore excursion is to make it back to the ship on time, to look forward to enjoying the next day in the next port.

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Shore Excursion Details

Opoa & taputapuatea, raiatea, french polynesia.

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• 3 1/2 hrs Estimate Duration

Delve deeply into the ancient origins of the Polynesian culture at a sacred national monument in the village of Opoa.

On the way, you will first pause at an aquatic farm to see how exquisite pearls at cultivated in the turquoise seas surrounding Raiatea. It makes a wonderful prelude to visiting Marae Taputapuatea, a holy communal site on the coast where Polynesians held religious and social ceremonies long before missionaries arrived. As you peruse the stone-paved platforms and shrines, the guide will elaborate on the significance of this particular marae, which UNESCO declared an esteemed World Heritage site.

HIGHLIGHTS • Observe how pearls are cultivated in the surrounding turquoise seas. • Visit a sacred World Heritage site where ancient Polynesians held religious ceremonies. • Stop by a local residence to see how the homeowner grows vanilla plants.

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• 3 Challenging