Live aboards in Tahiti/FP
 

Hello, everyone, we have had such phenomenal help from people here for our Australia trip last summer, I thought I would ask about a possible trip we want to take to New Zealand and Tahiti/FP in 2006. We love to snorkel (in 50s and like to hike and lounge, too, but snorkeling is of A1 importance). In reading the Lonely Planet Diving and Snorkeling Guide to the area they mentioned live aboards as an option. Would that be a good choice for snorkel-only people? What about if one of the couple (me) gets sea sick if too wavy? We want to maximize the snorkeling and minimize the driving and transportation TO the snorkeling (one drawback to the Great Barrier Reef) but wouldn't want to go with divers if they didn't want us there or if they only went to deep sites. I searched for snorkeling and the areas and got some good posts, but no clear-cut reccs for best shore snorkeling. So, if the live-aboard wouldn't be a good choice, any other places to research?
Thanks for any help you can give us.
Sally and Randy in Seattle

There aren't that many live aboard options in French Polynesia, because most of the dive sites are close to shore. Most dive operators use relatively small boats to skip across the lagoon, then anchor or float along the reefs fringing each island. Trips to dive sites usually last less than a half-hour. The live aboard options usually involve trips between various islands in the Society Island chain. If you are prone to seasickness, I'd suggest staying inside the lagoons, where swells and waves are usually pretty minimal. Outside the reefs, you are in the open ocean, where strong swells can make even strong stomach squeamish.

My general experience has been that there are few sites in FP that are good for both snorkeling and diving. We had great fun snorkeling several shallow sites on Moorea and Bora Bora, but it would have been foolish to done SCUBA gear there. Likewise, many of the reef-diving sites were 20-30m deep, which is not suitable for decent viewing from the surface (you can certainly do it, but you won't see much).

It would be fine to be a snorkeler on a live aboard trip, but I would want some assurance that some of the sites were shallow enough for decent viewing.

Al from Seattle (well, Snohomish, anyway)

Hello, Sandy and Randy - I don't know whether you would be interested in this or not but there is a brand new freighter which is for passengers and freight. It sails through the Marquesas Islands stopping at 8 islands and beginning and ending in Tahiti. It has some staterooms with balconies and there is a swimming pool. I am doing one of their trips in October. It is called the Aranui and may be found at www.aranui.com. From what I have heard from people who have done the trip it is fantastic and the food is wonderful with free wine at lunch and dinner. There is, besides island activities (visiting villages and hiking) snorkeling which I am most interested in doing. I can't say how good or how much but you might give their website a look. My travel agent actually got me a complete package including air, greeting, hotel, transportation and a very reasonable insurance coverage. Let me know if you would like her name. Louise (from Bellingham).

Yes, the Aranui is great, but it not at all new. Paul Theroux wrote about it in his, "Happy Isles of Oceania" book in '92.

Alf - the one in service now is the Aranui 3 and is new. I think last year was the first time out.