Does anyone know if there are water taxis available at Uturoa’s pier to take you out to any of the motu’s, and then pick you up later? I was reading Jan Prices new Tahiti book and she mentions this. Just wanted to see if anyone had done this and how much it was. Does the ship provide any type of transportation to a motu?
I also saw where Europcar rents boats with 6-horse power engines. Has anyone ever done this on Raiatea? Is the area small enough so our 4 hour cruise does not turn into Gilligan’s Island (LOL)?

Lisa

There used to be a "transfer to motu" excursion, but it appears to be gone, wish it was still there, I'd do it for sure.

I'm betting if you ask over at tahiti-explorer.com, on the boards, you can get an answer about tours from the dock. I'll also look in my guide book at home, which is a different one.

I couldn't imagine renting a motor boat unless you were really experienced with boating in that kind of environment. Easy to ground yourself in a reef!

Thanks Wendy for the suggestion on the other board. I just like this board so much more! I also wish they provided a transport to a motu, since Raietea does not seem to have any beaches per say.

Here is a picture from the Europcar Raitea web page. When they say they rent more than just cars, I guess they really mean it.

I just looked at this and thought, how much trouble could we get into...any thoughts?

Thanks,
Lisa

I'm hoping that Wes will chime in here when he sees this thread. I think that the "Clear Kayak Safari to Motu Ofetaro" from Raiatea is new this year. I'm pretty sure that you did not do this, but did you talk with anyone who did? What did they think of it? Are they real strict about the weight issue? What if one person weighs right about 200 pounds but the other is 70 or more pounds less than that? My husband is interested in this but I doubt if I have enough upper body strength for "strenuous paddling". We may sign up for it and then need to talk with the water sports people to get an assessment of if we are fit enough for it.

I'm worried about that one too, Kathy. I had wanted to do it, but thought I would do it by myself. But they advise against that.

I have no experience kayaking, but I know how to handle a canoe, so thought it would be okay. But the "strenuous" part has put me off too.

On the subject of renting a boat, I could not find anything in my "Hidden Tahiti" guidebook. I really suggest you try www-tahiti-explorer.com. They are a nice bunch of people, and there are some experts on FP who participate in the forums.