Ferry, Moorea

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They say it takes 7 minutes to fly from Papeete to Moorea and vice versa but why would you fly if its only 30 minutes on the ferry and is alot cheaper.
The ferry even holds cars. You can drive right on to the ferry with your car. The ferry cost about $9 so it is very affordable.

Ferries sail to Moorea several times a day from early morning to late afternoon from Gallieni Quay, Papeete, on the main island of Tahiti. There are a few ferry companies operating on the route - we just turned up at the dock and took the first one to leave.

If you go on the weekend you'll be with many Tahitians travelling to Moorea to, amazingly, 'get away from it all'.

The sea can be a little choppy at times, so it may not be the most comfortable journey. Our trip to Moorea was OK, apart from the smell from the engines, but it was quite choppy on the return journey.

Several ferries that run between Tahiti and Moora. The options are: the slow car-ferry that takes over an hour, or the passenger jet-cat takes around 40 minutes.

Both ferry's leave at around the same time, and there is usually several hours between each service. Therefore it is worth checking the timetable before walking to the terminal with bags in the tropical heat.

Getting to Moorea from Papeete is extraordinarily simple. There are a few different ferries making the crossing, and there is no need for an advance reservation. Just walk down to the Papeete waterfront, buy a ticket, and hop on when the next ferry leaves. The schedule is such that you will probably not have to wait too long for a ferry to take you over, especially if you do not require space for a vehicle. Between all the ferries, there were approximately ten crossings a day at the time of my visit. My ticket on one of the passengers-only ferries cost CFP 800. If you choose to take one of the ferries that can accomodate vehicles, the charge is CFP 700 plus CFP 2000 per vehicle.

There are several boats that leave to/from Moorea to Papeete (Papeete is the capital of Tahiti) a few times a day.

Unfortunately they all seem to depart at virtually the same time, so if you miss a boat, you can have several hours wait for the next one, so make sure you know what times the boats leave in advance and get there early as they depart promptly - they don't work on Tahitian time (i.e. late!).

From memory, the boat is around £5 (less than $10 US) for a single to Tahiti (returns are double), which actually maks it quite good value by Polynesian standards!

There are different ferry services between Tahiti and Moorea.

Moorea Express
This is a fast catamaran with a crossing time of 30 minutes.
Fare: 954 CFP (8 EUR)
Reservations: Papeete 82 47 47 / Moorea 56 43 43
www.mooreaferry.pf

Moorea Ferry
This is a car ferry with a crossing time of 60 minutes
Fare: 848 CFP (7 EUR)
Reservations: Papeete 82 47 47 / Moorea 56 34 34

Aremiti 4
This is a comfortable air-conditioned catamaran with a crossing time of 30 minutes.
Fare: 1060 CFP (8.9 EUR)
Reservations: Papeete: 50 57 57 / Moorea: 56 31 10

Aremiti Ferry
This is a catamaran that transports cars, big trucks and construction equipment and up to 500 passengers. The crossing time is 60 minutes.
Fare: 1060 CFP (8.9 EUR)
Reservations: Papeete: 50 57 57 / Moorea: 56 31 10

The Ferry terminals are located in Vaiare, on the east side of the island. You will find public telephones, car rental agencies, taxi service, toilets, fruit stands and snack bars.
Public ground transportation is provided by buses or le truck, waiting in front of the terminals upon the arrival of the catamaran and ferries.
Make sure you get on the right bus because one bus goes in the direction of Cook's bay and the other goes the opposite way in the direction of Haapiti. You pay the driver 300 CFP (2.5 EUR) before boarding, and pull the cord, ring the bell or holler "stop" when you want to get off.

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The ferry from Tahiti to Moorea leaves every hour or two (depending on the season), costs about $50 and takes an hour.

From the port area, many small ferries and catamarans are ready to take you to/from Moorea / Papeete.

The cat's make the trip in about 30 minutes and cost about 5 CFP.