Mo’orea was the second stop on our trip to French Polynesia. Having spend 4 days in Tahiti where there is traffic and lots of people, Mo’orea was instantly a different vibe. We stayed in Mo’orea the longest and absolutely loved it.
If you missed my other posts on French Polynesia, you can find them here:
- How to Travel to French Polynesia in 2020
- A Perfect Day Trip to Tetiaroa Atoll
- How to Spend 3 Days in Tahiti
How to Get to Mo’orea
If you are coming from Tahiti (Pape’ete specifically), then hop on the ferry’s that run between the islands! There are several ferry companies. One for just foot passengers and one that is a car ferry.
- Terevau is the foot ferry and is definitely cheaper to use.
- We used Aremiti because we rented a car from the Fa’a Airport and planned to use it for both Tahiti and Mo’orea. It cost us about $160 round trip. You have to book a car ticket. Be sure to choose the correct length of your car as well as a round trip ticket for each passenger.
Mo’orea is definitely an island that you will want to have your own car to get around. I did a bit of research and was glad we got our car at the Fa’a Airport. There is typically more inventory available there.
Where to Eat & Drink
1. Eat a giant burger from Fare La Canadienne Burger House Moorea. This is a burger house that is Canadian inspired. You can’t go wrong with any of their burgers. Their poutine wasn’t my favorite because it was more of a spaghetti meat sauce rather than gravy, but you may enjoy it.
2. Eat some BBQ skewers from Manuia Grill. This is a great spot that you would probably drive past and not think twice, but you need to eat here! They give you enough food in one entree to feed two people. I highly recommend the pork and shrimp plate with rice and collared greens!
3. Get crepes from Carameline. We got some amazing coconut iced coffees and a ham and cheese crepe. They both were delicious.
4. Get burgers and salads from Moz Cafe. This spot has some good views from their balcony! They also have some solid burgers and salads. I got a cobb and it was delish!
5. If you want a fancy French dinner, eat at Rudy’s. This was probably one of our more expensive meals, however, it was worth it! Not only is the owner, Rudy, very passionate about his restaurant, but he personally stopped by each table and asked how we were! Overall ambiance is great.
6. Get some pizza and beer from Allo Pizza. This spot has some very unique pizza flavors. We tried a white sauce pizza with mushrooms and it was so good! We even had leftovers that we enjoyed later. This is a little drive up spot with outdoor seating.
7. Get some snacks and alcohol from the Champion grocery store. There are a few grocery stores on the island, but we found this one was the biggest, cleanest and was very close to the ferry.
8. Get a tour and do juice and rum tasting at Manutea Tahiti. This spot features a bunch of amazing juices and rums that you can sample and purchase. We did a quick tasting and left with a bottle of rum and a banana vanilla juice! The banana vanilla juice ended up being a great mixer in the rum.
9. If you want a good fish burger, stop by the A l’Heure du Sud food stand. It was probably one of the best fish burgers I have ever had!
Things to Do and See
10. Stop at the Toatea lookout. If you choose to drive around the whole island you will end up driving past this lookout. It has a great viewpoint of the overwater bungalows at the Sofitel Resort.
11. Hang out at Tema’e public beach. There are a few public beaches on the island, however, this one is used by locals and sort of hidden. If you continue just past the Toatea lookout, there will be a turn off to a dirt road. That is also where our Airbnb happened to be!
12. Stay at this amazing Airbnb guest house (they have cute dogs!). I don’t know about you, but dogs make everything better. We spent 5 amazing days at a guest house on a family’s property. The guest house is super clean and they have a great lanai complete with a dining table and lounge bed (we spent a lot of time reading here). The family leaves you alone, there is a privacy fence and you even have access to a private beach, which a few houses have access to.
13. Play a round at Golf de Moorea Green Pearl. I chose to sleep in this day, but my husband enjoyed an early round of golf here. He said it was a fun course! I definitely recommend you play early as the sun and humidity can make it pretty miserable after 11AM.
14. Learn about coral conservation from the Coral Gardeners. This is an awesome organization that I found out via a Pinterest article. You can stop by during their business hours to learn more about their mission to help coral continue to thrive. During non pandemic times, you can even go plant coral. Still want to help? You can actually adopt a coral that they will plant for you!
15. Drive to the Belvedere Lookout. You will definitely need a car for this. It is a winding road, sometimes one lane all the way to the top of a peak where you get some amazing views of Mo’orea. This is a must do and can be a 30 minute detour off the main road.
17. Hang out at Hotel Les Tipaniers beach. This ended up being a hidden gem for us. We hung out here two different days. They have a great beach restaurant as well as a few different water sport rental huts. We rented a kayak one of the days and then relaxed on the beach the rest of the time.
18. Check out Hauru Public Beach. This one was less crowded, but also a lot less beach space for people to hang out at. Majority of this spot is a park with lots of grass space.
We chose to not spend all our time in a resort while in Mo’orea and I am glad we did. There is so much beauty and great places to eat here. Have you been to Mo’orea? What did we miss that we should visit next time?
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