Tahiti/Moorea - SUP friendly spots?

[kayadogg]

Hi All,

Heading to Tahiti in a week, specifically the island of Moorea. I found a thread on here started by Blane back when he was active but that thread was from 2009 plus it was Blane and he was there with locals so his experience will be very different than mine. Just curious if anyone has SUP surfed any of the breaks on Moorea. Traveling with the wife and it's not a dedicated surf trip but still hoping to get out for a day or two.

Any advice from anyone that has been here would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

[Quickbeam]

Hi kayadogg,

Sorry, I don’t know anything about the surf spots on Moorea. But I was at a Club Med on Moorea many, many years ago. I have some very fond memories of Moorea. Is a beautiful spot.

I remember one excursion I did where we took a 70 foot sail boat and went out to the atoll of “Tetiaroa”, which I believe Marlon Brando either owned or had a part ownership in. Was breathtakingly beautiful. And if I remember correctly, this was if not the first, one of the first times I snorkeled.

Have a great time on your trip, and please post some kind of trip report. I’d love to hear what the island is like now.

[TallDude]

Well....... It's a beautiful and quiet.... Island. A place to hangout and read a book or snorkel. Awesome snorkeling! Surf.....not. My wife and I were there 29 years ago for our honeymoon. At the time there were only 3 hotels. It looks like there are about 5 now. Moorea see's as many tourist in a year, as Waikiki see's in a day. It's a sleepy island with 99% local residence. The perimeter reef pretty much blocks all the surf. Someone told me there was one spot that where there is surf but no one would let on where. We stayed at the Manava Resort which used to be the Bali Hai Hotel and Resort. There is a French Hotel ( Intercontinental Resort ) where they will reluctantly speak to you in english:) There they rent jetski's. They have a little dock and some strips of bay where the reef is deeper so you can jet ski back and forth in that area. At low tide boats can get stuck out in the reef.
Everything there, as far as bikes and boats is usually in poor condition due to the lack of repair persons and supplies. In fact very few stores. A the few stores there are have limited hours. We rode some rented beach cruisers half way around the island. At that time only some of the island was paved. We only got passed by maybe 3 or 4 cars and a motorcycle the whole time. The free wheels were locked up and the brakes didn't work, so the were like riding fixie cruisers. We broke 3 of the hotels pin pong balls (my wife kills it), so they banned us from the ping pong table. They said it takes 2 to 3 months to get anything onto the island, so they couldn't risk loosing any more balls. There's only a small prop plane airport, and a small commercial dock (I wouldn't call it a port) to get anything on the island.
I searched for windsurfing gear because I was big into windsurfing back then. I saw one guy out and asked the hotel manager if he knew were I could find a rental? He said, not on this island. That guy is a resident, and that is he own private equipment. "Bora Bora has everything, you probably should have gone there if you were looking for activities like surfing and windsurfing". Once I got into the Mai Tai's, snorkeling, and local music it was awesome. Bring a book and chill big time.... You and Kristin will have a great time. My wife and I were sitting in a hammock stretched between to palm trees in the evening. The locals were playing music in the distance. The moon glistened across the still water. Lights shined dimly from the over water bungalows. I though to myself, this is the magic of the south pacific.   

[PonoBill]

Never been there but I researched it intensively--because I wanna go. First, Moorea is about an hour from Tahiti by ferry, so if you're not happy with the breaks on Moorea then there's that. I have ADHD, sitting in a hammock with a MaiTai is good for 40 minutes. There are actually a fair number of well-known reef breaks on Moorea, magic seaweed lists four, most of them near where a freshwater stream enters the ocean and kills the coral. But ALL the water that goes over the reef in that area comes back out the trough. Nice for getting out and for making the waves pitch, bad if you want to get back to shore. Every review I've read says get a guide.

Same for Tahiti, more or less.

[kayadogg]

Thanks Matt, appreciate the input. Regardless of how the surf pans out, looking forward to some warmer weather.

Thanks Pono, same thing I discovered when doing research. Already in conversation with a local guy that provides SUP tours/rentals for tourists but is willing to rent out his personal surf SUPs to people that he "screens".

We're planning on spending at least a day or 2 on Tahiti, on either the front or back end of the trip since we fly in and out of there.

[supthecreek]

Sounds like fun Johhny, I am glad to hear you and Kristen are going to get some tropical bliss after this nasty, endless winter!

Soak it up! 🏝🏄‍♂️😎

[Caribsurf]

The best things about SUPs is being able to explore outer reefs.  I do it all the time in the Caribbean and sometimes you get lucky and score waves..other times you just have a leisurely nice paddle.  Either way it's worth a look

I have surfed outer breaks that proner's would never consider or give a chance and weren't written up in surf guides or websites. 

sounds like a dream trip...have fun.

[kayadogg]

Sounds like fun Johhny, I am glad to hear you and Kristen are going to get some tropical bliss after this nasty, endless winter!

Soak it up! 🏝🏄‍♂️😎

Thanks Rick, the trip is really good timing with this extended winter bullshit lately. I was spreading fertilizer in the yard 3 days ago while it was snowing 

Enjoy your trip to Thailand, can't wait to see some pics and hear how it was.... if you ever come back, that is.

[4shore]

Iorana Kayadogg!
Was there with 1st mate in Nov 2015-  I was brandnew to SUP at that time but now fully hooked-   Here's quick thoughts- (gotta get back to ding repair/fun with glass - pulling on wetsuit tomorrow!)
Go to Les Tipaniers Hotel.  On their beach is a rental hut with Kayaks and (at that time) polyethylene SUPs.  You can do w or w/o wife.  (strongly recommend former)  From there you can paddle 3 motus - hit Coco Beach Bar,  go to Sharkie and Ray's hang (4-500 yards to right, in the channel)    Think paddleboarding in a stocked aquarium in tropical paradise or if heaven has paddleboards and kayaks...   For the kayaking, bring a cooler- (my heaven has cold Hinano)    Also recommend the Beach Bar Restaurant at Les Tip 3-4 hour lunch, when in France...   

Here's a few added thoughts:
Snack Mahana - Best Poisson Cru -winner in my personal quest to find best  - Surf spot out from Snack M beyond reef
Black Tip Sharkie is like a dog - (I wouldnt pet a Lemon)
See the Southern Cross
Temae Beach (near airport) has great snorkeling - head way out
Opunohoe Bay-    World class paddling scenery - you can get outside reef here
Red Right Returning - hmm?  French nav rules apply
wish I had paid more attention to high school French
Hilton has a nice over water restaurant - excellent crepes,
Te Honu Iti - chef Roger rules
Moorea Beach Cafe-  also very nice for dinner
Hinano Girl:  she gets around but tell her I still love her and will return
Whales:  think you are too early but look around
If you're on the water at sunrise and still find yourself craving an OC-1 at sunset, you might be going native

Wow, have a blast, catch waves and when you're out there just take a moment and soak it all in.   

[APPST_Paddle]

So, out of curiosity if you do to go to Tahiti or Bora Bora, where do you go for surf? Do you have to have a boat/guide for reef passes like in Fiji or are there beachbreaks?