Bora Bora Lagoon Tour Operators Compared

Picks by traveler

• First visit: Lagoon Service’s full day with a motu lunch, from $174 with 5.0 from 1,699 Viator reviews. The same day is on GetYourGuide as the Full-Day Tour with Islet Lunch and Lagoon Swim, from $170 with 4.7 from 127 reviews.
• Small group: H2O’s half-day snorkeling tour, from $130.
• No feeding, in writing: Tohora, booked direct, or Moana’s eco snorkel cruise, from $113 (on GetYourGuide as the Eco Shark and Snorkeling Safari, from $108 with 4.7 from 192 reviews).
• Mantas: Tohora’s morning trips, or a scuba dive at Anau.
• Family-run small group: Rohivai’s Half-Day Lagoon Safari, from $113 with 4.9 from 263 GetYourGuide reviews.
• Budget half day: Lagoon Service’s Half-Day Small-Group Lagoon Cruise with Snorkeling, from $136 with 5.0 from 202 Viator reviews, or Manu’s half day with fruit on Motu Fanfan, from $106 with 4.9 from 44 Viator reviews.
• Cruise passengers: the Reef Discovery half day, which leaves within walking distance of the tenders, or Maohi Nui, whose staff meet the tenders. Always leave a buffer; our cruise shore excursions guide explains the timings.
• Private or honeymoon: Vitamin Sea’s private 46 ft catamaran, booked direct, or Moana’s Outrigger Canoe Snorkel Cruise with BBQ Island Lunch, from $282, adults only and capped at six couples.
• Do it yourself: a La Plage self-drive boat.
• Culture: Narii’s cultural lagoon tour or Maohi Nui.
• Lagoon and land in one day: Vavau’s lagoon cruise and 4WD combo, from $159 with 4.7 from 218 Viator reviews.

The operators in detail

Lagoon Service Bora Bora: the default choice

Based at Résidence Haamaire in Vaitape, Lagoon Service is often described as the island’s largest tour operator. Its shared tours on motorized Polynesian outrigger canoes take no more than 12 guests. The full day runs six hours and includes a Polynesian buffet on the company’s motu, with snorkel gear, towels, drinks and hotel pickup.

• Range: half and full days, private and luxury outriggers (the luxury boat adds a hammock, hand shower and sun deck), sunset cruises, a Tahitian earth-oven “Signature” lunch, jet-ski and dive combos.
• What reviewers love: ukulele-playing guides who sing on the way home, the motu lunch, and guides who get in the water with you.
• What some complain about: occasional tired snorkel gear and variation between boats. A small number of strongly negative recent reviews exist, so read the latest before booking.
• Direct or platform: Lagoon Service’s own terms refund 90% if you cancel more than 48 hours ahead and charge 50% inside 48 hours. Its Viator and GetYourGuide listings offer free cancellation up to 24 hours before.

Our Bora Bora lagoon tours compared page sets this day against the other full days.

H2O Bora Bora: the small-group snorkel specialist

A small family company in Vaitape that runs snorkeling and scuba. Shared boats carry no more than 6 according to Tahiti Tourisme, or “never more than 7” according to H2O’s own site. It skips the shallow shark and ray sandbank because, it says, animals there are drawn in artificially by feeding.

• Formats: the 3.5-hour half day, a 7-hour full day, and one dive plus two snorkel stops, which suits a couple where only one partner dives. The half day is also on GetYourGuide as the Small Group Snorkeling Boat Tour with Pickup, from $129 with 5.0 from 18 reviews.
• Strengths: manta and eagle-ray stops, small groups, timing that suits cruise passengers.
• Note: trip photos are sold separately, and you must be able to climb the boat ladder on your own.

Reef Discovery: the half day with the most reviews

The Reef Discovery half day runs 3.5 hours from $136 per person, with guides who get in the water and fins included. Reviewers mention manta rays, eagle rays and a large coral garden. For cruise passengers it leaves within walking distance of the tenders, though it gives no refund if you miss the tour because your ship arrives late.

Tohora Bora Bora: the ethical choice

Run by guide Simon from Anau. It says: “By ethical choice, we do not practice shark feeding or ray feeding.”

• Format: a half-day snorkel of about 3.5 hours with three stops (mantas, eagle rays, coral garden), maximum 6 guests.
• Whales: one of the few authorized whale-watching operators in Bora Bora during the official season (20 July to 20 November). Swimming with whales needs good fitness.
• Booking: its GetYourGuide listing has no reviews yet, so book direct.
• Caveat: not wheelchair accessible.

Rohivai Tours: the family-run favorite

Operates from Pointe Taahana in Matira. Its roots go back to 1982, when Robert Tinorua of Pension Robert & Tina started canoe excursions. His daughter Tina and her husband Ringo founded Rohivai in 2000, and the Bora Bora Experience company took over management in 2023 with a renovated fleet.

• Boat: a carved brown wooden hull with tattoo-style motifs.
• Group: minimum 4, maximum 12; English- and French-speaking guides.
• On GetYourGuide: its half-day safari (4.9 from 263 reviews) and its full-day safari with lunch on a motu (4.9 from 838 reviews) are among the best-reviewed Bora Bora products. The full day is also on Viator as the Full-day Lagoon Safari Tour with Lunch, from $195 with 4.9 from 113 reviews.
• Pickup: its GetYourGuide pickup lists name 18 to 19 points, including the Vaitape quay. The InterContinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa closed on 1 June 2026 for renovation, so pick another point if it is still listed.

Moana Adventure Tours: the broadest range

Based at Povai Bay, Moana says it has operated since 1969, which would make it the island’s oldest water-activity company. It runs jet skis, boats, a glass-bottom boat, 4WD and ATV combos, fishing and private boat hire.

• Ethics: its 2.5-hour eco snorkel cruise with sharks, rays and the coral garden promotes “a respectful no-feeding approach”.
• Combos: the jet ski and eco snorkel combo runs 6.5 hours from $306, with 4.8 from 391 Viator reviews.
• Cruise passengers: it says it can collect from the Vaitape tender dock, depending on the ship.
• Name confusion: it’s not the same as Moana Voyages (a travel agency), the InterContinental Le Moana resort, or the Tahitian word moana (ocean).

Vitamin Sea (Sailing Bora Bora): the one that sails

Runs a 40 ft former Formula 40 racing catamaran (built 1985) for shared trips of up to 8, and a 46 ft luxury catamaran for private charters of up to 12. Expect a “floating bar” in the shallows, a coral-garden snorkel and, on the evening trip, champagne at sunset. Departures are from the St Regis, with tender pickups from other resorts. The half-day sail costs from $312 and the two-hour sunset sail from $254, with 4.7 from 139 Viator reviews.

Vavau Adventures: lagoon and land

Vavau picks up at the Vaitape pier and sells the full-day lagoon cruise with sharks, rays and a barbecue lunch (6 hours, from $155) and a lagoon and 4WD combo (8 hours, from $159). The lagoon day is also on GetYourGuide as the Full-Day Lagoon Snorkelling Tour, from $158 with 4.9 from 171 reviews. That GetYourGuide listing invites guests to feed the rays, which French Polynesian law bans, so pick another operator if feeding matters to you.

La Plage: self-drive boats, not a beach

Despite the name, La Plage is a boat-rental and private-tour company in Matira, operating since 2008. It’s known for 13 ft boats that need no license, supplied with a map, phone, cooler and sun cover. You can drive around the lagoon, but you cannot land on the motus, which are private; Matira is the only public beach you can stop at. It also runs private guided tours, booked direct.

Bora Bora Manu Lagoon Excursion: company or guide?

Both, which is why the search term is confusing. Bora Bora Manu Lagoon Excursion is a real company. It runs a navy-blue open boat and buffet lunches on Motu Fanfan, and sells through Viator: the 7-hour full day from $146 and a 4-hour half day with fruit on the motu from $106. “Manu” is also a common Polynesian first name, and reviews praise guides called Manu at several other companies. When a review says “ask for Manu”, check which operator it refers to.

Maohi Nui (“Patrick’s Tour”): the cruise-passenger favorite

Run by Heifara “Patrick” Tairua and a long-time favorite on Cruise Critic. Expect tattooed outriggers, an underground-oven lunch and a fire dance. Staff meet cruise tenders holding a Maohi Nui sign, and several boats run for big groups. Its GetYourGuide listing has no reviews yet, so book direct.

Cultural Lagoon Tours (Narii) and Teremoana (Nono’s)

• Narii’s Cultural Lagoon Tours uses a decorated outrigger called Oti’a Are and a family motu, with va’a paddling and palm-weaving. Narii is praised for singing with his ukulele on the way back. Book the shared full day on Viator.
• Teremoana, from Chez Nono at Matira, runs two 14 m outriggers carrying up to 25 each, with a motu barbecue and a full island circuit. It suits families who don’t mind bigger groups. Reviews from 2013 and 2014 describe feeding, so ask what it does now.

Do operators still feed sharks and rays, and is it legal?

It’s illegal. French Polynesia’s Environment Code (Loi du Pays n° 2017-25, 5 October 2017) bans attracting wild species “by gestures, noises or promises of food”. Even so, dive guides and reviews report that some operators still feed or bait animals.

A 2022 study on Moorea (Séguigne et al., Ethology) found blacktip sharks and pink whiprays almost deserted a feeding site during the six-week 2020 lockdown, then returned once boats resumed. A site that’s “always full of rays” is a clue in itself.

Favor operators that put a no-feeding policy in writing (Tohora, H2O, Moana’s eco safari, Rohivai’s GetYourGuide listing). With anyone else, ask before you pay: “Do you use bait, fish scraps or any feeding?” For what each listing states, see our shark and ray tours page.

The new Popora Rāhui reserve

In November 2025 French Polynesia’s assembly approved the Popora Rāhui, a 574-hectare reserve on the reef south of Matira. Motorboats, fishing and water activities are banned inside it.

Matira-based operators (Rohivai, La Plage and Teremoana) route around it, and self-drive renters must respect the markers. A good operator will explain the rāhui; one that offers to take you inside it is a red flag.

Booking direct or through Viator or GetYourGuide

• Platforms: the listings on this site allow free cancellation up to 24 hours before. If the operator cancels for weather, you’re offered a new date or a full refund. You pay in your own currency, and disputes go through the platform.
• Direct: the operator keeps more of the money, and it can be easier to request a specific boat or guide. Cancellation terms are often stricter (see Lagoon Service above).
• Cruise passengers: no operator we checked publishes its own back-to-ship guarantee.

Most operators sell the same trip on both platforms at different prices, so compare the two before you pay.

Questions to ask before you book, and red flags

1. How many guests will be on the boat, and is there a minimum for the trip to run?
2. Do you feed or bait sharks, rays or fish? (Anything other than “no” is a red flag.)
3. Where’s pickup? Is it free from my motu resort, or only from your main-island base?
4. Which language will the guide speak, and what’s the minimum age?
5. What happens in bad weather: new date, full refund or partial refund?
6. (Cruise passengers) What time will I be back at the Vaitape quay?

Watch for no written cancellation terms, offers to enter the Matira rāhui, “guaranteed” mantas or whales, and slow or missing replies to messages.

Frequently asked questions

Which is the best tour company in Bora Bora?

For most first-timers, Lagoon Service: the deepest review record on Viator and groups capped at 12. For small groups and a firm no-feeding policy, choose H2O or Tohora.

Is “Bora Bora Lagoon Service” a company?

Yes. It’s the brand Lagoon Service Bora Bora (lagoonservice.com), based in Vaitape.

Is there a company called “Otemanu Tours”?

We found none. “Otemanu” on GetYourGuide is a location page for tours with Mount Otemanu views.

Are Moana Tours and Moana Voyages the same?

No. Moana Adventure Tours is the Povai Bay operator. Moana Voyages is a separate travel agency.

Do I need to book in advance?

In high season (June to October) and on cruise days, yes, at least a few days ahead. Small-group trips like Tohora’s fill first.