Swim with Whales in Moorea

The short answer

You can swim with humpback whales off Moorea, but only on a licensed boat, only in the open ocean and only between July 20 and November 20. Every shared swim tour on this site is a half-day trip of about four hours, priced from $179 to $393 per person. No operator promises a swim. The guide puts you in the water only when the whales’ behavior and the sea allow it.

This page books the Moorea Expedition whale swim by default. The trip runs three to four hours from a roadside sign for Coco Beach Restaurant, with a large car park on site, and holds a 4.7 rating from 278 reviews on Viator, from $289 per person. The same trip is sold on GetYourGuide from $284, with a 4.6 rating from 148 reviews, and that version lists hotel pickup and drop-off. Our Moorea Expedition breakdown has the rest of the detail.

How a whale swim works

The boat leaves the lagoon and searches the open ocean, because whale watching and swimming are not allowed inside lagoons, bays or passes. When the crew finds whales, everyone watches from the boat first while the guide reads what the animals are doing. If the whales are calm and the sea is manageable, the guide takes the swimmers in.

Licensed boats must stay 100 m from a whale, so the swim starts from there. Several listings tell you to expect a swim of about 100 m to reach the whales, and farther if they move. In the water you keep at least 15 m from the whale and stay with your guide. No more than seven people can be in the water per boat, guide included, which is why listings talk about six swimmers. Operators require a life jacket unless you wear a wetsuit, and the Moorea Expedition crew does not allow full-face masks.

Our how to swim with whales guide covers the full rules, safety and ethics.

The shared swim tours, compared

These are the shared boats on this site that offer a swim, cheapest first.

• Enjoy Boat Tours’ Watch or Swim, from $179 per person, 4.9 from 327 reviews. It sells six swimmer places and four observer places, leaves the Coco Beach restaurant car park on the north coast at 8:00 am and 1:30 pm, includes a flotation vest for swimmers, and finishes with a snorkel in shallow lagoon water among rays and blacktip sharks. Our notes.
• Native Mozcean’s Watch or Swim on GetYourGuide, from $180, 4.7 from 20 reviews, leaves Vaiare marina on the east coast. You pick the swim option or the watch-only option when you book. Our notes.
• Moorea Activities Center, from $182, 4.6 from 211 reviews. Children from 5 can come on board, swimmers must be at least 12, and the boat carries a hydrophone so you can hear the males singing. Our notes.
• Lagoon Vibes, from $231, 4.9 from 112 reviews. Ocean swimmers must be over 15 and able to fin 300 m on their own. Our notes.
• Ariki Tours’ small-group swim on GetYourGuide, from $250, 4.6 from 134 reviews, keeps groups to a maximum of 6 people. The listing says the trip may finish early once the group has had its swim. Our notes.
• Moorea Moana Tours, from $393, 4.9 from 75 reviews, is the highest-priced shared swim on this site and includes the most: a wetsuit in sizes XS to 4XL, hotel pickup, snacks and drinks, and a biologist on board who decides when the group goes in. Our notes.

Between those sit Tama Tours’ half-day encounter from $225, sold as all sales final on Viator (our notes), and Temoana Tours from $312 (our notes).

One listing to read carefully: Moorea Expedition’s watch-only trip is the cheapest Moorea whale tour on this site at $144, but it is a non-swimming tour that cannot be upgraded to a swim once booked, and it rates 3.8 from 21 reviews.

Who can get in the water

Each operator sets its own swim conditions, and they agree on the basics. You need to be a confident swimmer who is at ease with mask, snorkel and fins in open water, and most listings do not recommend the trip for pregnant travelers or anyone with a spinal injury or poor cardiovascular health. Age limits differ: 12 for swimmers at Moorea Activities Center, over 15 at Lagoon Vibes. The GetYourGuide version of the Moorea Expedition trip lists a 280 lb (127 kg) limit and says the tour is not refunded if the group does not get to swim.

If your group mixes swimmers and watchers, pick a boat that sells observer places, such as Enjoy Boat Tours, or one with a watch-or-swim choice at booking.

Wetsuit or life jacket

Operators require flotation for whale swims: a life jacket, or a neoprene wetsuit in its place, and a shorty counts. Most boats lend the life jacket. Enjoy Boat Tours leaves the 3 mm wetsuit out of its price, Moorea Moana Tours includes one, and Moorea Expedition suggests bringing your own wetsuit if you would prefer not to wear the vest.

When to go and what it costs

Late September and October sit well inside the season, and tours may only operate between 07:30 and 17:30. Our best time guide goes month by month, and the cost guide adds up the extras. If you would rather have a boat to yourselves, see private whale watching in Moorea, and for every whale tour side by side, read which Moorea whale watching tour to book.