Best Bora Bora Snorkeling Tours

If you only book one snorkeling tour in Bora Bora, make it the Reef Discovery half day: it has the most reviews of any half day on this site, and its listing and recent reviews cover mantas, eagle rays, a coral garden, sharks and stingrays in 3.5 hours. If your priority is something more specific, such as sharks in shallow water, a lunch on a motu or a boat to yourself, one of the six picks below will suit you better. Every figure comes from the booking platforms on 1 October 2026.

Best overall: Reef Discovery Half-Day Snorkel Tour

The Reef Discovery Half-Day Snorkel Tour costs from $135 per person and is rated 5.0 from 1,042 reviews, the most of any half day on this site. In 3.5 hours you get guided snorkeling at stops the crew picks for the day’s conditions. The listing names manta rays, eagle rays and reef fish among the wildlife, and recent reviewers describe a manta area, a large coral garden and shallows with blacktip reef sharks and stingrays.

It wins on what is included as much as on reviews: pickup, fins, a beach towel and soft drinks are all in the price, and bookings are capped at 8 travelers. The trade-offs are small. The operator asks for at least a moderate level of fitness, and the GetYourGuide version costs more at $143 with only 8 reviews, so book it on Viator. You can check availability on this page.

Best half-day: H2O Half-Day Shared Boat Snorkel Tour

If Reef Discovery is full, the Half-Day Shared Boat Snorkel Tour from H2O is the closest match and a little cheaper, from $130 per person (also on GetYourGuide from $129). It is rated 5.0 from 769 reviews and runs 3.5 hours with a cap of 7 travelers per booking. H2O picks its sites each day based on conditions and states that it does not feed or stage encounters, and its listing says its tours regularly meet manta rays, eagle rays, turtles and dolphins.

The catch is access. Guests must be able to get in and out of the water by ladder on their own, travelers aged 70 and over need a medical certificate, and the tour is not suitable for anyone over 80. More options are on the half-day snorkeling tours page.

Best full-day: Lagoon Service Full-Day Lagoon Tour

The Full-Day Lagoon Tour with Snorkeling and Motu Lunch has 1,701 reviews, the most of any tour on this site, and is rated 5.0. It costs from $174 per person (also on GetYourGuide from $170) for 6 hours, with the coral garden, stingrays and sharks, a lunch on a private motu, towels and soft drinks included. Bookings are capped at 10.

The trade-off is that the listing gives no stop-by-stop timing. If you want a named manta stop on a full day, the Full-Day Lagoon Safari from Rohivai, sold on GetYourGuide, costs $171 per person, is rated 4.9 from 774 reviews and adds a manta sanctuary stop that the listing says is not guaranteed. Compare all of them on the full-day snorkeling tours page.

Best for sharks and rays: Eco Snorkel Cruise

The Eco Snorkel Cruise gives about 100 of its 150 minutes to the shark and ray stop, where you stand in knee-high water while stingrays and blacktip reef sharks move around you. It costs from $113 per person (also on GetYourGuide from $108), is rated 4.8 from 598 reviews and adds 30 minutes at the Coral Garden. The listing states that the sharks and rays are not fed.

It is short, cheap and focused, but bring your own mask if you can, because the operator recommends it and fins are not listed. For a full day with the same wildlife, the Vavau full-day cruise costs $155 per person, rated 4.8 from 722 reviews, with a BBQ lunch on a small island. The shark and stingray tours page covers the stop in detail.

Best private, beginner and premium picks

Best private: H2O Private Half-Day by Boat

The Private Half-Day Snorkeling Tour by Boat costs $650 per boat for up to 4 people, which is $162.50 each for four or $325 each for two. It is rated 5.0 from 126 reviews and lasts 3.5 hours. You set the pace across 4 to 5 spots, with manta rays, eagle rays, a natural coral garden and an outer-reef shark stop on the plan, and no feeding. There is no restroom on board, and the review count is far smaller than the group tours.

Best for beginners: Half-Day Eco Snorkeling Small-Group Tour

The Half-Day Eco Snorkeling Small-Group Tour costs from $133 per person, is rated 5.0 from 99 reviews and runs 3 hours with a maximum of 8 people. The listing says it suits all fitness levels, starts with a safety briefing and covers stingrays, blacktip reef sharks and a coral garden in shallow water, with juice, fruit and coconut cake on board. With 99 reviews, its record is shorter than the bigger tours.

Best premium: Luxury Catamaran with Floating Bar

The Luxury Catamaran Sail with Snorkeling and Floating Bar costs from $312 per person (also on GetYourGuide from $303) and is rated 4.9 from 164 reviews. For 4 hours you sail a 46 ft yacht with shade, toilets and drinks, snorkel the operator’s own coral garden (not the well-known Coral Garden) and finish at a floating bar in shallow water. Minimum age is 8. Choose it for comfort, not for sharks or mantas.

How to choose

Pick the wildlife first, then the length. Reef manta rays use cleaning stations in the lagoon all year but never on a schedule. Blacktip reef sharks are usually under about 1.6 m and timid, and the stingrays carry a venomous spine, so shuffle your feet and keep your hands to yourself. Lagoon water stays at roughly 25 to 30 C all year. Pack a hat and reef-safe sunscreen, which is a good idea, and ask about a float or vest if you are a weak swimmer.