Bora Bora Full-Day Snorkel Tours

Book the Full-Day Snorkel Cruise with Sharks, Rays and BBQ Lunch if you want one day that covers the lagoon’s main snorkel stops and finishes with a long lunch on a motu. It runs 6 hours, costs from $155 per person on Viator (also on GetYourGuide from $158), and is rated 4.8 from 722 reviews. On a tighter budget, Manu’s 7-hour day on Motu Fanfan starts at $145 per person. For the most-reviewed tour on this site, Lagoon Service’s full day has 1,701 reviews at 5.0. Couples who prefer a boat without children can pay more for Moana’s adults-only canoe.

What a full day adds over a half day

A half-day trip fits two or three snorkel stops into 2.5 to 4 hours and has you back at the resort by lunch. A full day keeps the same core stops (a shallow sand flat with blacktip reef sharks and stingrays, a coral garden and, on some trips, a manta area) and adds lunch on a motu, one of the small islets along the barrier reef and time ashore. That lunch break is the real difference: on Manu’s tour the motu block is listed at 240 minutes. If the snorkeling is all you want, the half-day snorkeling tours start from $113 per person and leave the afternoon free.

The featured pick: Vavau’s full-day cruise with BBQ lunch

Vavau 4x4 Adventures runs this 6-hour lagoon day with stops for stingrays and blacktip reef sharks, snorkeling over coral gardens, and a BBQ and salad bar lunch on a small island, followed by a beachside Polynesian performance. Hotel or port pickup and drop-off, the guide, lunch and snorkel gear are included; gratuities are not. Bookings top out at 9 travelers, child prices apply from age 3, and the listing calls it suitable for all fitness levels. Some hotels need a ferry crossing for pickup, and guests at private-island resorts are asked to contact the operator for details. The listing does not name a manta stop, so treat any manta as a bonus. The trade-off: at $155 per person it is not the cheapest full day here.

The other full days compared

Full-Day Lagoon Tour with Snorkeling and Motu Lunch (Lagoon Service): 6 hours, from $174 per person (also on GetYourGuide from $170), rated 5.0 from 1,701 reviews. The listing describes a full island tour, a coral garden with stingrays and sharks, and lunch on a private motu, with sodas, water and towels included. It is the priciest of the standard group days and gives no stop-by-stop timings.

Full-Day Lagoon Safari with Snorkeling and Motu Lunch (Rohivai, on GetYourGuide): 6 hours, from $171 per person, rated 4.9 from 774 reviews. Three snorkel stops (sharks and stingrays, a coral garden, and a manta area the listing says is not guaranteed) come before a picnic lunch on a motu. Pickup is by boat from 18 points, including Vaitape quay and the main resorts, about 20 minutes each way. The tour needs good weather and a minimum number of travelers; if it is cancelled you are offered another date or a full refund.

Full-Day Snorkel Tour with Lunch on Motu Fanfan (Manu): 7 hours, from $145 per person, rated 4.9 from 177 reviews. Its itinerary is the most detailed: 60 minutes at the Coral Garden, 60 at a manta area the listing places around Anau, 60 with sharks and rays, and 240 minutes for lunch on Motu Fanfan (grilled fish and chicken, raw fish in coconut milk, taro, manioc, banana po’e, coconut bread, fruit, juice and water). Towels and fins are not included, and the listed meeting point is the Manu Taxi Boat path near the Tiare Market, so confirm pickup if you are staying elsewhere.

Adults-Only Outrigger Canoe Snorkel Cruise with BBQ Lunch (Moana): 6 hours, from $282 per person (also on GetYourGuide from $270), rated 4.9 from 202 reviews. Guests must be 18 or over and the canoe carries a maximum of 6 couples. The listing describes a 26-mile loop of the lagoon, coral gardens, sharks and stingrays that are not fed, and a BBQ lunch on a private motu, with hotel pickup. At nearly double the group-day price, you pay for a quieter boat, not extra stops. For more two-person options, see snorkeling tours for couples.

Sharks, rays and mantas on a full day

All five tours include a stop with blacktip reef sharks and stingrays. Blacktips are usually under about 1.6 m (5.2 ft) and timid; bites are rare and usually minor. The large rays are pink whiprays with a venomous tail spine, so guides ask you not to touch, chase or corner them and to shuffle your feet on the sand. Operators differ on feeding, so check the listing: Moana states that sharks and rays are not fed, and Rohivai lists feeding animals as not allowed. Only Manu and Rohivai name a manta stop. Reef mantas visit cleaning stations in the lagoon all year, but a sighting is never guaranteed; keep at least 3 m away and do not chase them or dive down onto them. The shark and stingray tours page covers shorter trips built around that stop.

The coral garden stop

Every full day here includes a coral garden, but operators use the name for different sites and sources disagree on where the best-known Coral Garden sits. Expect a shallow, usually calm spot inside the lagoon with butterflyfish, parrotfish, surgeonfish and wrasse, and do not stand on or touch the coral. A 2026 study found that live coral on Bora Bora’s shallow fringing reef declined significantly after the 2024 marine heatwave, while deeper reef changed little and fish numbers stayed stable. The Coral Garden snorkeling page goes into more detail.

How to choose, and what to bring

• Lowest price and the most detailed itinerary: Manu at $145 per person, if the meeting point works for you.
• Most reviews on this site: Lagoon Service at $174 per person.
• Boat pickup from a resort dock and a named manta stop: Rohivai at $171 per person on GetYourGuide.
• Adults only, with a smaller group: Moana at $282 per person.
• Hotel pickup, BBQ lunch and a cultural show at a middle price: Vavau at $155 per person.

Pack swimwear, a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen (reef-safe sunscreen is a good idea), plus water shoes for the motu and your own towel for Manu’s trip. Water in the lagoon stays roughly 25 to 30 C (77 to 86 F) all year; the warm wet season runs November to April and the cooler, drier season May to October. If you are not a confident swimmer, many lagoon tours provide a float or vest, so ask when booking. When you have picked a day, check availability for the Vavau cruise.