Hi there!
I went snorkeling in Tahiti when I went to Papeete on a cruise ship visit.
It was a snorkeling excursion through the cruise line.
In general, you will get snorkeling gear included with snorkeling tours in Tahiti.
But there are a few extra things you might want to pack specifically to use or wear in Tahiti when you go snorkeling!
In addition to snorkeling in Tahiti, I’ve been snorkeling in a bunch of other places, and I’ll tell you below what some of my snorkeling essentials are! These include things I had with me in Tahiti too.
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This list of what to pack for Tahiti includes suggestions for your Amazon shopping list. I am an Amazon Associate. I may receive a commission. Also, there are partner websites that are included below.
First here is a quick list of standard snorkeling gear that you won’t necessarily need if you’re doing a snorkeling tour, as you can expect standard snorkeling gear to be included as part of your tour. But these are things you may want to bring anyway.
- Snorkeling set
- Snorkeling fins (only fins)
And then if you are going snorkeling from the beach, you might want to bring water shoes if you won’t be wearing fins. The most minimalist way of “snorkeling” is with simple clear swimming goggles!
Now, here are things to consider bringing with you for snorkeling in Tahiti!
1. Rash guard (swimming shirt) + swimsuit
A rash guard is basically a swimming shirt and they have added protection against UV rays.
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When you’re snorkeling, you’ll have your entire backside exposed for the time that you’re swimming around.
Swim shirts can be perfect to wear snorkeling because they offer more protection against the sun, and it also means less sunscreen necessary since you’ll have less skin exposed to the sun!
There are long sleeve swim shirts and short sleeve swim shirts.
Search for swimming clothes for women:
Search for swimming clothes for men:
2. Reef-safe sunscreen
You’ll be swimming out in the ocean in the sun, so you’ll want to wear sunscreen.
Reef-safe sunscreen is the best kind of sunscreen for snorkeling (and any ocean activities) because it’s considered to be better for ocean life.
The sunscreen ingredients are what make a sunscreen reef-safe or not.
Now, people in-the-know can argue about the specifics of what actually makes sunscreen “reef-safe.”
But if we take into consideration what certain snorkeling destinations have put into law regarding what sunscreen is considered reef-safe or not, the 2 main sunscreen ingredients to look out for are oxybenzone and octinoxate. These 2 ingredients can be widely agreed upon as making sunscreen NOT reef-safe, so you want to avoid these in your sunscreen. These are the 2 ingredients that are not allowed in sunscreen that is sold in Hawaii.
You can look for Blue Lizard reef-safe sunscreen or Coral Isles reef safe sunscreen.
If you want to try even harder to make your sunscreen reef-safe, you can look closer to Tahiti to the fellow South Pacific island of Palau. Palau has a bigger list of banned sunscreen ingredients. See what Palau considers to be reef-safe sunscreen by looking at their more extensive list of banned sunscreen ingredients.
3. Waterproof phone case of waterproof camera
For me, it is a MUST to have a waterproof phone case when I go snorkeling! This lets me take pictures of things that I see while swimming around!
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You can get a proper waterproof phone case to match your specific phone type.
I just have a cheap waterproof phone case, and it has worked out well for me! I have been snorkeling with the joto case on my phone a bunch, and I also took it with me to Tahiti.
I also always attach a floating wrist strap to the phone case when I go snorkeling. I have the nordic flash wrist float.
I could see from my pictures that I saw at least 2 different stingrays. The stingrays that I got pictures/video of very clearly have different length of stingers!
If you go on a snorkeling tour in Tahiti, before you get off the boat and into the water to start snorkeling, be sure to get an understanding from the boat staff where you can swim for the best chance to see stingrays and little fishies! They will likely not be in the same place. You will most often find stingrays on a sandy bottom, and you’ll find fishies in rocky (reef) areas.
For better quality underwater pictures, you can also get a waterproof camera. You will want to have the floating hand grip to go with your camera, along with the appropriate SD card.
4. Towel (and extra clothes)
You’ll want to bring a towel on your snorkeling excursion for after you get out of the water.
Princess cruise ships allow you to take their pool towels off of the cruise ship, so you won’t need to pack beach towels from home if you don’t want to. Different cruise lines may have different rules.
You may want to bring 2 towels and/or an extra top that you can put over your wet swimsuit.
After it’s time to get back on the boat to go back to where you came from, you’ll have the boat ride back.
Your swimming clothes will be wet, and it will be windy since it’s a boat ride. This can make it a little cold, so you might want to bring an extra towel (not just the one towel that is now wet from drying off) and/or extra top layers just so the wind won’t be blowing on your wet clothes.
There isn’t really a place to change in private, although I suppose you can use the tiny boat bathroom to do so if you really want to.
If you want to bring your own towel, turkish towels work well as travel-friendly beach towels.
5. Open water personal swim float
An open water personal swim float is another snorkeling essential for me.
If you’re going snorkeling in Tahiti, chances are that you will be swimming around in deep water. It’s nice to get a break from constantly swimming! It can serve as a resting spot.
The snorkeling tour that I did from Papeete through the cruise line had pool noodles available, which serves as a personal float.
Although, if your tour offers the floats and you want one, don’t be slow to grab one. They didn’t have enough for everyone.
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I have a saferswimmer float, which I brought along for my Papeete snorkeling tour. Along with being a personal swim float, it’s a dry bag so I can carry things into the water with me. It also helps me to be better seen in the water since mine is bright yellow.
You can also find an open water personal swim float with a dry bag on Amazon. Read the reviews.
I’ve never been snorkeling with a pool noodle, but I imagine that an open water swim float is much easier to swim with. With a pool noodle, you need to hold onto it. With an open water swim float, you can drag it along behind you hands-free, since you clip it on to a waist belt. When you’re snorkeling in Tahiti, you’ll want to swim around to different places in search of little fishies and stingrays!
Other things you might want to pack for snorkeling in Tahiti
When I’m planning on going snorkeling, I also usually bring water shoes since I don’t bring snorkeling fins.
I didn’t need to wear the water shoes for Tahiti since the snorkeling tour provided fins. Fins are generally preferable to water shoes because the fins will help you to propel you further faster, which means that you could cover more area in a shorter amount of times!
But if you are snorkeling from the beach and won’t be wearing fins, it’s good to have on water shoes so you have protection for your feet.
If I’m snorkeling on my own at the beach, I like to have something to bring valuables into the water with me. I have done this with stuff I already had, so in my case I used an extra travel money belt (not waterproof, but one I didn’t mind getting wet with salt water), and then I’d put the valuables in a freezer ziplock bag, and put that ziplock bag in the money belt.
There are also actual waterproof waist pouches that are designed to bring valuables into the water with you.
Since I was on a snorkeling tour, I didn’t need to bring any valuables with me… except my phone for the pictures!
It’s always a good idea to pack WATER for a day out and about in Tahiti, and that includes snorkeling!
More for Tahiti:
More snorkeling places during a cruise:
- Things to do in Pago Pago (I went snorkeling at a beach in American Samoa near the cruise port)
- Snorkeling in Waikiki (beaches to go snorkeling on your own in Hawaii at Honolulu cruise port)
- Snorkeling in Alaska (I went snorkeling in Alaska! 🤣)
HAPPY SNORKELING IN TAHITI!
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