Best Blue Lagoon Rangiroa Tour: An Inside Scoop 

✔️ Best Tour Company: Rangiroa Excursion

✔️ Tour Duration: 8 hours (8:30 am – 4:30 pm)

✔️ How Many Stops: 7

✔️ Free pick-up and drop-off at your accommodation

✔️ Guides speak English

✔️ Delicious BBQ lunch included

Rangiroa Excursion is run by a super friendly team: Laetitia, Eva, and Marius.

Since the extent of our French is “bonjour” and “merci,” we were very appreciative they also conducted the tour in English and made us feel very welcomed and included.

We felt completely safe in their 28-foot boat that accommodates up to 12 passengers.

My husband and I stayed at the Hotel Kia Ora Resort & Spa. They picked us up and dropped us off at our hotel. 

Our hotel also arranges Blue Lagoon Tours, but we chose to book Rangiroa Excursion because of their incredible reviews.

On the day we went, the weather was not ideal.

Lots of wind and more waves than usual. Our hotel actually canceled their Blue Lagoon Tour. Rangiroa Excursion still moved forward with their tour, and I’m so glad they did.

We had an amazing time. Our experienced boat captain expertly navigated us through the lagoon. They provided hardcore raincoats to protect against the splashing waves. You will need them!

Alright, now on to the good part.

What’s a day with Rangiroa Excursion look like?

Be prepared for a 1-hour boat ride that can be quite bumpy. Sometimes beautiful places take a little effort to get to.

The first stop was Sharks Bay, which is an area right outside the Blue Lagoon. If conditions are right, you can snorkel with blacktip reef sharks and sometimes lemon sharks.

After snorkeling with sharks and rays in Moorea, I was looking forward to this stop.

Because the weather was not cooperating, we unfortunately had to skip this part. Bummer, but always safety first!

If you have snorkeled at Sharks Bay, please share your experience in the comments below.

After our boat docked, we grabbed our snorkeling gear and walked on the sandy bottom to the first island.

I strongly recommend bringing your own mask and fins, which makes for a better underwater experience!

We put on our snorkeling gear and explored the few pockets of coral next to the island. Fish sightings included blue-green chromis, banded butterflyfish, convict surgeonfish, six bar wrasse, and giant clams.

One highlight of this stop was the baby blacktip reef sharks! I know it may sound weird to call a shark cute, but they were pretty cute.

There were so many of them, all learning how to hunt in the protected lagoon.

If you didn’t know, Rangiroa sits in a massive lagoon.

The lagoon is so big you can actually fit the entire island of Tahiti in it. The Blue Lagoon sits within that lagoon.

So yes, it’s a lagoon within a lagoon.

The baby blacktips would get pretty close and veer off at the last second.

You didn’t need any snorkeling gear to see them. It was easy to observe them in the crystal clear water while standing calf-deep in the lagoon.

Pretty unique experience!

After snorkeling, we walked through the lagoon to the next island called Bird Island. This island is known for the endangered bird called Vini Peruviana (Blue Lorikeet).

It’s a cute little bird with orange legs and an orange beak. Our guides pointed them out high up in the trees, but it was hard to see them.

After bird watching, our guides showed how to weave traditional Polynesian hats using palm leaves.

It was kinda like braiding.

Laetitia made it look so easy.

When it was my turn to give it a try, my hat looked nowhere near like the demo hat. Luckily, my guides came to the rescue and basically re-weaved my hat, lol!

Oh well, I tried. 

Food … my favorite part of the day.

And this is not just any food.

Our BBQ lunch that was cooked on-site was incredible and was the best meal we had in Rangiroa!

It was served buffet style. After we made our plate, we sat down on the communal bench and dug in.

The BBQ chicken was my favorite, but the poisson cru was also so delicious and fresh. The meat was paired with some very tasty coconut rice. Don’t miss the coconut bread too.

Beer and sodas were also served.

Of course, all this mouthwatering food was served on the island with feet in the sand. Great ambiance and super friendly service.

With full bellies, we watched the baby blacktip reef sharks one more time before getting back on the boat to head back.

One of the top snorkeling sites in Rangiroa is Avatoru Pass. If the currents are favorable, Rangiroa Excursion will let you do a drift snorkel in Avatoru Pass.

As stated earlier, the weather was not the best on the day we went. Visibility was poor, but we still enjoyed jumping in the water to check it out.

The snorkeling at Tiputa Pass and the Aquarium was much better, but we still enjoyed our time.

We were a little chilly after our snorkel, so we appreciated the next stop which was at the Rangiroa Excursion headquarters.

They had coffee, tea, and coconut cakes already prepared. This refreshment really warmed us up and was a great way to end a fantastic tour.

A visit to the Blue Lagoon is one of the best things to do in Rangiroa! It is stunning and has to be seen in person to really appreciate its beauty.

Do not miss it.

Rangiroa Excursion runs the best tour. Be aware the tour could be canceled depending on the weather. It’s always best to spend at least 4 nights in Rangiroa in case it gets rescheduled.

Rangiroa was just one part of our epic French Polynesia adventure. Here’s my ultimate 2 week FP itinerary exploring 4 islands!

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Questions about our Blue Lagoon Rangiroa experience?

Let me know in the comments below!