Moorea tide times

Moorea sits 17 kilometres west of Tahiti across the Sea of the Moon — a passage that the Aremiti ferry crosses in 30 minutes. From the air Moorea's profile is a broken shark's tooth: the island's volcanic origins expressed in the twin bays, Cook's Bay and Opunohu Bay, that cut 3–4 kilometres inland from the north coast, surrounded by mountains that peak at 1,207 m on Mount Tohiea. The barrier reef encircles the island with a handful of passes; the lagoon is wider on the north and west sides, where the main resorts and dive centres operate.

The tidal range at Moorea follows the Society Islands pattern: spring range 0.4–0.5 m, mixed semidiurnal. The two daily high waters and two daily low waters are unequal; the full spring range is compressed into a pattern where the highest water is 0.3 m above Chart Datum and the lowest is 0.1 m below. For the practical user, the 0.4 m swing matters most on the reef flat and in the heads of the two bays, where water depth over coral or sand dictates whether a paddle board can navigate without grounding.

Cook's Bay and Opunohu Bay define Moorea for boaters. Both are entered from the north through barrier reef passes — Cook's Bay Pass serves the ferry terminal at Vaiare and the charter fleet; Opunohu Bay Pass is quieter and more scenic. Pass currents in both run 1.0–2.0 knots outbound when ENE trades are sustained, reversing only briefly around astronomical high water. The bay heads are calm regardless of ocean swell — the passage geometry is too enclosed for swell to penetrate.

For divers, Moorea has a documented humpback whale population that uses the lagoon for breeding and calving from July to October. The whales enter through the passes and move between the bays and the outer lagoon. Tidal state influences whale positioning indirectly: outbound pass current in the afternoon pushes the whales toward the inner bay anchorages; incoming or slack water in the morning allows them to feed in the deeper water near the pass mouths. Dive operators run specific whale-watching snorkel trips during this season; conditions are most productive on calm mornings at or after high water.

For kayakers, Moorea's lagoon is excellent and varied. The 60-kilometre perimeter paddle is a two-day circuit with camping possible on beach pull-outs on the south coast. The most scenic single-day section is the north coast between the two bay passes — approximately 15 km round trip from Cook's Bay — with the mountain profile as a backdrop for the full passage. The inner bay paddle from the Cook's Bay ferry quay to the head of the bay is 4 km in flat, protected water, suitable for beginners. Tidal current in the main lagoon channel adds 0.2–0.4 knots to or against the passage depending on direction and tidal state.

For families, the beach at Temae on the northeast corner of the island is the best public sand beach: wide, shallow, and reef-protected. At low water the inner reef flat shallows to 0.4–0.6 m over the coral-sand bottom — ideal wading depth for children. At high spring water the same flat deepens to 0.8–1.0 m. The snorkelling off the reef edge at the corner of the Temae flat is reliable year-round, with visibility of 10–20 m in calm conditions.

Anglers target the pass edges for trevally and wahoo, and the outer ocean drop-off for yellowfin tuna. The Cook's Bay Pass ebb carries baitfish out of the bay at dusk; this concentration draws trevally that can be caught from the channel bank on jigs or live bait from a small boat anchored off the buoys. The inner bay anchorage at the head of Cook's Bay holds a permanent population of mullet and juvenile snapper that respond to bread or small bait from the quay.

Photographers have two signature views: the sunrise shot of the twin peaks from the north coast road above the barrier reef, and the in-water whale encounter during the July-October season. The north coast road shot is best from 05:45 to 07:00, when the first light catches the upper flanks of Tohiea and Mouaroa without overexposing the lagoon below. A 200 mm telephoto from the road pulls the mountains against the reef and ocean background without requiring a boat.

All tide predictions for Moorea come from the Open-Meteo Marine gridded model. Timing accuracy is ±45 minutes; height accuracy is ±0.3 m above Chart Datum.