Hi Linda:

My wife and I just returned from the June 10 PG tour through the Society, Tuamoto, and Marquesas'. Wonderful trip! Here are some thoughts.

1. Nuka Hiva private trip. I was diving, but my wife and friends took the tour with resident expert Mark. He is fantastic, and it is probably better to go with this group than solo. Not only is he a top notch archaeologist, but outstanding naturalist.

2. On our tour there were no reservations required for L'Etoile, just for La Veranda and Le Grill. All were excellent, but we probably ate at L'Etoile the least frequently.

3. There is a tender that runs every 20 minutes or so to the Motu. There is good snorkeling there if you swim across the channel to the other islans, or to the right toward the reef. Your best bet on Bora Bora is to take the drift snorkel. It is fun, but you need to be a competent swimmer. I had to help a couple of folks out who had some minor problems.

4. See above.

5. I am not sure. Moorea had excellent diving, so renting while we were on board would not have worked for us. Also, Mark does a tour of the ancients which is also outstanding if you are into natural history and archaeology.

6. Can't help you on this one. One option a number of people on our cruise did was to leave the day they arrived in Papeete, rather than spend the night on the ship and depart the following day. We actually enjoyed the day of departure tour, especially the museum. There was an exhibit that has the best description of the three very different types of islans you will be seeing, and how they evolve (Marquesas- Mountain, no reefs; Tuamoto's- No mountains, only reefs and lagoons; and Society: Partial mountian erosion with reefs and lagoons).

Hope this helps!

Dan Clements