The season, July to November

The 2025 brochure of the Direction de l’environnement (DIREN) puts it in one sentence: from July to the end of October, humpbacks arrive in Polynesia and gradually occupy the surroundings of the islands, across much of the Society, Austral, Tuamotu and Gambier archipelagos. These long-distance migrants travel between the Antarctic and tropical waters. In the southern winter the water is 21 to 27 °C, which suits newborn calves during their first weeks; the mothers look for waters where predators are scarce, so they stay very close to the islands, near the barrier reefs, in sheltered bays and sometimes even inside the lagoons.

Tahiti Tourisme gives a slightly wider range, July to November, and places the breeding season from August to November. For the Australs it speaks of sightings mainly between August and October. Watching permits, however, are valid only from 20 July to 20 November inclusive, from 7:30 to 17:30. The Tahitian word for whale is tohora; it is to’ora in the Australs, paraoa in the Tuamotu, pa’aoa in the Marquesas and mago puitai in the Gambier.

Where to see them: Rurutu, Moorea, Tahiti and the other islands

Rurutu, in the north of the Australs and 600 kilometres from Tahiti, is nicknamed “the whale island”; Tahiti Tourisme reports whales there from July to November and treats it as the reference place for watching them, together with Tubuai in the same archipelago. Both islands are reached by air from Tahiti in about an hour and a half to an hour and forty minutes.

You need not go that far. Watching permits are issued in the territorial sea around nine islands: Bora Bora, Huahine, Moorea, Raiatea, Rurutu, Taha’a, Tahiti, Tetiaroa and Tubuai. The operators listed by Tahiti Tourisme are mostly on Moorea (Paopao, Haapiti, Papetoai), on Tahiti (Punaauia, Papeete, Arue, the peninsula) and on Bora Bora. With luck you can spot them from the beach or the shore: the males breach and slap the water with their tails within sight of land. On Moorea the dive centres point out that whales, from August to November, are only met with an authorised guide and never on scuba: in-water observation is done with fins, mask and snorkel only.

The sanctuary and the distances to keep

French Polynesia has been a sanctuary for whales and marine mammals since 2002 (article LP 2213-1-1 of the environment code); the approach rules are in articles A 2213-1-4 to A 2213-1-11. They draw three circles around each animal. The safety zone, 15 metres, which nobody enters. The exclusion zone, 100 metres, closed to every vessel. The observation zone, 300 metres, reserved for authorised boats, three at most; all others stay beyond it.

Inside that zone the boat moves at under 3 knots, engine running and in neutral if the animal approaches of its own accord, on a parallel course, never head-on and never from behind. Observation lasts 15 minutes at most, less with newborns, and unaccompanied calves are left alone. Pursuit, cutting across an animal’s path, encircling, pinning against a reef, sudden changes of course or engine speed and sonar outside normal navigation are all forbidden. Whale watching is strictly prohibited in lagoons, bays and passes. The brochure reminds readers that a whale weighs 40 tonnes and can endanger those who come close.

The operators’ permits

Approaching a marine mammal professionally requires a permit from the Direction de l’environnement, applied for on the Paraoa online service (paraoa.gov.pf) or at the DIREN in Papeete. It is valid only in the territorial sea of the nine islands named above, for a single vessel per island and per group of companies, and only within the window of 20 July to 20 November. Swimming with the animals must be requested in the application; it is allowed outside the exclusion zone, for 7 people per vessel including the guide.

Since order no. 1818 CM of 10 October 2024, the applicant must hold a certificate of competence in approaching marine mammals, obtained through a diploma, three years of professional experience or an examination. Tahiti Tourisme adds that operators file their request before each season and that a list of authorised operators is drawn up for the season; only these accredited professionals may run excursions, with guides certified by the Direction de l’environnement. Commercial filming of protected species needs a separate prior application. Before booking, ask the operator for its permit for the island and the current season.

What a respectful outing looks like

An outing is by boat, for a day or half a day, outside the lagoon since watching there is prohibited. The captain first looks for the blow, then for the animal as it surfaces. The whales decide: the rules forbid going to meet them, so the boat positions itself to the side and lets them come or pass. If conditions allow and within the terms of the permit, the guide lets at most seven people into the water, with fins, mask and snorkel, beyond the 100-metre line, and never between a mother and her calf.

The illustrated instructions published by Tahiti Tourisme sum up the spirit of the rules: stay to the side, do not encircle, do not come between calf and mother, do not pin the animals against the reef. After a quarter of an hour the boat moves off. Tahiti Tourisme advises booking well in advance, as the activity is in high demand. As for dolphins, the DIREN reminds skippers to hold their speed if they ride the bow wave: sudden changes of course frighten them.

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Timetables, provider conditions, entry rules, weather-sensitive activities and commercial terms are rechecked for the actual trip. This article explains the planning logic; it is not a live availability promise.

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Polynesia Local editorial desk · sources cited on every entry · 20 October 2026