Originally Posted by
bmrisko
Is the shuttle from BOB to the hotel really mandatory as an e-mail that I received states? We are only staying here 1 night and IMHO, it is ludicrous to pay $125 for transportation for 2 when I can take a taxi on my own. Finally, what if I am already on the island...how can I be forced to pay for a mandatory airport shuttle if I will not be at the airport? I realize the property is trying to help by providing this paid service, but to outright say it is mandatory is pretty crazy.
It is NOT mandatory to take the Le Moana water shuttle from the airport. We also received this email last week but ignored it.
There is a FREE water ferry from the airport to Viatape. From there, you can get a car taxi to Le Moana. I can't remember the price of the taxi from town center to the hotel, (on our prior visit in 2013) but it was definitely less than $125!! Also, Le Moana runs a paid shuttle bus from the hotel to Viatape on a fixed schedule of a couple times each day. Their bus service was inexpensive, but again, it only runs maybe two roundtrips each day. The dropoff/pickup point in town was the small parking lot of a pearls store, just across from the open air market. Don't know how far that is from the ferry dock, but Viatape is quite small. We walked the length of the main street several times.