Tips for Noumea

We have visited Noumea couple of times now and found our way around with out any problems.  It is good to practice a little French as a few basic words/phrases will help you out.  Most will speak English if you have a go at French.

Bring your day bag with swimmers and snorkel gear.  You can take towels from the ship.

(prices at 2014/2015)
Mini train around town.
We could book this on the ship (yellow Tchou Tchou train) but it was around A$66 Adult / A$46 child.  2hr tour around the town.  We found they had a green mini train that did 1 1/2hr trip around town for A$35 Adults/ A$20 child.

Lemon Bay and Aquarium
On our first trip we caught the local bus from the town square for a few dollars each (must have local currency PFC200) Bus #11 that went down along lemon bay and to the end was the Aquarium.  Entry fee to the Aquarium was A$27 for the four of us (2 Adults/2 child).  We decided to walk back along the road for a bit then take the bus back to the terminal.  The same trip booked on the ship would have been A$80 Adult / A$70 child.

Hop on Off bus
Easy way to see the sights. You can get on and off as many times as you like in a day.  On our second trip we did this and got off at the markets, then back on and got off at the second stop in lemon Bay (nr Hospital).  There was a shed that we could hire a stand up paddle board for A$12/hr
The ship did offer a 2.5hr stand up paddle at Kuendu Beach incl bus and a drink for A$99 each

Duck Island
At the same place we hired the paddle board they did a glass bottom boat trip to Duck Island for A$30  (2 Adults/2 child) return.  Duck Island was great for snorkelling and sitting enjoying the view.  Not very big you can walk around the island in no time.  It is all coral so make sure you have some shoes on your feet.  This is where beach/reef shoes are great.  Ship did a Zodiak ride to Duck island for A$89 each.

Lunch
Each time we found a nice restaurant to have a meal.  Not cheap but a nice meal.  It was around A$100 for the four of us incl drinks.  The first time was a place upstairs that served steaks, burgers and salads etc  The second time we found a French place across from the water with nice atmosphere.  It was our treat for the day.