Question French Polynesia, Fiji or Palau?

[miaa]

Hello!
I would really appreciate your help on planning a special trip for May/Juni 2025.

We are two AOW divers with 55 logged dives.

Our last 2 trips:
Oct 2023 Nusa Penida, Tulamben, Pandangbai
Feb 2024 Hurghada
We have dove in Zanzibar, Marsa Alam, Aqaba and Curacao too.

Our next trips:
May 2024 Bonaire (our first time diving without DM)
Nov 2024 Rocky, Zabargad, St Johns (our first liveaboard)

We think we can finish this year with 80-100 dives.

We would love to go to french polynesia (rangiroa und/or fakarava) but I am afraid we still dont have enough experience. We are comfortable with relatively strong currents. But I have read that in Fakarava the current can be crazy strong. Is it comparable to that in Nusa Penida? How many dives are recommended?

Other options are Palau or Fiji (Somosomo Strait, Shark reef marine reserve). Again how many dives are recommended?

I'd love to see beautiful corals, sponges, endemic fishes and pelagic.

Thank you very much in advance!

 

[Shasta_man]

Perhaps do Palau or Fiji before you do FP. FP does have currents but also they tend to dive deep in their sites which uses your air quicker so being comfortable, and reasonably fit, would be a good thing.

Palau tends to be wall dives and ironically for your question, drift dives where you dive in the current but purposefully ride the current along so you don't worry about the current unless you try to stop prematurely. I'd suggest a liveaboard for that area because the ride for land based diving would be longer. Also, ironically, while it is a liveaboard, it tends to anchor in the prime area and use the boat as a hub to the sites in all directions, but it's then just a ten minute ride. Except for specific areas of Fiji, Palau will be the most sharky place of the two.

Fiji is also a great place to go. Somosomo Straight and Taveuni are good locations. I enjoyed the Nai'a liveaboard because it goes in more open ocean locations so conditions are a bit more sporty sometimes so you could get more experience but not so tough to dive. Plus Fiji people are fantastic.

I suggest it is not necessarily the number of dives that defines ability but the experience you get when doing them and whether you have the right attitude to learn from those experiences. Suggestion #1 is to listen to the dive guide, and generally follow the dive plan at least rather than entering the water and immediately going in the opposite direction and coming back with 100 lbs of air left. YMMV

 

[miaa]

Perhaps do Palau or Fiji before you do FP. FP does have currents but also they tend to dive deep in their sites which uses your air quicker so being comfortable, and reasonably fit, would be a good thing.

Palau tends to be wall dives and ironically for your question, drift dives where you dive in the current but purposefully ride the current along so you don't worry about the current unless you try to stop prematurely. I'd suggest a liveaboard for that area because the ride for land based diving would be longer. Also, ironically, while it is a liveaboard, it tends to anchor in the prime area and use the boat as a hub to the sites in all directions, but it's then just a ten minute ride. Except for specific areas of Fiji, Palau will be the most sharky place of the two.

Fiji is also a great place to go. Somosomo Straight and Taveuni are good locations. I enjoyed the Nai'a liveaboard because it goes in more open ocean locations so conditions are a bit more sporty sometimes so you could get more experience but not so tough to dive. Plus Fiji people are fantastic.

I suggest it is not necessarily the number of dives that defines ability but the experience you get when doing them and whether you have the right attitude to learn from those experiences. Suggestion #1 is to listen to the dive guide, and generally follow the dive plan at least rather than entering the water and immediately going in the opposite direction and coming back with 100 lbs of air left. YMMV

Thank you very much! This is very helpful! FP for later then. Now we only have to choose between Fiji and Palau

 

[runsongas]

palau if you want a very scuba focused vacation, fiji if you want something more relaxed and want to do some cultural stuff and other activities topside. fiji is also generally a bit cheaper currently.