And then you have a one hour flight to Rangiroa... you would settle for inferior diving just to avoid a one hour domestic flight? I'm assuming then that you would forgo diving anywhere in Indonesia or the Philippines as they all require a domestic flight (or two), as well. This makes zero sense. Indeed it does, because I said I rate FP HIGHER than Indonesia.
Show you the numbers - No. I am not handing over my bank statements to you.
We've also covered travel time -From YOUR HOUSE!!! As wet pup said above, people - ie - you - forget that people here are not all located in North America. Wetpup and I are both in Australia, grab a map, I live on the west she lives on the east coast. I have another 5,000km to get to the east coast to even get half way to FP - my first stop is NZ.
it's the same amount of airtime and the same number of connections to get to Koror or Rangiroa. If you want it to be for you. For me, Perth > NZ > Tahiti > Tuomotos. To Koror, Perth > Hong Kong > Taiwan > Koror. Raja Ampat - Perth > Bali > Makassar > Sorong. Not ALL days of the week are that convenient - I cannot fly that route to Rangiroa every day of the week, there are only two flights with that route per week. 16 to Bali and onwards to Raja Ampat a day.
---------- Post added May 4th, 2015 at 04:46 PM --If --------
The thread is about Rangiroa and Fakarava, at no point were any other islands mentioned. I'm sorry I used "French Polynesia" 3 times out of 70, I assumed we were all on the same page and that the two were interchangeable.
So now you're saying the reason is because Rangiroa is remote.. and Palau isn't? Raja Ampat isn't? Or that there's not much to do, but what is there to do when you're on a liveaboard? Dive!!
You can't even go for a walk, there's certainly no church or market to visit.. and there's no shortage of people on liveaboards. And ultimately who cares if there's nothing to do besides diving, isn't that the point? Most of us fly to these faraway expensive places to dive and sleep no? Again, your personal opinion - I have no need for markets or churches - that is not why I travel anywhere and especially not why I travel to dive.
So it's not more expensive. Fact.
It's not more travel time. Fact.
It's remote but less remote than a liveaboard. Fact.