Where to dive and who to dive with in Moorea + Bora Bora

I need some advice; I got my OW through SSI, and will be honeymooning for 9 days in French Polynesia (1 initial day in Tahiti, 4 days on Moorea, and a final 4 Days in Bora Bora). My question is what to look for in a French Polynesian dive outfit, what to expect, and any bad experiences? Also many of the dive sites reccomend 18hrs between last dive and inter-island flights, I'm guessing this is due to low flying altitude. We will be staying at the Hilton on Moorea and Bora Bora.

Any help or advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

Well, I would NOT recommend Top Dive on Moorea. Here is why: The week before our South Pacific trip, one of our friends was diving off their boat. They leave the boat unattended during the dives, and she was reboarding and fell, and destroyed her shoulder. Now, accidents can happen; but we dove with them two weeks later, and NOTHING had been changed. Nobody on the boat, the boat configuration that led to the accident hadn't been altered, etc. When you have a bad accident and someone is badly hurt, I think you should examine your safety procedures and change them as possible to avoid having it happen again.

In addition, the instructor who was on the boat with us chewed us out for doing buddy checks before the dive (which was not high current or anything else that required a really rapid exit from the boat).

I was not at all pleased with them, although we dove with other Top Dive centers in the area and had no issues with any of them (and loved the folks on Rangiroa).

We did dive with Top Dive in Papeete, and thought they were fine. If you don't like shark feeding dives, ask them if you can do something else. When we did that, we were taken to a very nice little reef wall and a couple of wrecks, and had two very nice dives. In our experience, a lot if not most of the dives in the area are shark feeding dives.

My wife and I spent two weeks in French Polynesia dove extensively- I recall every day and not a problem. Most operators were CMAS and operated under CMAS rules; You were certified as a diver and you were there to dive, so dive! So be prepared!

Most dive sites were smooth as a SoInd corn field and some dive sites were a little bumpy which might make you little woozie--or a green as a Hoosier corn field in July. Would suggest a supply of sea sick medication as part of your carry on luggage--almost as important as your wife.

My son also spent about 2 weeks in FP on his honey moon also at the Hilton..He also dove often, not a problem with the diving or the operators.

However, Please bear in mind we are a tad more experienced than the average bubble blower, so we are prepared for any and all types of diving operators and conditions. My wife has over 40 years of diving, my son and I are both long term "pioneer" UW instructors and one of the very few father - son SSI Pro 5000 divers in the world. (ask Larry or Tami about Pro 5000 diver)

We also enjoyed diving in the laguns -- As I recall Mrs Miller and I spent almost every free moment on the water free diving or UW using the bubble machine.

I would suggest that you might want to purchase "Sharks of Polynesa" by R.H. "Dick" Johnson.
It is a very good book that you will find invaluable as a guide to the sharks you will encounter. Dick and I were members of a So Cal Dive club many many years ago called the "Orcas." At that time Dick was working on his doctorate at UCLA, went to Polynesia met a lovely lady, married had children and opened a dive operation--never to return to the US and his studies.

I would also strongly suggest that you take time to take the shark feeding/sting ray tour. It will possibly be a great gentle introduction to sharks and rays for you and your dearly beloved. On most dives you will encounter a shark or two or a dozen...your wife will be safe since it is written they are man eaters.

We never used wet suits we always used "dive skins." ..There were some who donned the offical costume, but for us the water for us was just right..On occasion a little chilly, but not a problem. I would suggest sun screen and sun protection while in the boat.

Congrats on you marriage and you entry into the UW world! (both are unique experiences)

My only hope is that I spent all this time on an Ex FJR footballer, if not forget every thing I wrote...

Dr Samuel Miller, 111
LA Co UW instructor, #11
NAUI Instructor #27
NASDS -before numbering which became SSI
PADI and all the rest of the instructor programs

Dr Miller,

You will be glad to know that your time was not wasted. I played football at FJR from 1999 to 2002. I played varsity a little my freshman year and then started everygame my sophmore, junior, and senior year. My senior year I was named All-State as a running back, and we went up to Indy and got beat at semi-state. I come from a long line of FJR Footballers, My father was an all-state lineman, my brother was an all-state DB, and my youngest brother was a 2x all state linemen. Needless to say we bleed blue here on the westside, always have, always will. Enough about that, I just wanted to say thanks for the time you took in your response. The information was excellent, and I plan on searching out the "Sharks of Polynesa" book. Again thank you for your response.

TSandM

Thank you for the information on Top Dive. Before I found this forum, they were listed probably in my lower choices. The reason for this is they almost seem too corporate or busy, and I'm going to FP to get away from the hussle and bussle of crowds and businesses. I believe they are the largest diving outfit in the islands, and in my experience bigger is not always better. Thank you for your response and my search for the right outfitter continues.

Dr Miller,

You will be glad to know that your time was not wasted. I played football at FJR from 1999 to 2002. I played varsity a little my freshman year and then started everygame my sophmore, junior, and senior year. My senior year I was named All-State as a running back, and we went up to Indy and got beat at semi-state. I come from a long line of FJR Footballers, My father was an all-state lineman, my brother was an all-state DB, and my youngest brother was a 2x all state linemen. Needless to say we bleed blue here on the westside, always have, always will.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My Gosh!


FANTASIC! Blue and Grey forever! My efforts were not waisted.

You and your family are west side royalty! I salute you, your family and your accomplishments on the gridiron.

I am just a wee bit older--actually a heck of a lot older-- I was at FJR in the 1940s. Herman Byers was our coach--"Win or catch hell from me on Monday" --We won!

Many years ago a doctor from the old home town visited for several days-- Our conversation migrated to another mutual friend who had been in practice since after WW11(1945) Our guest said "Would you belive it? He has the FJR picture "The Tradition" behind his desk?" My wife replied "So does Sam!"...The look on his face was classic deer in the head lights..

You just never forget FJR football

I understand you are in law enforcement, so PM me your name and family name,

Cheers,
SAM

Westside Royalty is probably a stretch, but we do enjoy the community over here (west of Pigeon Creek). I know exactly which picture you're talking about; mainly because it's hanging in my dad's garage and has been since I was a little panther. It's amazing how that picture can bring back memories of long practices and games won and lost.

PM Sent

We used Frank Murphy at tahitiexpeditions.com for private charters. Our guide Tahiri was awesome. There's an awesome spot down near the lighthouse thats got great overhangs, etc to play in.

I am also planning a trip to Bora Bora in December and was thinking of using TopDive there. you mention that TopDive Moorea is not very well run. How about the Bora Bora operation?

They seem to be one of the few operations that offer Nitrox in Bora Bora. Is there a recognized best dive operation in Bora Bora?

Are there any dive sites that we should not miss?