My wife and I were looking for an exotic place to celebrate our 30th anniversary. We settled on French Polynesia due to it’s tropical location, remoteness and diving opportunities. We used Delta frequent flier miles to get from Detroit to Papeete. Finding flights with open seats which could be purchased with miles was a big issue. We wound up going a bit before our anniversary date because of this. The routing was from Detroit (Delta) to LA (Air France) to Papeete and finally on to Rangiroa (Air Tahiti). The seats we had reserved on the Air France flight did not transfer from the Delta system so we wound up in some undesirable seats on the flight to Papeete. The layover in Papette was five hours and there is little to do in the airport. There is paid WIFI available and a small café.
In Raniroa we stayed at [FONT=&]Les Relais de Josephine ([/FONT][FONT=&]http://relais-josephine-rangiroa.com/en/[/FONT][FONT=&]). The experience there was great. The staff was very accommodating, the food good and the view outstanding. We saw dolphins playing in the pass every day we were there. My wife has dietary restrictions due to celiac disease, at each meal she was provided with food which conformed to her diet and was very good.[/FONT]
[FONT=&]My wife is not a diver so I dove alone with The 6 Passengers ([/FONT][FONT=&]http://the6passengers.com/en.html[/FONT][FONT=&]). The dive center was very good. Most of the staff spoke very good English and they were all excellent divers. I did a total of three dives with them. Unfortunately, the weather was not the best while we were on Rangiroa. The currents were not running as normal. So our dives were in some cases against the current instead of with the current. This is course was no fault of the dive center and I still saw some wonderful creatures during the dives. Spotted Eagle Rays, Sharks and a pod of Dolphins were the highlights. I would definitely utilize The Six Passengers again on a return trip. My only disappointment was not being able to dive the canyon to see the hammerheads. The French are very restrictive with dive certifications. PADI certifications through Advanced Open Water are considered equivalent to CMAS One Star and you are limited to 30 meters. The Hammerheads hang out on a shelf in the canyon at a greater depth. My highest level of certification is YMCA Silver Advanced which is a third level certification and I thought it to be equivalent to CMAS two star which would have allowed me to dive to a greater depth. However, since YMCA diving is defunct and they had never seen a YMCA card they took the conservative approach and limited me to 30 meters. I blame myself for not clarifying the standard before going. In spite of this, I had some great dives.
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[FONT=&]After three nights on Rangiroa we were scheduled to fly to Fakarava and go to the South Pass for three nights and then go to the North for our last four nights. When we got the Fakarava, we found the seas in the lagoon were too rough for the boat from the South. The Pension in the South had arraigned to trade days with the Pension we had booked in the North. This worked out very well and showed how well the tourist industry works together on the island.[/FONT]
[FONT=&]In the North we stayed at Pension Vekeveke ([/FONT][FONT=&]http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g311416-d2621162-Reviews-Pension_Vekeveke_Village-Fakarava_Tuamotu_Archipelago.html[/FONT][FONT=&]). Once again the staff was very accommodating and spoke passable but not fluent English. The location was great and the food very good. However, several meals were served to my wife which were not on her diet. I blame this on the limited understanding of English by the staff and our total lack of French. Even with this issue we would definitely stay with them again.
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[FONT=&]In the North, I dove with Dive Spirit ([/FONT][FONT=&]www.divespirit.com[/FONT][FONT=&]). They are a one minute walk from Vekeveke. I can’t say enough about the professionalism and competency of the staff. I did six dives with them in the North pass. All of my dives were with Matias, the owner of the center. We did two tanks each morning. The surface interval was taken on a white sand beach with cookies and drinks provided. Each dive had something unique to offer. Matias brought a magic slate with him and wrote the names of the various creatures in English for me and in French for the two French divers who were on the trip. We saw sharks, spotted rays, tuna, grouper, sea turtle, leaf fish plus the usual reef inhabitants. The highlight was a close encounter with a Manta. Watching it glide effortlessly through the water was a thrill as it was the first one I had ever seen underwater. Diving the North pass is a bit challenging as the current can be very strong. Matias utilizes reef hooks in order to stay in place and watch the big guys swim by. He learned to use of the hooks while working in Palau. They are very careful to hook into dead coral or onto rocks. He claimed he was the only operation using hooks in the North pass. Riding the current through the pass is kind of like a fast roller coaster ride at some points but was a lot of fun. Fracois, the boat captain [/FONT][FONT=&]is an interesting fellow as well. He worked twenty years as a diver for the Black Pearl Industry and has some interesting stories from that time.
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[FONT=&]In addition to the wonderful dives, Matias went the extra mile for me. During the first day he noticed a rather large infected spot on my leg from a bug bite. He recommended that I go the local clinic as infections can get out of control in a tropical environment. He even offered to drive me there. I took his advice and let him drive me to the clinic. He translated for the nurse as she did not speak English. I was provided with oral antibiotics and a topical cream. I was very glad we went. By the next day the soreness and swelling had started to go down. I believe it could have gotten pretty bad without treatment.
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[FONT=&]After our four nights in the North we were picked up by boat by another Matias from Pension Ramiti (http://www.raimiti.com/). The boat ride down was about 1:20. The seas were still a little rough but the boat did fine. When we arrived at Ramiti we found we were the only guests. For us this was great as were staying there to get away from it all. The staff was highly competent. My wife’s dietary needs were taking care of superbly by chef Nicolis. Florian, the manager provided the right amount of help without being in the way and Matias who is also a dive instructor was a great resource for local fish species information.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&]Ramiti provided boat transportation and packed a nice lunch for us for our two trips to the South pass. I dove there with Tetamanu diving by Eleuthera ([/FONT][FONT=&]http://www.tetamanuvillage.pf/us/plongee-fakarava.html[/FONT][FONT=&]). On the first day we did a drift dive with the incoming current. The life in the pass is just fantastic. There were two spotted eagle rays, some huge Napoleon wrasses along with more grey reef sharks then you could count. Of course there were many other species of sea life and a very health coral reef. The second dive was done with the outgoing tide. The visibly was much reduced due to particulates in the water. However, it was still good because the shark behavior was much different on the outgoing tide. Instead of just passively swimming as they did in the incoming current they were displaying a more aggressive attitude toward their fellow reef dwellers. During the second day I just did one dive on the incoming current. It was much the same as the first with many sharks. We took a slightly different route and spent some time at a small cavern observing the sharks. This made a great photo opportunity. Each of the two incoming current dives ended in the white sand at the dive center which was great.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&]During the two days I was diving the South pass, the staff of Ramiti took my wife snorkeling. On the first she went with Nicholas and stayed near the shore and dive center. On the second day, Matias took her to the start of the pass in the boat and followed her as she drifted with the current back to the dive center. Visibility from the surface was great and she saw much of what I saw. This was certainly one of the highlights of the trip for her.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&]On our last day in Fakarava, Nicolis and Matias took us back to the North in the boat. The return trip took about the same time but on much smoother seas. We were met on the dock by a taxi with had been prearranged and paid for by Ramiti. We flew from Fakarava back to Tahiti and stayed one night at the Intercontinental before flying home via LA on Air France and then to Detroit on Delta. Once again when we checked in with Air France our seats which had been confirmed with Delta were not in the system and we were assigned less desirable seats. As it turned out, this turned out to be a good thing as I wound up sitting next to Ugo the owner of The Six Passengers who was flying back to Italy for a Dive Show. Of course this made for some interesting conversation and insights into French Polynesia. The other issue I had with Air France was my Gold status was not in their system and they were going to charge me for extra baggage. I did not have my card with me. Fortunately, I did have my boarding pass from my flight out of Detroit on Delta which did indicate I was Gold. The return flights were uneventful but long. I do feel for the many French passengers who were going on to Paris from LA.
In the end we were very happy with the trip and may very well make another trip to the two islands. There are a few things we would do different on a return: 1.) Get a certification which would be recognized by the locals as a CMAS 2 Star. PADI Advanced Open Water along with Rescue is recognized as equivalent to 2 Star. I would however get a CMAS card from SEI SEI Diving to make sure. 2.) I would confirm my seats on Air France even though they code share with Delta. I would also make sure I had my Gold credentials with me. 3.) We would work a little harder up front so that each location understood my wife’s diet needs.
The following are some things we did which I feel could be of benefit to someone going to these destinations. 1.) Be prepared for no night life - neither location has any. This is perfect for us but may not be for you. 2.) Bring lots of mosquito repellant. 3.) Be prepared to sleep in an open air bungalow under a mosquito net. 3.) If you are taking photos/video bring lots of memory and/or a computer to download to. The internet, where available, is very slow and expensive. Trying to upload files to cloud storage is impossible. 4.) Purchase a 10 dive pass which can be used all of the centers I dove with plus many more ([/FONT][FONT=&]http://www.dive-tahiti.com/spip/spip.php?article137&lang=en[/FONT][FONT=&]) This pass can be purchased from any of the participating dive centers. 5.) Stay in the North and South if you want to dive both. The dive centers in the North do run trips down to the South pass but they are very infrequent. If you want to see the South pass it is better to stay down there. 6.) Depending on your desires, you will have to make a decision of where to stay in the South: Ramiti or Tetamanu Village (Fakarava hebergement). Our choice was Ramiti because of the remoteness. It is however a twenty minute boat ride to the South Pass. Tetamanu Village has the advantage of being right on the pass and you can walk to the dive shop. 7.) Make sure to get some local currency in the airport at Papeete. You will need it for lunches as most of the Pensions are half board, meaning you will have to buy lunch (Ramiti is full board). 8.) Consider not bringing all of your dive gear in order to reduce luggage. I brought my own because of my status with Delta, I could bring additional luggage. The equipment at all of the dive centers was top brand name and looked to be well maintained. 9.) Yoke style regulators were the majority, the valves are all DIN with inserts so they can accommodate both styles. 10.) If your significant other is a fan of pearls, purchase some Black Pearls at one of the Pearl farms. 11.) Relax and have FUN![/FONT]
In Raniroa we stayed at [FONT=&]Les Relais de Josephine ([/FONT][FONT=&]http://relais-josephine-rangiroa.com/en/[/FONT][FONT=&]). The experience there was great. The staff was very accommodating, the food good and the view outstanding. We saw dolphins playing in the pass every day we were there. My wife has dietary restrictions due to celiac disease, at each meal she was provided with food which conformed to her diet and was very good.[/FONT]
[FONT=&]My wife is not a diver so I dove alone with The 6 Passengers ([/FONT][FONT=&]http://the6passengers.com/en.html[/FONT][FONT=&]). The dive center was very good. Most of the staff spoke very good English and they were all excellent divers. I did a total of three dives with them. Unfortunately, the weather was not the best while we were on Rangiroa. The currents were not running as normal. So our dives were in some cases against the current instead of with the current. This is course was no fault of the dive center and I still saw some wonderful creatures during the dives. Spotted Eagle Rays, Sharks and a pod of Dolphins were the highlights. I would definitely utilize The Six Passengers again on a return trip. My only disappointment was not being able to dive the canyon to see the hammerheads. The French are very restrictive with dive certifications. PADI certifications through Advanced Open Water are considered equivalent to CMAS One Star and you are limited to 30 meters. The Hammerheads hang out on a shelf in the canyon at a greater depth. My highest level of certification is YMCA Silver Advanced which is a third level certification and I thought it to be equivalent to CMAS two star which would have allowed me to dive to a greater depth. However, since YMCA diving is defunct and they had never seen a YMCA card they took the conservative approach and limited me to 30 meters. I blame myself for not clarifying the standard before going. In spite of this, I had some great dives.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&]After three nights on Rangiroa we were scheduled to fly to Fakarava and go to the South Pass for three nights and then go to the North for our last four nights. When we got the Fakarava, we found the seas in the lagoon were too rough for the boat from the South. The Pension in the South had arraigned to trade days with the Pension we had booked in the North. This worked out very well and showed how well the tourist industry works together on the island.[/FONT]
[FONT=&]In the North we stayed at Pension Vekeveke ([/FONT][FONT=&]http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g311416-d2621162-Reviews-Pension_Vekeveke_Village-Fakarava_Tuamotu_Archipelago.html[/FONT][FONT=&]). Once again the staff was very accommodating and spoke passable but not fluent English. The location was great and the food very good. However, several meals were served to my wife which were not on her diet. I blame this on the limited understanding of English by the staff and our total lack of French. Even with this issue we would definitely stay with them again.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&]In the North, I dove with Dive Spirit ([/FONT][FONT=&]www.divespirit.com[/FONT][FONT=&]). They are a one minute walk from Vekeveke. I can’t say enough about the professionalism and competency of the staff. I did six dives with them in the North pass. All of my dives were with Matias, the owner of the center. We did two tanks each morning. The surface interval was taken on a white sand beach with cookies and drinks provided. Each dive had something unique to offer. Matias brought a magic slate with him and wrote the names of the various creatures in English for me and in French for the two French divers who were on the trip. We saw sharks, spotted rays, tuna, grouper, sea turtle, leaf fish plus the usual reef inhabitants. The highlight was a close encounter with a Manta. Watching it glide effortlessly through the water was a thrill as it was the first one I had ever seen underwater. Diving the North pass is a bit challenging as the current can be very strong. Matias utilizes reef hooks in order to stay in place and watch the big guys swim by. He learned to use of the hooks while working in Palau. They are very careful to hook into dead coral or onto rocks. He claimed he was the only operation using hooks in the North pass. Riding the current through the pass is kind of like a fast roller coaster ride at some points but was a lot of fun. Fracois, the boat captain [/FONT][FONT=&]is an interesting fellow as well. He worked twenty years as a diver for the Black Pearl Industry and has some interesting stories from that time.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&]In addition to the wonderful dives, Matias went the extra mile for me. During the first day he noticed a rather large infected spot on my leg from a bug bite. He recommended that I go the local clinic as infections can get out of control in a tropical environment. He even offered to drive me there. I took his advice and let him drive me to the clinic. He translated for the nurse as she did not speak English. I was provided with oral antibiotics and a topical cream. I was very glad we went. By the next day the soreness and swelling had started to go down. I believe it could have gotten pretty bad without treatment.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&]After our four nights in the North we were picked up by boat by another Matias from Pension Ramiti (http://www.raimiti.com/). The boat ride down was about 1:20. The seas were still a little rough but the boat did fine. When we arrived at Ramiti we found we were the only guests. For us this was great as were staying there to get away from it all. The staff was highly competent. My wife’s dietary needs were taking care of superbly by chef Nicolis. Florian, the manager provided the right amount of help without being in the way and Matias who is also a dive instructor was a great resource for local fish species information.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&]Ramiti provided boat transportation and packed a nice lunch for us for our two trips to the South pass. I dove there with Tetamanu diving by Eleuthera ([/FONT][FONT=&]http://www.tetamanuvillage.pf/us/plongee-fakarava.html[/FONT][FONT=&]). On the first day we did a drift dive with the incoming current. The life in the pass is just fantastic. There were two spotted eagle rays, some huge Napoleon wrasses along with more grey reef sharks then you could count. Of course there were many other species of sea life and a very health coral reef. The second dive was done with the outgoing tide. The visibly was much reduced due to particulates in the water. However, it was still good because the shark behavior was much different on the outgoing tide. Instead of just passively swimming as they did in the incoming current they were displaying a more aggressive attitude toward their fellow reef dwellers. During the second day I just did one dive on the incoming current. It was much the same as the first with many sharks. We took a slightly different route and spent some time at a small cavern observing the sharks. This made a great photo opportunity. Each of the two incoming current dives ended in the white sand at the dive center which was great.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&]During the two days I was diving the South pass, the staff of Ramiti took my wife snorkeling. On the first she went with Nicholas and stayed near the shore and dive center. On the second day, Matias took her to the start of the pass in the boat and followed her as she drifted with the current back to the dive center. Visibility from the surface was great and she saw much of what I saw. This was certainly one of the highlights of the trip for her.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&]On our last day in Fakarava, Nicolis and Matias took us back to the North in the boat. The return trip took about the same time but on much smoother seas. We were met on the dock by a taxi with had been prearranged and paid for by Ramiti. We flew from Fakarava back to Tahiti and stayed one night at the Intercontinental before flying home via LA on Air France and then to Detroit on Delta. Once again when we checked in with Air France our seats which had been confirmed with Delta were not in the system and we were assigned less desirable seats. As it turned out, this turned out to be a good thing as I wound up sitting next to Ugo the owner of The Six Passengers who was flying back to Italy for a Dive Show. Of course this made for some interesting conversation and insights into French Polynesia. The other issue I had with Air France was my Gold status was not in their system and they were going to charge me for extra baggage. I did not have my card with me. Fortunately, I did have my boarding pass from my flight out of Detroit on Delta which did indicate I was Gold. The return flights were uneventful but long. I do feel for the many French passengers who were going on to Paris from LA.
In the end we were very happy with the trip and may very well make another trip to the two islands. There are a few things we would do different on a return: 1.) Get a certification which would be recognized by the locals as a CMAS 2 Star. PADI Advanced Open Water along with Rescue is recognized as equivalent to 2 Star. I would however get a CMAS card from SEI SEI Diving to make sure. 2.) I would confirm my seats on Air France even though they code share with Delta. I would also make sure I had my Gold credentials with me. 3.) We would work a little harder up front so that each location understood my wife’s diet needs.
The following are some things we did which I feel could be of benefit to someone going to these destinations. 1.) Be prepared for no night life - neither location has any. This is perfect for us but may not be for you. 2.) Bring lots of mosquito repellant. 3.) Be prepared to sleep in an open air bungalow under a mosquito net. 3.) If you are taking photos/video bring lots of memory and/or a computer to download to. The internet, where available, is very slow and expensive. Trying to upload files to cloud storage is impossible. 4.) Purchase a 10 dive pass which can be used all of the centers I dove with plus many more ([/FONT][FONT=&]http://www.dive-tahiti.com/spip/spip.php?article137&lang=en[/FONT][FONT=&]) This pass can be purchased from any of the participating dive centers. 5.) Stay in the North and South if you want to dive both. The dive centers in the North do run trips down to the South pass but they are very infrequent. If you want to see the South pass it is better to stay down there. 6.) Depending on your desires, you will have to make a decision of where to stay in the South: Ramiti or Tetamanu Village (Fakarava hebergement). Our choice was Ramiti because of the remoteness. It is however a twenty minute boat ride to the South Pass. Tetamanu Village has the advantage of being right on the pass and you can walk to the dive shop. 7.) Make sure to get some local currency in the airport at Papeete. You will need it for lunches as most of the Pensions are half board, meaning you will have to buy lunch (Ramiti is full board). 8.) Consider not bringing all of your dive gear in order to reduce luggage. I brought my own because of my status with Delta, I could bring additional luggage. The equipment at all of the dive centers was top brand name and looked to be well maintained. 9.) Yoke style regulators were the majority, the valves are all DIN with inserts so they can accommodate both styles. 10.) If your significant other is a fan of pearls, purchase some Black Pearls at one of the Pearl farms. 11.) Relax and have FUN![/FONT]
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