Fakarava or Moorea in addition to Rangiroa??

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steve532

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We are planning a trip to French Polynesia next month. We like sharks and I definitely want to dive Rangiroa. Problem is that we are limited by time and only have 9 days for vacation. We are OK with short trips as it is hard to get away for longer. I would hate to go all that way and not try out one other island. Making sure that we are not diving too close to flying, we could most likely dive 2 days in Rangiroa and 2 days in Fakarava or 2-3 days in Moorea (I believe there is a ferry between Tahiti and Moorea so that may allow for an extra day of diving). It seems that Fakarava is outstanding diving but it is farther from Tahiti than Moorea, has less to do topside and has fewer lodging options (most seem pretty basic). So, can anyone help me decide if the diving is that much better in Fakarava than Moorea to offset the other benefits of Moorea? For the sake of the discussion ignore cost (I haven't gotten that far yet), skill level required, etc.. Thanks.
 
Fakarava is soft coral heaven as well as passes. The diving in Moorea is pretty pedestrian. You may get lucky and be there during whale season. The ferry from Papeete to Moorea is only about 45 minutes and a great way to arrive. Fakarava keeps eluding me but I'd say topside, like Rangiroa there is very little to do.

Moorea has a few quaint little shopping areas, lots of patisseries and restaurants, sightseeing from Le Belvedere, opohuna bay etc....but it's still not a nightlife island. Hope this helps :)
 
You will like Fakarava, but I would dive Bora Bora instead of Moorea. Personally, I would not dive or snorkel in Moorea again unless I had nothing else to do. I think Wingy was being charitable in describing diving in Moorea as pedestrian.
 
there are 3 of us on a windstar in august going to tahiti - our cruise does not include fakarava atolls - sigh - but we do the other islands - if we wanted to dive 2 or 3 of the islands which ones would be worth the dives -
 
Hi Wingy
Was the below underlined a typo?
Did you mean to say Hard coral?


Fakarava is soft coral heaven as well as passes. The diving in Moorea is pretty pedestrian. You may get lucky and be there during whale season. The ferry from Papeete to Moorea is only about 45 minutes and a great way to arrive. Fakarava keeps eluding me but I'd say topside, like Rangiroa there is very little to do.

Moorea has a few quaint little shopping areas, lots of patisseries and restaurants, sightseeing from Le Belvedere, opohuna bay etc....but it's still not a nightlife island. Hope this helps :)
 
When I was there, I was told that the surface time before flights can be as short as 12 hrs since the puddle jumpers don't fly that high.

One problem is finding direct flights between Rangiroa and Fakarava. If you have to return to Tahiti, that wastes some time.

I found both Bora Bora and Moorea to be more pedestrian than Rangiroa and Fakarava. Rangiroa and Fakarava are usually deeper dives, 25+m with relatively short surface intervals and always drift. Going down the center of Tiputa Pass is a washing machine, i.e. sideways bubbles, rapid up/down from the strong current.

Some dive ops feed the Lemonsharks in Moorea so even if your dive op doesn't, expect close inspection from the Lemonsharks.

My friend and I shared a bungalow without aircon on Fakarava and the breeze kept us cool. Basic might be fine, but it's really about individual comfort levels.
 
there are 3 of us on a windstar in august going to tahiti - our cruise does not include fakarava atolls - sigh - but we do the other islands - if we wanted to dive 2 or 3 of the islands which ones would be worth the dives -

Rangiroa, Moorea, then Bora Bora. It's usually two dives. I was offered a third, sunset dive, but no night dive from Rangiroa. Moorea if you want up close Lemonsharks. Bora Bora for Manta and Eagle Ray possibility.
 
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