cnmoga
New
My first post here on Scubaboard and I just wanted to review very quickly a great experience I recently had in French Polynesia. As a bit of background, I'm a beginning diver and just recently was certified this past August (four dives in Apple Valley, MN) with a subsequent nine dives in Key West. A chose a trip to Fakarava as my first "real scuba vacation" and I certainly wasn't disappointed. After spending three days on Tahiti proper I flew out to Fakarava and dove with a smaller, more personal company called Dive Spirit. The specifics:
*12 dives over five days. You have an opportunity to do two dives in the morning with an afternoon dive so I did a 2/3/2/3/2 schedule during the week which was perfect.
*Fantastic customer service. I was given a small tour of the dive shop the night before and picked up/dropped off everyday at my pension. Service on the boat was just as good: tanks are quickly replaced after the first dive, snacks promptly served, and safety is paramount at all times.
*Nice boat! I read on here on a much earlier post that they use a wooden fishing boat (!) which is comical. An 8m long ASTEC semi-rigid boat was our home on the water; it's the perfect combination of being roomy enough for all divers and fast enough to get you to the destination.
*The diving is other-worldly. We dove various parts of the North Pass during the week and it was fantastic. Sharks, manta rays, Napoleon, stone fish, etc. etc. all found in abundance. Some of my enthusiasm might come from being a beginner but it was almost universally shared by fellow divers with much more experience than myself.
*The operation is a smaller one (they limit the number of divers to I think 8 to 10 per trip) but there is still ample opportunity for more advanced divers to dive separately from the beginners. Land facilities are great, there is internet available, a small library to research post-dive questions, showers, and an area to decompress (pun intended) after your dives and discuss things with the other folks on your dive. I learned as much out of the water as under it if that makes sense.
More info can be found on their website (divespirit.com) and I would recommend them highly and without reservation.
*12 dives over five days. You have an opportunity to do two dives in the morning with an afternoon dive so I did a 2/3/2/3/2 schedule during the week which was perfect.
*Fantastic customer service. I was given a small tour of the dive shop the night before and picked up/dropped off everyday at my pension. Service on the boat was just as good: tanks are quickly replaced after the first dive, snacks promptly served, and safety is paramount at all times.
*Nice boat! I read on here on a much earlier post that they use a wooden fishing boat (!) which is comical. An 8m long ASTEC semi-rigid boat was our home on the water; it's the perfect combination of being roomy enough for all divers and fast enough to get you to the destination.
*The diving is other-worldly. We dove various parts of the North Pass during the week and it was fantastic. Sharks, manta rays, Napoleon, stone fish, etc. etc. all found in abundance. Some of my enthusiasm might come from being a beginner but it was almost universally shared by fellow divers with much more experience than myself.
*The operation is a smaller one (they limit the number of divers to I think 8 to 10 per trip) but there is still ample opportunity for more advanced divers to dive separately from the beginners. Land facilities are great, there is internet available, a small library to research post-dive questions, showers, and an area to decompress (pun intended) after your dives and discuss things with the other folks on your dive. I learned as much out of the water as under it if that makes sense.
More info can be found on their website (divespirit.com) and I would recommend them highly and without reservation.
