Fakarava, Rangiora and Tikehau

[Wanderlusfer]

Hi guys,

This is Fernando from Spain.
I will be travelling around Polynesia for 13 days. I am planning to stay in Tahiti then Moorea (by boat) a then continue flying to Rangiroa, Tikehau and Fakarava (for diving)
I have 7 days to spend in Rangiroa, Tikehau and Fakarava and I would like to do at least 10 dives. My big concern is how to planning the dives regarding the interval between dives and the domestic flights.
How do you recommend me to split the stays for trying to do the best dives in each island?? Would you miss any stay like Tikehau perhaps?
I am very lover of big animals (sharks, mantas, marlins, dolphins, etc...). So I want to try for sure
- Fakarava North Pass/ South pass
- Rangiroa tiputa pass
- Tikehau - Try to see some tiger shark and mantas?
What about the polynesia dive pass? it looks very nice, do you recommend me to buy it?
I really appreciate any kind of recommendation
It is being the toughest vacation planning I have ever did

Thanks in advance
cheers

 

[Manuel Sam]

My general and random thoughts are:

1. Doing three atolls in 7 days means 3 days for just flying....too much, if you ask me. It could be argued that flying from Rangiroa to Tikehau or viceversa is only a 20-minute flight at probably lower altitude, and perhaps that might be considered safe to fly even after diving. I don't think I want to encourage you to do that, and neither will most of the dive operators. The only chamber that I know of is in Papeete.

2. You also have to take into account that Air Tahiti does not offer flights between these atolls every single day of the week. For example, this December, I am planning to do all three atolls like you but I am spending a lot more than one week. But I still had to work around Air Tahiti offering a direct flight from Fakarava to Rangiroa only on Mondays. On other days of the week, you might have to fly back to Papeete, probably overnight there, before flying to Rangiroa or Tikehau the next day. So perhaps in might be better for you to fly Papeete-Rangiroa and then Rangiroa-Fakarava. But you still need to look at the days when flights are available.

3. Bottom line: Just from a flying standpoint, it gets a bit complicated with just one week while trying to get 5 days of diving. My best recommendation is to just do Fakarava and Rangiroa, in which case, you should be able to do both North and South Fakarava, and then Rangiroa. As for Mantas and Tiger Sharks and even Great Hammerheads in Tikehau, the mantas, for sure, and the Tigers and Great Hammers, if you are lucky. Mantas are not a sure thing in Rangiroa or Fakarava but with some luck, Tigers and Great Hammers can also be seen in Rangiroa and Fakarava.

I have never used the Te Moana dive pass, so I can't offer any advice. But the dive centers - Dive Spirit in Fakarava and Six Passengers in Rangiroa - that honor the pass are good.

You might get more replies if you repost the question under The Pacific Islands.