Tips for Diving Tahiti

[Cabub]

Dear Dive Community,

Good day and I hope all is well.

My family and I are looking to visit Tahiti and since this will be our first visit to the island(s) I am seeking some advice from any of you so we can properly plan our dive trip. Below are a few questions that would greatly assist us in or planning:

1. When is the best time of year to visit as far as conditions, i.e. visibility, rain, etc.,?
2. We were considering Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora, Rangiroa what are the pros & cons of each?
3. My son and I really like sharks, is one island better for seeing and diving with them?
4. Is it feasible to travel between and dive most of the islands in a two week stay?
5. Recommendations for dive operators?
6. Recommendations for lodging (mid range as I want to spend my money on diving)?
7. Any "Must Do's" while we are there?

I greatly appreciate and welcome any and all advice. Thank you.

 

[1erCRU]

Rangiroa is the only real dive destination on your list. You can have an enjoyable dives at the others but you wouldn't go there to dive, they are all about the usual package tourists & honeymooners with the enhancement of overwater bungalows. Not to disparage overwater bungalows, or Bora Bora or the combo, they should be on everyone's bucket list. You can't skip Tahiti Nui since that is your connection point to change planes for the outer islands, but not (imho) a place to waste money on a dive. I usually spend the first night at a hotel near PPT for an early departure the next day. This is also not the place to spend money on an ow bungalow, those dollars will be better rewarded on other islands.

You will see lots of sharks on just about every dive in FP especially in the passes of the outer islands!

It is possible to visit many FP islands via the airpass from Air Tahiti Iti (not Nui) Air Tahiti : Domestic airline of Tahiti and her islands > Fares

For divers, the Tuamotus are real world class diving: Rangiroa, Fakarava, Manihi, Tikehau etc (in order of my preference). In the Society islands Raiatea, Tahaa and Huahine are very nice.

Accommodations in FP are expensive especially the aforementioned ow bungalows, you can easily drop $500/night, food & drink is likewise expensive. The small hotels and pensiones are the best budget accomodations in the Tuamotus, were there is not a great range to pick from. Look for a room with a fridge and coffee maker, you can save money on beverages, snacks, and breakfast items at the local marche.

 

[Cabub]

Thank you so very much for your advice as it is greatly appreciated, that is why I posted the thread. THANK YOU!

As I am still learning about the islands there are still things I still haven't learned. Like, what is meant by "Tuamotus" and "Society" islands? Also, what do you man by "FP" in our post? Sorry for the dumb questions - Ha!

Again, thank you for the information on your list of preferred islands and I will begin researching them. By the way, what time of year do you prefer visiting the islands?

 

[1erCRU]

FP (French Polynesia) or PF (Polynésie française) are generally used to describe the French Pacific Islands which include Tahiti. There are a number of groupings of islands with more specific names, since Tahiti is really only two islands Tahiti Nui & Tahiti Iti (big & little). Moorea is very close to Tahiti and considered "Tahiti" too by some.

Bora Bora is a short flight from Tahiti and is in a different group of islands called the Society Islands or the Leewards or Îles sous le Vent.

The Tuamotus or Archipel des Tuamotu are another short plane ride from Tahiti in another group of islands, accutally atolls like Rangiroa, Fakarava etc

There are other groups of islands but the above are the ones commonly (or uncommonly) divers visit.

I have not seen much difference between winter or summer and would head there anytime it worked for my calendar (and budget!!)

A few minutes with google earth will make it much clearer than my feeble descriptions.

 

[TSandM]

In our trip a couple of years ago, it seemed that most of the islands immediately around Tahiti ran shark-feeding dives. There is a lot of reef damage there (they've had a plague of crown-of-thorns starfish) so the shark feeding seems to be the way they have figured out to make sure the dives are interesting and please their customers. We got very tired of them.

When we came back to Tahiti at the end of our trip, we dove again with Top Dive there, and requested no shark feeding . . . they took us to a very pretty wall with a LOT of healthy coral and life, and also to two small wrecks. It was fun, but as stated, certainly not worth the cost and effort of getting to French Polynesia.

However, Rangiroa was completely different, and ranks in the top three or four places I have dived in the world. The reefs are healthy, vibrant, colorful and rich. The fish life was astonishing, and we did see sharks and schools of jacks, as well as a manta. I would love to go back there.

 

[electrix]

You can rent a car in Tahiti and take the car ferry to Moorea and stay there sharks are everywhere.

 

[laurenceh]

go to rangiroa, taputa pass has to be one of the ten best dives in the world. on rangiroa i highly recommend six passengers dive co., great dive masters. manihi is also a great diving atoll, the lagoon is a pearl farm and its very popular with manta rays.

 

[medic5]

We have been to the region three times. Going again next year. Your flight from the states will land in Tahiti probably on an Air Tahiti Nui flight. While Tahiti is interesting I would suggest you leave Tahiti ASAP simply because it is not the tropical island of your dreams. It is pretty built up and the beaches are marginal. Many flights from the states get in late in the evening and there is no option but to spend one night in Tahiti.

Getting to the island of Moorea is easy as you can take a 30 minute ferry which costs about $30 roundtrip per person. Moorea is very, very pretty and is one of the high islands as opposed to atolls such as Rangiroa. One issue in the region is that except for getting from Tahiti to Moorea all other transport to other islands (Bora Bora, Taha'a, Rangiroa, etc.) require an expensive inter island flight. Air Tahiti, not Air Tahiti Nui, flies the inter island routes. The cost is about $400 round trip from Tahiti to another island. They do have an inter island air pass that if you plan properly can get you to a few islands for I believe about $500 round trip with a few stops. With the long travel time and the issues that come with packing and flying from resort to resort I would recommend no more than 3 islands for a 2 week visit.

This region is really, really expensive if you stay at a higher end resort. The over water bungalows are spectacular but you will pay for them. The Hilton on Moorea has world class snorkeling from the over water bungalows at a cost of about $750 a night. Overwater units on Bora Bora or Rangiroa are in the $1,000 - $1,200 a night range. Food is very expensive with breakfast buffets in the $30-$40 range per person. I did some dives in Moorea and Bora Bora and they were great. I am spending a week in Rangiroa after a Paul Gauguin cruise in June of 2013.

If you are going primarily to dive you may want to consider Fiji. It is considerably less expensive and was superior to Moorea and Bora Bora (I can't compare to Rangiroa).

 

[jake11]

We did a wave runner tour around Bora Bora that was fabulous! We also loved the parasailing in Moorea! We rented a car and drove around Moorea to shop for pearls! Consider the Paul Gaugain boat! They have their own dive deck in the back of the cruise ship!! You might be able to get some great deals!
Have fun!