Question 16 Nights - How long in Tikehau, Rangiroa, & Fakahava

[DivingChipmunk]

It's not like we didn't get btten in Fakarava and Rangiroa, but nothing like in Tikehau. Tikehau was our last stop, but I doubt that a week or so further towards their Summer season made a difference. And I don't recall that it rained any more in Tikehau than in the other two. It might have been a bit breezier during our time in Fakarava and Rangiroa.

They were there just about everywhere: in Tikehau at the Pension, at the dive shop, at the Snack near the town pier where we had lunch, and for sure at the airport. We were spared only when we were in the water, on the boat or riding a bike.

Now, getting bit isn't the end of the world, but the owner of the Pension we stayed at in Rangiroa was recovering from dengue fever, and that is a show-stopper. So best to come prepared and try to minimize the bites.

Thanks for responding @Manuel Sam .
Now we are reconsidering our 2025 Christmas/New Year dive travel plan to FP. It seems to be a time for mosquito problems there. Being in constant battle with mosquitoes takes away the joy of travelling to a tropical destination. Dengue fever is definitely no fun.
In your previous diving trips to Fakarava/Rangiora, did you run into mosquito issues like this time in Tikehau? And were you ever there on these islands around Chirstmas/New year time?

Thanks again for all your help!

 

[Manuel Sam]

No, sorry - never been there in the Christmas/New Year timeframe. My prior trips were in January (2x), February, April, June (2x), and September/October. That included a January 2015 trip in Fakarava during the chikungaya outbreak. But I can't recall mosquitoes being as bad a problem in any of those trips as in Tikehau. I speculate that there might be less mosquitoes during their winter months becasue there is less wet.

I didn't mean to scare you from traveling during your planned time. I think that with proper precautions, you can abate the risks. Late December/early January is a good time to see Great Hammerheads and Tigers both in Rangiroa and Tikehau.

 

[cetacean]

DvrRick: sorry about the layoff and the trip cancellation. Hopefully you'll be able to get back up on your feet soon, so to speak, if not already, and then do this trip in the near future.

I do want to report briefly on my experience in Tikehau - my first time there in 8 trips to the Tuamotus. We dove with Raie Manta, but they are no longer owned by the owner of the Rangiroa Raie Manta. We went out on their so-called sunset dive the very afternoon after arriving late morning. Unbeknownst to us, these cost 10,000 xpf vs. 7000 (it was about 112 xpf to the US dollar during my trip, Dec 2-20) for non-sunset afternoon dives. The reason turned out to be quite simple. It should have been obvious after that first sunset dive.....15 minutes into this sunset dive, a 14 ft Great Hammerhead. A few minutes later, a 12 ft Tiger. And a few minutes later, an 11-12 ft Great Hammer. I could have gone home after that dive and been happy.

In 3 1/2 days of diving totaling 9 dives, the tally was 4 Great Hammers and 5 Tigers. All of the Great hammer sightings were on sunset dives. And all in 30-60 feet of water - not waaay down in 150-200 feet where we saw one Great Hammer one day and one Tiger another day from above in Rangiroa.

Be forewarned, however, that these encounters are fleeting 5-10 second encounters and the shark do not come close. Chasing is futile. Sure, there are also a lot of fish of different varieties but they're the same fish day after day, and not a heckuva lot of anything else. I didn't see a single grey reef, oceanic black tip, and just one silvertip late one day. A few white tips reef and a couple of reef black tips were the only other sharks we saw. Apparentrly, none of them seem to want to be where the big boys and girls hang around. So after a few dives and when there are no Tigers nor Great Hammers to be seen, it can get pretty boring swimming all over.

Also worth noting: lots of mosquitoes. Maybe it was the time of the year (start of their summer) - who knows. Waiting for my flght back to Papeete on my deaprture day, it was the first time ever that I felt literally swarmed by dozens of mosquitoes. So if you are going, bring long sleeves, long pants, and repellent. I brought all of those and still got bit quite a bit. If there is a next trip, I am adding one of those electric zapper rackets to my arsenal.

We've been to Tikehau three times, there are definitely mozzies, but not like you are describing. Maybe we've been lucky...

Did you find the mantas? We usually add on Tikehau for the cleaning stations, after diving with more of a shark focus elsewhere.

 

[Manuel Sam]

Yeah, luck for sure, along with time of the year and perhaps where one stays. If you stayed at the Pearl, being in the over-the-water bungalows probably makes a difference. But that episode of getting swarmed by the mosquitoes at the Tikehau airport was a first for me - and I lived my first 18 years in Cuba, Miami, and Puerto Rico.

There were just two of us passengers waiting at the Tikehau Airport at the time, and between the two, we easily killed 25 of them. Then I saw one the counter agents zapping them almost nonstop and that's where I got the idea of bringing one those electric zappers the next time.

The manta dive was offered but the viz in the lagoon was terrible at that time so we opted to skip it.

 

[DivingChipmunk]

No, sorry - never been there in the Christmas/New Year timeframe. My prior trips were in January (2x), February, April, June (2x), and September/October. That included a January 2015 trip in Fakarava during the chikungaya outbreak. But I can't recall mosquitoes being as bad a problem in any of those trips as in Tikehau. I speculate that there might be less mosquitoes during their winter months becasue there is less wet.

I didn't mean to scare you from traveling during your planned time. I think that with proper precautions, you can abate the risks. Late December/early January is a good time to see Great Hammerheads and Tigers both in Rangiroa and Tikehau.

Thanks again @Manuel Sam ! I think we are still planning to go diving at FP, but will skip Tikehau.

Another mosquito related question: is it better to stay on the ocean side or lagoon side?

Any lodging recommendation for Rangiora? We have contacted Havaiki for Favarava, but can;t decide on Rangiora. Seems that none of the pensions close to the dive shops has AC, and the fancy hotels are not close to the dive shops.

Thank you!

 

[Manuel Sam]

It is still a good time to go to see the Great Hammers and the Tigers. Another consideration might be to stay at either the Pearl or the Ninamu. Both are on separate islets and have AC and at least Pearl has over the water bungalows. The dive shops do boat pickup and drop-offs. So this might be a the compromise to dive in Tikehau. BUT...they are mucho buck$$$$$.

In many cases, the strip of land that separates ocean from lagoon side is so narrow that it makes little difference. IN many case, about a 5 minute walk from one side to the other. However, common sense might say that ocean side has more of a breeze than the lagoon side, and that also helps deter the mosquitoes. BUT......if you are a light sleeper, it may take some getting used to the noise from waves at the shoreline.

Besides, Havaiki, you might also try the place I stayed at in Fakarava: Kaipolanie Gardens. It has AC, and the hosts are really great. But they book up quickly since they only have 2 bungalows, and your timeframe is pretty busy for them, if not with guests, then with family who come visit. That was the case this past New Year.

Whether on Rangiroa or Fakarava, the dive shops provide free pick-up and drop-off usually by car. So proximity to the dive shop is not important. Of the ones with AC that I know of, Kia Ora is probably the closest to the dive shops in Rangiroa, but their rates are thru the roof. BUT....and this was quite a revelation to me....having meals there alacarte is not too bad. Their pasta dishes are around $20. Just don't go for their once a week buffet and show, which is around $80 pp.

 

[DivingChipmunk]

In Fakarava North, I've always gone with Kaina Plongée, formerly Fakarava Diving Centre. And after having dived with them three weeks ago, they are still my go-to operation in North Fakarava.

O2 is reputed to be good too.

I did not stay in South Fakarava this time except for doing a daytrip from the North with Kaina, but when I have stayed there, I've always stayed and dived with Tetamanu Resort.

I mentioned in an earlier reply to this thread that I was staying at Kaipolanie Gardens in North Fakarava. Having ended up staying there for 10 nights due to an airport closure, I do not hesitate in saying that this is the REAL thing: in my opinion, the best place to stay in the north for the money ($200 a night for 2 sharing a bungalow that is clean, spacious, double vanity bathroom, small fridge, 1 queen and one twin bed, half-board (you better like fish tho), AC(!!!), easy walking distance (10-20 minutes) to just about everything (store, bakery, restaurants, church and even Kaina Plongée) and absolutely the nicest hosts/owners, Cedric and Vanina.

The caveat: others have noticed too, so virtually impossible to get a booking last minute.

In Rangiroa, I have always dived with Raie Manta and hereagain, nothing happened during my three days with them 2 weeks ago that would cause me to want to take my business elsewhere. Six Passengers is reputed to be good too.

Apologize for hijacking the thread (again). @Manuel Sam , I just read in your post about airport closure on Fakarava. Can you provide some further info? Was it due to stormy weather in December? Does the airport tend to close in rainy season?
We are trying to plan the buffer time to leave between flying out of Fakarava and our International return flight from PPT to SFO.
Thank you!

 

[talaysatravels]

Just chiming in quickly on this thread to say that for Rangiroa I would absolutely recommend staying oceanside if you don't mind the roar of the waves while you sleep; I stayed lagoon-side and even with a mosquito net they were pretty bad. The strong winds off the ocean side help keep them at bay. That said, I stayed at a small pension there that was excellent, and the dive shop picked me up from the pension every morning. I dove with Six Passengers, and the only thing I would say is that their name is incredibly misleading... there were 12-15 people (passengers, if you will) on the boat every day, which made for rather crowded groups.
I also did about a week of diving in North Fakarava and wish I had stayed in the South instead (enjoyed the diving in the south better, personally), but would recommend Havaiki for the North. I stayed at a small pension and ended up having to eat most of my meals at Havaiki, for lack of other dining options nearby.

 

[cetacean]

It is still a good time to go to see the Great Hammers and the Tigers. Another consideration might be to stay at either the Pearl or the Ninamu. Both are on separate islets and have AC and at least Pearl has over the water bungalows. The dive shops do boat pickup and drop-offs. So this might be a the compromise to dive in Tikehau. BUT...they are mucho buck$$$$$.

In many cases, the strip of land that separates ocean from lagoon side is so narrow that it makes little difference. IN many case, about a 5 minute walk from one side to the other. However, common sense might say that ocean side has more of a breeze than the lagoon side, and that also helps deter the mosquitoes. BUT......if you are a light sleeper, it may take some getting used to the noise from waves at the shoreline.

Besides, Havaiki, you might also try the place I stayed at in Fakarava: Kaipolanie Gardens. It has AC, and the hosts are really great. But they book up quickly since they only have 2 bungalows, and your timeframe is pretty busy for them, if not with guests, then with family who come visit. That was the case this past New Year.

Whether on Rangiroa or Fakarava, the dive shops provide free pick-up and drop-off usually by car. So proximity to the dive shop is not important. Of the ones with AC that I know of, Kia Ora is probably the closest to the dive shops in Rangiroa, but their rates are thru the roof. BUT....and this was quite a revelation to me....having meals there alacarte is not too bad. Their pasta dishes are around $20. Just don't go for their once a week buffet and show, which is around $80 pp.

@Manuel Sam

For hundreds of years sailors have been saying "the noise from waves at the shoreline" (or reef) help them fall asleep

After a long passage, anchoring inside a lagoon, with waves breaking on the reef was the respite sailors looked forward to finally sleep in peace. I've personally experienced this sailing between island chains in the Pacific- seems like you are wired somewhat differently.

 

[Manuel Sam]

Apologize for hijacking the thread (again). @Manuel Sam , I just read in your post about airport closure on Fakarava. Can you provide some further info? Was it due to stormy weather in December? Does the airport tend to close in rainy season?
We are trying to plan the buffer time to leave between flying out of Fakarava and our International return flight from PPT to SFO.
Thank you!

It was not weather-related but it was just as unpredictable as the weather.

On Dec. 6, the firefighters union went on strike, thereby closing most airports in French Polynesia except for the busier (ie, the ones that make the most money) airports - Papeete, Rangiroa, Raiatea, Bora Bora - where the firefighters are apparently represented by a different union.

Coincidentally, a strike also occurred while I was in French Polynesia in October 2022. Fortunately I was in Papeete at that time and was flying to Rangiroa. Moral of the story: don't go when I go, and don't worry, I am not going this year.

I have not come across the situation of an airport in French Polynesia being closed due to weather......yet. I'm sure that it happens.

I've never purposely built a buffer between my flight back to Papeete and my flight back to the US - it'd be a waste unless you can plan on stuff to do in Papeete. The domestic flight usually gets you back mid-afternoon to Papeete, and the flight to SFO is around 9:30pm, I think, so at least a 4-hour buffer.

Another consideration: do your trip such that you finish either in Rangiroa or Tikehau. There are daily flights from Rangiroa back to Papeete, and on most days more than one flight, whereas returning from Fakarava to Papeete, it is only one flight a day and only 5 days a week. Even Tikehau has daily flights back to Papeete, and in a worse case scenario in which you are stuck in Tikehau, there's bound to be someone willing to take you to Rangiroa by boat. It's a lot shorter than Fakarava to Rangiroa.