@keptium &
@Chad1836
Our kids are now older (so not limited by depth, etc.), however we did take them to FP when they were much younger (twice actually, when only one was diving - as a junior OW diver, and then again when the other got certified as a junior OW diver).
I can state this very clearly;
Fakarava and Rangiroa have no diving 40ft or above that is any different or even worth the extra travel vs, the Society Islands. As mentioned above, you can snorkel the Rangiroa pass (which is a lot of fun) however to go and not dive the pass (as divers) would be almost criminal. Fakarava has a few shallow dives, but you will not experience the Wall of Sharks at limited depth.
Instead- if you want to take your junior divers to FP, look at Manihi (also in the Tuomotus). They will have the chance to see a few sharks, turtles, and likely mantas fairly frequenty. Most of the cleaning stations are shallow enough that your kids will get to experience them. The other dives (along plateaus and sloping reefs) are also good. In addition to Manihi, I highly recommend Huahini and Raiatea. The diving is good (not Rangiroa and Fakarava good, but worth the time). These both have sites that are suitable for junior open water divers. They also both have healthy populations of sharks (you will likely see a few each dive).
One caution here: all dive operators in FP are French. They may advertise they follow PADI standards, however their primary association is through CMAS. The CMAS standards are different than PADI (simple example, although CMAS does have an equivalent of a "child diver" program, the depth limits are ~15 feet. Their One-star divers (the equiv of an Open Water certification) is ~60ft. So your kids (based on their experience) are either going to be kept very shallow, or be allowed to dive slightly deeper than what PADI specifies. In reality, diving in FP (with French DMs) often exceeds the depths initially specified, as DMs will try to get you close to whatever is swimming by. Our 14 year old son spent 10 minutes at 80ft (alongside me and the DM) watchling some (very large) sharks swim in lazy circles in a shark "nursery" in Huahine. Amazing experience, but our son had over 50 dives under his belt by this time, so we felt comfortable with this.
If you are looking for a kid-friendly dive destination that reallly knows how to cater to both new divers (of any age) and advanced divers, take a look at Wakatobi Dive Resort (in Indonesia, east of Bali). This is a world class dive resort, with DMs that have been trained to dive with families, kids, adults, etc. It is a bit more of a haul from the US, but the diving is sooooo much more conducive to families diving together. They have 50+ dive sites within just a few minutes of the resort, they dive in a protected marine park so the fish life is abudant and the coral is some of the healthiest and most prolific anywhere in the world. The house reef can both be snorked and dived from the beach (anytime of day, and also at night), it's full of life - easily one of the best house reefs anywhere in the world.
I am absolutely biased - both our kids were certified there (we chose this resort because of our previous experiences there), and we've been back as family multiple times.
Not going to lie - getting to Bali (from anywhere in the US) takes a full day (and is some cases, potentially a few hours more). However, once you get to Bali it gets very easy. The resort runs their own charter plane from Bali to a private airstrip near the resort, they handle all your luggage and transportation from Bali onwards, and takes care of everything in between. It's also worth mentioning the food is outstanding (both plentiful and varried). Our kids always enjoy the homemade donuts for breakfast - if we let them
We always stop for a day or two in Singapore on the way in, or Bali for an extra day. These experiences have opened our kids' eyes to other people, other cultures, etc. Last - our family visits to Wakatobi opened up dive trips to Raja Ampat, Komodo, Halmahera, and Ambon all before our youngest turned 18. They have learned to travel well internationally, take responsibility for their own packing and posessions, dive safety in all kinds of conditions, etc. (the older one has just completed her DM certification as well), all because we stretched their experiences beyond what was easy, close, etc.
This has absolutely been an $ investment, but we think it has been very worthwhile.
Thank you!
