French Polynesia, who to dive with?

[Boiler_81]

The FP system limits by depth. Fakarava passes really aren't that deep and were not an issue. My problem was in Raniroa, the dive I wanted to do there was deeper.

Edit: I did a search and found this: Diving Regulations in French Polynesia | Master Liveaboards

 

[divinh]

I can give you some stats from July 2017:

Bora Bora ranged from 16.3-19.6m max depth, 40-47 min
Rangiroa ranged from 14.5-26m max depth, 40-56 min
Fakarava ranged from 22-27m max depth, 50-60 min
Moorea ranged from 19.1-22m max depth, 47-57 min

Usually two dives per day, no night dives, though twilight is possible. Third dive might involve going past NDL, so definitely use a dive computer to watch your personal nitrogen load.

I only have AOW but 95 dives by the time I got there. My friend is only OW and he did some of the dives, though he did find them exhausting and usually opted for the larger tanks, if available (Rangiroa).

All dives were pretty much about large creatures, not much macro opportunities.

Bora Bora and Moorea were pretty mellow dives. Bora Bora was for Eagle Rays and some Mantas. Moorea was about Lemon Sharks, and they got close, within 4m.

Rangiroa and Fakarava are about passes. For Rangiroa, the dives are usually start outside the pass, Tiputa Pass, or at the shoulder and go into the pass along the reef OR straight down the middle of the pass. Along the reef is about the same as Shotgun in Komodo. You pick up speed but by the time you reach the lagoon, you slow down quite a bit. Going down the middle of the pass is like a "washing machine", bubbles going sideways, up and down currents, and you drift pretty fast. The dive computer will be beeping like crazy due to rapid ascents caused by the up currents. Fakarava is about the same as along the reef of Tiputa Pass, though down the middle. The pass is larger, so that's probably why it doesn't have the speed. Expect to see tons of Napoleons and sharks of all kinds... and if you're lucky, the family of dolphins that hang around Tiputa Pass.

I used the independent dive shops instead of the chain, Top Dive:

Eleuthera on Bora Bora, small shop, not crowded
Six Passengers on Rangiroa, excellent
Dive Spirit on Fakarava, mom and pop shop, could have more equipment sizes, but DM's were nice
Moorea Fun Dive on Moorea, mom and pop shop, new gear

Free pickup, gear included in price. My friend paid for the dive pass and I paid as I went. The savings seemed nominal. If you know for sure you'll be doing X dives, then it might be worth it.

Pay in local currency, even though the US dollar is accepted. The exchange rate is way better when you pay in local currency by 5-10%.

 

[jjmochi]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. A few additional questions

What can you see between 30m and 49m that you can't see above 30m? I read hammerheads are deep but Oct is not the season? It sounds like they will first gauge our ability on an easier dive either way, regardless of whether or not we have Rescue.

If you only have 2 days in Bora Bora / Moorea each would you still spend a half day to dive? I think I have decided on 3 nights Rangiroa / 3 nights Fakarava North / 3 nights Fakarava South so will have opportunity to do 4-6 dives on each. Can you only see manta rays/lemon sharks on Bora Bora/Moorea, or do you see them too on Rangiroa/Fakarava? Trying to balance top side activities, like lagoon tour on Bora Bora

How many dives did you do in each of the passes, and did you find them repetitive after x dives?

Thanks!

 

[Cali_diver]

The big sharks were deep... the black tips were everywhere. When we dove the pass in Fakarava we started the pass at approx. 130feet and ascended with bottom into lagoon. Pass dives were almost only once a day due to current. It has to be going into the lagoon. I could have done it all day long!

We saw mantas in both Fakarava and Rangi. Lemon sharks were awesome in Moorea. We saw them in Bora Bora (locals like to dive down and hang on to them) but not as close as Moorea. For non-diving Bora Bora has a neat sting ray (with black tips as well) experience that is similar to the Caymans that you can combine with a motu picnic. That time a year there will probably be whales there.

Most important advice for passes is stay behind your guide!

 

[divinh]

For Tiputa Pass, Rangiroa, outside the pass, it goes really deep, >50m, and the sharks usually hang out there, but they do circle up to check out things. One day, it was a circular wall of sharks around us, from the very bottom to the surface. I have no idea what was going on that day and neither did the guides. The sharks were everywhere, though no hammerheads.

For sharks up close, the Lemon Shark of Moorea basically follow you throughout the whole dive. They're expecting to be fed, as some dive ops do, but Moorea Fun Dive doesn't, which is something I like. It made it easy to take photos, but isn't natural behavior.

I dove every chance I got so I wouldn't be a good judge of what else to do topside. I might skip diving Bora Bora again and definitely do Rangiroa, Fakarava and Moorea. Bora Bora is gorgeous, especially looking at the resorts, but I stayed in a traditional house. If you're at a resort, maybe take advantage of it instead of diving? Bora Bora has both a center island and surrounding reef, which makes it different than Rangiroa and Fakarava, which are atolls. Moorea is more like a regular island.

Bora Bora 6x - easy dives
Rangiroa 11x - challenging and didn't go down the middle of Tiputa Pass until the last dive, which I would like to try to repeat since it was the most challenging
Fakarava 5x - wanted to do more
Moorea 4x - easy dives, could do a few more

With the dive ops, if you tell them you'll be diving for a few days with them, they will generally accommodate by taking you to different sites every day. It doesn't get repetitive.

For flights, it'll be on puddle jumpers that don't fly that high. I was told that 12 hours no-fly was fine, instead of 18-24 hours, between islands/atolls.

Yes, stay behind your guide and at the same depth. The currents vary a lot. You're usually diving into the lagoon, but it's still possible to get ejected out of the pass into the wrong side of the little island in the middle of Tiputa Pass. One time, we surfaced on the wrong side and the boat didn't see us for quite a while, as they were expecting us on the other side. The guide had an air horn that go their attention.

 

[jjmochi]

Ok I've decided! We will do 3 nights each on Rangiroa, Fakarava North, and Fakarava South, and 2 nights each on Bora Bora and Moorea. This should let us do 6 dives on Rangiroa/Faka N/Faka S, and 2 dives on Bora Bora/Moorea.

For Bora Bora, will dive with Eleuthera Bora Diving Center. For Moorea, will dive with Moorea Fun Dive.

For Rangiroa, had anyone used Y aka Plongee? I like them in concept more than Six Passengers since they are located right next to Kia Ora where we'll be staying, so we can relax/chill in our room in between dives. They said max dive group is 5 divers which sounds good.

For Fakarava North, Dive Spirit is the most expensive, even with Te Moana pass at 7250xpf/dive. Their 10 dive package can't be shared between 2 people. I was on tripadvisor and O2 Fakarava has good reviews and is cheaper at 6500xpf/dive, has anyone used them?
I also looked at Fakarava Diving Center/Kaina Plongee which is even cheaper at 6300xpf/dive but their email bounced back.

For Fakarava South, I'm really struggling between Tetamanu Village and Raimiti. Tetamanu is right on the pass and can do a night dive, snorkel the pass anytime, but has no hot water, some mixed reviews, and is more expensive (3 nights come out to be around the same cost as Ramiti plus 4 dives each. At 7500xpf/dive that's around $300 more). Ramiti is a boat ride away and can only do 2 dives per day, but has hot water and better reviews.
- Has anyone done the night dive on the South pass and is it better than the day dives / a must do?
- for Raimiti, what is there to do in the afternoon after your morning dives? Is snorkeling in front of Raimiti decent? (@boiler)

We're also considering a whale watching tour with Moorea Ocean Adventures to see the humpback whales.

So excited!

 

[jjmochi]

Actually Dive Spirit Fakarava is 7700 xpf/dive, 7200xpf for Te Moana pass plus 500xpf surcharge.

Also forgot to ask on Rangiroa, has anyone done the Blue Lagoon excursion and is it worth taking away 1 dive day to do it? There are rave reviews that say it's "must do" but it sounds pretty similar to what we'll see on Fakarava South?

 

[divinh]

There are two things Six Passengers has going for it, an instructor named Pitou, who has been diving there for 18+ years and the dolphins will come right up to him if they're around, and a photographer named Bernard, who takes pretty incredible photos. If you get Pitou and the dolphins are around, expect an encounter. If Bernard is around, expect some amazing photos from the dive.

But the appeal of hanging out in between dives in your room is pretty good. My friend and I stayed within walking distance of Six Passengers and we did that.

-----

As for pricing, the difference between 6500 xpf and 7500 xpf is about $10 USD, not that much in my opinion, unless you're doing a ton of diving.

 

[Boiler_81]

I can't really say what the snorkeling would be like in front of Raimiti, we didn't try it. We did enjoy Raimiti for the time we were there. It was just so relaxing and the staff was wonderful.

It looks like you have pretty much figured out your plan. Enjoy the trip! Please post a review when you return.

Ok I've decided! We will do 3 nights each on Rangiroa, Fakarava North, and Fakarava South, and 2 nights each on Bora Bora and Moorea. This should let us do 6 dives on Rangiroa/Faka N/Faka S, and 2 dives on Bora Bora/Moorea.

For Bora Bora, will dive with Eleuthera Bora Diving Center. For Moorea, will dive with Moorea Fun Dive.

For Rangiroa, had anyone used Y aka Plongee? I like them in concept more than Six Passengers since they are located right next to Kia Ora where we'll be staying, so we can relax/chill in our room in between dives. They said max dive group is 5 divers which sounds good.

For Fakarava North, Dive Spirit is the most expensive, even with Te Moana pass at 7250xpf/dive. Their 10 dive package can't be shared between 2 people. I was on tripadvisor and O2 Fakarava has good reviews and is cheaper at 6500xpf/dive, has anyone used them?
I also looked at Fakarava Diving Center/Kaina Plongee which is even cheaper at 6300xpf/dive but their email bounced back.

For Fakarava South, I'm really struggling between Tetamanu Village and Raimiti. Tetamanu is right on the pass and can do a night dive, snorkel the pass anytime, but has no hot water, some mixed reviews, and is more expensive (3 nights come out to be around the same cost as Ramiti plus 4 dives each. At 7500xpf/dive that's around $300 more). Ramiti is a boat ride away and can only do 2 dives per day, but has hot water and better reviews.
- Has anyone done the night dive on the South pass and is it better than the day dives / a must do?
- for Raimiti, what is there to do in the afternoon after your morning dives? Is snorkeling in front of Raimiti decent? (@boiler)

We're also considering a whale watching tour with Moorea Ocean Adventures to see the humpback whales.

So excited!

 

[Wingy]

Rangiroa Plongee on Rangiroa.

IMO - yes, there is something to see at the bottom of Tipuata pass if your timing is right and the hammerhead aggregation is on and they're all sleeping and mating down there. Eleuthera get good wraps, Dive Spirit and I forgot who I dived with in Moorea - the in house op at the Moorea Pearl Hotel. I don't think inter island dive passes are that great value as you're a long way from getting to use up your dives if the weather isn't that co cooperative.

I'm CMAS certified - you could consider doing a CMAS cross over if you find a good CMAS instructor.

The govt sets the diving rules - they can be found here

Traveling to Tahiti and the French Polynesia for Diving