Tahiti Diving on Paul Gauguin

[AuroraB]

I am going on a 7 day Paul Gauguin Cruise and I'm curious as to what the "can't miss" dives are for the islands we are visiting.

Pre-Cruise - Tahiti for 1 day
Day 1 - Papeete, Tahiti
Day 2 - Vairao, Tahiti Iti
Day 3 - Huahine, Society Islands
Day 4 - Bora-Bora
Day 5 - Bora-Bora
Day 6 - Taha'a
Day 7 - Moorea
Day 8 - Papeete, Tahiti - flight home (8:30pm)

My husband and I are vacation divers, with about 15-18 dives each, though it has been 6 years since we dove (small kids and no one to watch them when we are away). We do both have our PADI Advanced Diving certification and thought we may do the Nitrox course before the trip.

 

[AuroraB]

Oh I should add - for better or worse we are going in Feb!

 

[ColoDale]

We did this but with the Tuomotus and excepting Vairao (which appears to be on Tahiti) in the month of Dec. There were no scheduled dives in Taha'a or Huahine. If yours is only the Society islands then maybe they will but I can offer no suggestions. For Moorea and Bora Bora, I can't recall any can't miss sites but most diving is around the two passes. Generally you will do one dive outside the reef and one in the lagoon (second).

Most likely in Moorea, they will stop in Opunohu bay next to Cook's bay and dive around that pass. I recall Sharks Gallery was good. Inside the lagoon we did see quite a bit including Eagle Rays but the vis was less and greener. We did not dive the passes as the currents were going out in the morning. I found Moorea to be better diving than Bora Bora.

We dove Tapu and Toopua in Bora Bora, again one outside and one inside. With only two dives there it is hard to have a good feel for Bora Bora diving but the consensus is that there are better places however I have heard night dives in the lagoon can be good. You may only get this if they overnight and feel like it.

The dive sites are prechosen but maybe you can request something. They limit the bookings for some sites until you are onboard (possibly only Toumotus) so I strongly suggest you go to the dive desk immediately upon boarding as bookings can fill up. If you can prebook Society island diving before you sail, online, great. Their dive desk should be located in the same room as the front desk but ask. Jump through all their hoops for forms etc beforehand.

 

[AuroraB]

Thanks for the very detailed response! That helps a lot.

Did you do any dives in Tahiti that really stood out? They don't have anything listed for Tahiti Iti, except a $50 refresher in the pool. I was thinking about contacting a local company to do a Tahiti based dive as there is nothing in Tahiti Iti that I am particularly keen to do.

Did you just stick on land in Huahine and Taha'a?

I'm not a huge fan of night dives, I just feel a bit claustrophobic, and with my first full week away from my kids in the past 7 years I would just as well have a Pina Colada! ha

I really wish we could do a longer cruise and include the Tuomotus, but alas, that is about as long as we can get grandparents to watch our little ones!

 

[ColoDale]

No dives on Tahiti. Only Moorea and Bora Bora in the Societies. For the Society islands, I think the dives in Moorea were better than Bora Bora. I just could not say I had been to Bora Bora and not dived.

We did all land based activities on Huahine and Taha'a. On Taha'a we did a bus tour, though that is not my kind of thing, was good. The rest of the time I was diving. My wife did a helicopter tour of Bora Bora and though expensive, she still talks about it. She did not dive that trip so instabuddies for me.

One day diving on Moorea and due to lack of many divers it was just me and a DM. Make sure you get to know the dive staff - they want you to have a good time.

I can't believe it's been almost three years but this is my trip report here on SB - Trip report – French Polynesia – Society Islands and Tuamotus Dec 2016

If you search on French polynesia diving or trip reports there are quite a few. Maybe info on local companies on Tahiti. Maybe someone will answer here.

 

[Altamira]

My wife and I were on the Paul Gauguin several years ago, and the Windstar last year. The diving in Bora-Bora, and Moorea is good, but not great when compared to other well known dive locations. When I was there, diving was not offered on Huanine or Taha'a, but did snorkel both. I think you will enjoy the diving, especially since it has been awhile since you were last diving. I thought diving in those locations was pretty benign in the sense you will not have the crazy currents like you will find in Fakarava (not on your itinerary, and the coral was in pretty good shape. It is mostly hard coral varieties, so you will not see much soft coral, and that is fine as long as you know what to expect. At Bora-Bora, try to do the Anau dive if available because there is a Manta cleaning station there, and if the Mantas show up, you will be in for quite a treat. It will be one of the highlights you will never forget. When you go to the beach, take your snorkel gear with you because you never know where you are going to find some really neat shallow snorkel areas where you can watch the Clownfish families play among the anemones. You will enjoy the truly boutique diving on PG, your gear will be waiting on the Zodiac for you, and it will be rinsed and stored when you are finished diving for the day. The dive crew are outstanding, and will take very good care of you. Don't shortchange yourself by diving to the exclusion of seeing the local areas. Bora-Bora, Moorea, and Tahiti/Tahiti Iti are gorgeous, and you can rent a car and drive around the islands. PG is a first class operation from the diving/snorkeling to the food. You will love every second of your time in Polynesia, and look forward to your trip report.

 

[AuroraB]

Thanks so much!

Looking at the itinerary it is hard to decide how to balance land/shore activities!

We will spend a day on Moorea before the cruise so we will do the 4x4 trip to Magic Mountain that day, and while in Tahiti Iti we are required to do a dive refresher course on the ship for two hours in the afternoon.

Here is loosely what I am thinking:

• Pre Cruise Day 1
  • Arrive at Moorea Pier around 9:30 am - 4x4 tour of Moorea
  • One night Sofitel Moorea in OWB - spend the afternoon/morning relaxing and snorkeling
• Embarkation Day
  • Wake up in Moorea
  • 2-5pm - maybe another tour in the afternoon or rent a car around Moorea?
• Vairao - Tahiti Iti
  • Garden of Eden or Highlights of Tahiti Iti
  • Afternoon Scuba Refresher
• Huahine
  • Some sort of island tour?
• Bora Bora (Day 1)
  • Anau Dive (2 hrs)
  • One more dive (Toopua or Tapu) (2 hrs each)
  • Dinner at La Villa Mahana
• Bora Bora (Day 2)
  • Maybe Lagoon Tour & Polynesian Feast or wave runner tour?
• Taha'a
  • Taha'a Cultural Tour or
  • Dive - The Pass of Tiva between Tahaa and Raiatea (5 hours) or
• Moorea
  • Two dives - choices Rotui, Shark Gallery, The Canyons or the Ledges
• Papeete - last day
  • 2 hour tour of Tahiti, day room at IC Tahiti, transfer to airport

 

[Shasta_man]

Saw this documentary about the Paul Gauguin on Smithsonian Channel - you can watch it on thier website if your TV provider has Smithsonian channel. The doc was mostly about how they do everything on the ship but also stuff about the locations.

Mighty Cruise Ships: Paul Gauguin

I've been to Bora Bora and Rangiroa but not on the ship

 

[AuroraB]

Thank-you so much for the link! I am going to watch that tonight.

 

[ColoDale]

I did not do much land based stuff so for land based information, I would see the Gauguin cruise critic forum. Mostly land based discussion but also minutia about how everything works. You'll have to plow through the threads tho.

Since you are stopping on Taha'a, I would personllay dive but they have a private island where they'll serve a big meal, snorkeling, floating bar, other stuff. It has facilities - showers, etc. They run their tenders all day to it. There was no diving offered on Taha'a when I was there.

One program which we liked since the host used the Gauguin while producing the program was Rudy Maxa which airs on PBS channels. It won't show all the islands you are going to but is interesting and does have interviews aboard the Gaugiun. You can search for airing times or I think they sell the DVDs for about $20 for two 1/2 hour programs.