Tahiti Info Please

[Mike Veitch]

No night dives?! BUMMER! Especially for the price you pay.

Most nights are spent underway going from one atoll to another. Besides, its free beer, night diving cuts down on beer time....

Only saw two tigers there at night when diving for the mooring....nothing better than large stripes passing through your light when you are alone at 60ft at 3am.....fun!

 

[starsjohn]

Three of my favorite dives in the FP were,
-cave and rock wall dives on Nuka Hiva. Chance to see large Hammerhead sharks and manta rays. No coral reefs here. I accessed this island by Princess Cruises Tahitian Princess while on a 10 day cruise.
-diving with the 6 Passengers dive operator in Rangiroa also via Tahitian Princess. Lots of eagle rays, turtles, colorful coral and more.
-night dive in Bora Bora in the lagoon. Never seen such pretty creatures that only come out at night. Used Bora Divers who were just great.

Going back this year in October for more diving. I suggest an advanced open water PADI rating or equal so you can do some of the deeper dives. Went down to 115 feet off Bora Bora to see neat sand eels.

 

[Dive California]

Princess Cruises Tahitian Princess while on a 10 day cruise.

I too, did the Tahitian Princess...great way to see many islands, at a great price.

I went in December, viz and water temp was nice...dove with shorty every dive...had no rain.

1st dive, I dove Raiatea Island, "Miri Miri", with Hemisphere Sub...great husband wife team. Sharks, and more sharks...everywhere, sharks, mostly blacktip reef. Also barracudas and napoleon wrasse. Viz was 50+' and temp was 84°

2nd dive, I did a night dive on Bora Bora, "Tapu" with Top Dive (great outfit). Most do a night dive...WOW! This was a wall dive. Lots of lionfish, a few stonefish, shrimp and lobster. At end of dive we swam into large school of worms....very creepy, but exciting. Viz was 10+' and temp was 84°

3rd dive, again dove Bora Bora with Top Dive...went to "Tapo" for a shark feeding dive. Again, lots of blacktip reef and this time, large lemon sharks (10-12') joined us. Also saw large trigger fish and another napoleon wrasse (must see these guys, can get very large). Location had lots of plate coral. Viz was 150' and temp was 84°

4th dive, again at Bora Bora with Top Dive...site was "Toopua." Inside reef/lagoon dive. Large trigger fish, trumpetfish and moorish idols. Viz was 50+' and temp was 86° (very warm)

5th dive was a Moorea, with Baly's Club PADI Dive Center with Volcot Guillayme, again nice crew. Dove "The Tiki" (are you ready) (you guessed it) more sharks, lots, as soon as you enter the water, they're there...about thirty sharks, black tips on the top of the water, then grey tip sharks in the middle, and lemon sharks on the bottom...I did not know they had different levels in the water, they all hang out at...makes sense. Viz was 90' nd temp was 84°

6th and final dive, on Moorea with Guillayme, "Taotoi" more sharks, large lemons. after this trip you WILL NOT be afraid of sharks...fun. Viz was 70' and temp was 85°

Have a great time...I brought my own gear and would always do so...however, the gear everybody had for rent looked "OK"

Drink lots of water, soooo warm there...

 

[starsjohn]

I too, did the Tahitian Princess...great way to see many islands, at a great price.

I thought Hemisphere Sub was a great operation too. I also did a night dive here, but the viz was not good that night. Did not see the interesting things seen in Bora Bora.

We had just arrived after a series of big storms that had raged for a couple of weeks. The runoff from the mountains murked up most of the dive locations, but we still managed to find a couple of spots.

On Bora Bora the water was swarming with big lemon sharks on that special shark dive. Scuba divers in the know would stay well below the sharks as they were fed at the surface. The idea was to catch the falling shark teeth that dislodge upon feeding. I took a photo of a big lemon coming straight at me with half a tuna stuck in his jaws. He came within one foot of me. I was prepared to feed him the camera which has big strob light arms sticking out.

This time I want to go with TopDive in Moorea if they can pick me up the cruise ship dock.

I was on a B2B trips on the Tahitian Princess, so the next portion of the trip to the Cook islands was partly a big storm with force 10 winds. Some of the folks did not leave their staterooms for 4 days. Still got some good diving in later in the week.

I also take my own equipment so that I do not have to fumble with strange stuff. I have seen some of the rental equipment have problems in the French Polynesian Is.

Overall, the sharks do not bother me, except I keep an eye on the Hammerheads and big Lemons.

Thank you for sharing your experiences on diving in FP.

John

 

[thranx]

If the Tahiti Aggressor seems expensive to you, check out the prices of some of the better island resorts, especially in the Tuamotus. You'll feel much better about your decision to go via liveaboard. FP (or Tahiti Nui, as Oscar Temaru and many others want it called) has an artificially high standard of living due to all the money the French govt. pumps in. This raises the cost of everything, from diving to diapers.

 

[Mike Veitch]

If the Tahiti Aggressor seems expensive to you, check out the prices of some of the better island resorts, especially in the Tuamotus. You'll feel much better about your decision to go via liveaboard. FP (or Tahiti Nui, as Oscar Temaru and many others want it called) has an artificially high standard of living due to all the money the French govt. pumps in. This raises the cost of everything, from diving to diapers.

So true, i tried to explain that a few times but to little avail. Basically the Aggressor costs about $2800 per week (the last time i checked). That includes all meals, beer and wine, 4 dives per day, and 4 islands of diving.
Or you could stay at the resort in Rangi, pay $300 per night for Garden $500 for overwater bungalow, $100 for a 2 tank dive, dive the same 4 dive sites day after day, spend $5 per beer, and $25 for a pasta dinner....all that x6 equals a lot more than the Aggressor, for half the amount of dives....