Your Guide to Diving French Polynesia
Including Tahiti, Bora Bora, Moorea and Rangiroa

Diving French Polynesia Overview

French Polynesia Seasonal Dive Planner

The Society Islands (Tahiti, etc.) and the Tua Motus, such as Rangiroa, are diveable year-round, with water temperatures of 79-83°F (26-28°C). There are really only three seasons of interest to the traveling diver: the manta ray season, from early September through mid-October; the hammerhead shark season, January and February; and the rest of the year, during which an assortment of fishes may be seen, with the exception of the two just mentioned. If you are particular about land weather conditions, you should know that the rainy season is November through December, and the windy season is July and August.

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Diving French Polynesia Reader Reports and Feature Articles

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Latest Reader Reports from French Polynesia from the serious divers who read Undercurrent All Reader Reports from French Polynesia	All 10,000+ Reports
TOPdive/Maitai Rangiora Report in French Polynesia/Rangoria "Great diving / poor rental equipment" filed Apr 15, 2024 by Hugh Westermeyer (Experience: Over 1000 dives, 3 reports, Reviewer )
We stayed at the Maitai which was an excellent hotel. The accommodations were very nice – all bungalows, and the restaurant was fantas... ... Read more
Moorea Blue Report in French Polynesia/Moorea "Great opeartion, disappointing reef" filed Apr 5, 2024 by Michael Kay (Experience: 251-500 dives, 11 reports, Sr. Reviewer )
Moorea is a beautiful place above the water. Unfortunately, the reef is almost completely dead, acres of gray broken coral. We didn’t s... ... Read more
Six Passengers/Blue Velvet/Kia Ora Resort Report in French Polynesia/Rangiroa "Diving the Tiputa Pass" filed Apr 3, 2024 by Michael Fritz (Experience: 501-1000 dives, 5 reports, Reviewer )
Kia Ora resort was fabulous and by far the best place on this tiny atoll. Very quiet and everyday a beautiful sunset. There is a bar o... ... Read more
TOPdive/Havaiki Lodge (Fakarava) Maitai Ran Report in French Polynesia/Fakarava, Rangiroa "Good diving, topside experience, unhealthy reef" filed Mar 31, 2024 by Michael Kay (Experience: 251-500 dives, 11 reports, Sr. Reviewer )
Fakarava and Rangiroa are small islets on their respective lagoons. I chose these destinations, hotels, and dive operator based on othe... ... Read more
O2 Divers/Havaiki Lodge Report in French Polynesia "Great diving in French Polynesia, and not much jetlag" filed Jan 6, 2024 by Kelley McDaneld (Experience: 251-500 dives, 4 reports, Reviewer )
We took United through SFO to Tahiti—seemed very easy compared to traveling to Indonesia, only an 8 hour flight from SFO and only a 4 h... ... Read more

Editor's Book Picks for Scuba Diving French Polynesia
Including Tahiti, Bora Bora, Moorea and Rangiroa

The books below are my favorites about diving in this part of the world All books are available at a significant discount from Amazon.com; just follow the links. -- BD

Reef Creature Identification: Tropical Pacific
by Paul Humann and Ned Deloach

Paul Humann and Ned Deloach have done it again, releasing a definitive identification guide to 1600 extraordinary reef creatures of the Tropical Pacific. with this 500+ page softbound guide, you get upwards of 2000 exceptional photos of shrimp and crabs and stars and worms and lobsters and nudibranchs and slugs and squid and bivalves . . . well, all those invertebrates that move along the reefs of this region without fining, so it seems. There are several photos of some creatures to help you identify them during different life stages, and about ten percent of the book is descriptive copy so you can tie down your identification. Even if you have no plans to go to the tropical Pacific, just to thumb through the pages, gawk at the complexity and uniqueness of these animals, and read a thumbnail sketch will give any serious diver vicarious thrills for endless hours.

Click here to buy it at Amazon.

Reef Fish Identification: Tropical Pacific
by Gerald Allen, Rodger Steene, Paul Humann, & Ned Deloach

At last, here's a comprehensive fish ID guide covering the reefs of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The generous 500-page text, displaying 2,500 underwater photographs of 2,000 species, identifies the myriad fishes that inhabit the warm tropical seas between Thailand and Tahiti. The concise text accompanying each species portrait includes the fish's common, scientific and family names, size, description, visually distinctive features, preferred habitat, typical behavior, depth range, and geographical distribution. This is an essential book for every diver traveling westward. 6x9 inches.

Click here to buy it at Amazon.

Dive Sites of the Great Barrier Reef
by Neville Coleman.

With 2900 reefs in 220,000 square miles, the enormous Great Barrier Reef has incredible dives -- and some very ordinary ones. If you're contemplating a trip, Neville Coleman's Dive Sites of the Great Barrier Reef and the Coral Sea will help you ensure you pick the best. This 176 page book, with good maps and scores of colorful photos, describes the significant sites, the topography and the critters, then rates and ranks them so you can pick the best. Don't even consider a trip to Australia without consulting this. $24.95

Indo-Pacific Coral Reef Field Guide
by Gerald R. Allen, Roger Steene.

I was trying to pack light for a change. Surely the Solomon Sea would have good identification books aboard. Not so; the only book on the boat belonged to a fellow passenger. It was one that I had not seen before, the Indo-Pacific Coral Reef Field Guide, by two of the best fish guys around, Gerry Allen and Roger Steene. The problem was this fellow passenger kept it in a plastic baggie most of the trip and I had to beg to see it. Great book, good traveling size, and it covers everything from fish, shells, marine plants, mammals, corals, and invertebrates to sea birds and more. Now I've got my own, and it won't do you any good to beg me to borrow it. This is one of two books that I will not travel to the Pacific without. Good for travel to the Red Sea, East Africa, Seychelles, Mauritius, Maldives, Andaman Sea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Australia, Micronesia, Polynesia, and Hawaii, it has 1,800 color illustrations in a 6x8 1/2 paperback format with 378 pages. $39.95.

There's a Cockroach in My Regulator
by Undercurrent

The Best of Undercurrent: Bizarre and Brilliant True Diving Tales from Thirty Years of Undercurrent.

Shipping now is our brand new, 240-page book filled with the best of the unusual, the entertaining, and the jaw dropping stories Undercurrent has published. They’re true, often unbelievable, and always fascinating. We’re offering it to you now for the special price of just $14.95.

Click here to order.

You might find some other books of interest in our Editor's Book Picks section.