Dive Review of TOPdive in
French Polynesia/Fakarava and Rangiroa

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TOPdive: "French Polynesia - Atoll Passes, Rangiroa and Fakarava", May, 2024, by Peter Neubauer, CA, US ( Sr. Contributor 21 reports with 15 Helpful votes). Report 13134 has 1 Helpful vote.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Let's start with French Polynesia is very expensive. We knew this before hand but this was definitely a bucket list type of dive trip. Having said that, I'm glad we went but I don't need to go back if you know what I mean. We started our trip in Tahiti for a couple of days just sight seeing then flew to Rangiroa and after 4 days flew to Fakarava for another four days. All the dives we did were in the atoll reef passes so current was strong, no reef hooks allowed so you just went along for the ride which was kinda cool. We dove with Top Dive and boats were ribs also known as inflatable Zodiac type boats. Rangiroa is known for dolphins unfortunately out of the six dives we did we only had one encounter and the poor dolphin was swarmed by divers touching it. Legally not allowed but common from my understanding. Not a video clip I wanted to use. On every dive we saw lots of different types of sharks (Black tip, Lemon, Gray and White Tip). Nitrox mix was 35% but Nitrox was not available in Fakarava South due to equipment problems at the time of our visit. The boat ride from Fakarava North to South was almost 2 hours through the lagoon. A very bumpy long ride for sure both coming and going. At Fakarava South we stayed at Motu Aito which I would call a very bare bones rustic place to stay. The diving was interesting with lots of hard coral and the famous Wall of Sharks. Diving in these atoll passes are all dependent on the tide. So dive times will vary. Food is mostly fish so you need to like to eat fish if you go. There is not a lot going on in these outer islands so don't expect any entertainment. It's pretty quite at night. It was really all about the diving and not much else except for the first part of our trip in Tahiti. [youtube.com link]
Websites	TOPdive
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Chuuk (Truk), Indonesia, Galapagos, Palau, Red Sea, Fiji, Maldives, BVI, Cayman Islands, French Polynesia, Cozumel, Tulum, Honduras, Florida Keys, Mexico - Sea of Cortez and Pacific, All the California Channel Islands, Hawaii, Bahamas, Okinawa Japan and lots of San Diego - So Cal diving !
Closest Airport	Fakarava & Rangiroa Islands	Getting There	Tahiti - Faa'a International Airport then inter-island flights. Check current luggage weight limits carry on and checked. Yikes ...
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy, rainy, cloudy, dry	Seas	choppy, currents
Water Temp	81-84°F / 27-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	100-100 Ft/ 30-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	Diving with a guide, NO reef hooks heavy tidal currents
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	None
Dolphins	1 or 2	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	Inflatable boats not set up for cameras just too little room. Not much at the dive shop either other than a rinse tank.

Report currently has 1 Helpful vote

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Dive Review of TOPdive in French Polynesia/Fakarava and Rangiroa

TOPdive: "French Polynesia - Atoll Passes, Rangiroa and Fakarava", May, 2024,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of TOPdive in
French Polynesia/Fakarava and Rangiroa