Main Menu
Join Undercurrent on Facebook

The Private, Exclusive Guide for Serious Divers Since 1975 | |
For Divers since 1975
The Private, Exclusive Guide for Serious Divers Since 1975
"Best of the Web: scuba tips no other
source dares to publish" -- Forbes
X
 

Dive Review of TOPdive/Kia Ora in
French Polynesia/Rangiroa

TOPdive/Kia Ora: "Paradise Found", Jun, 2021,

by Martin Klein, NC, US (Reviewer Reviewer 3 reports with 4 Helpful votes). Report 11699 has 1 Helpful vote.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 5 stars Food 5 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling 3 stars
Value for $$ 4 stars
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced 5 stars
Comments TopDive with Yannick was great. First time on a dive trip that we, two adults + two teenagers, rented regs and BCs instead of bringing our own. Equipment was in good shape and they had a good selection of sizes. All diving is on Nitrox. As is always the case in French Polynesia, you are a bit of a second class citizen without a French agency (CMAS I believe) diving certification. With a non-French OW certification you are limited to 60 feet. While that is doable, you really want to go to 80-100ft at Tiputa. If you have an Advanced certification, a decent diving resume and show competency on your first dive you won't be held to 60ft.

Diving at Tiputa pass was spectacular. Fish life and reef are stunning. The water clarity is incredible. Coral in excellent shape. The strong current carries you quickly so you mostly notice the larger things. Tons of grey reef sharks along the drop-off. Most are fairly small at 4-6 feet. We did not see other shark species. Huge schools of fish - jacks, barracuda... Good number of big Napoleon wrasses. Also saw a couple of marlin. The highlight were the dolphins. Up to 12 of them would come and accompany us on each dive. There was no feeding but the females would seek the divers' attention, come up to you and hang vertical to get their backs and bellies rubbed. We have dived in many places but this is unique. Everywhere else dolphins would avoid divers and disappear. Here it is the opposite. It was a magical experience that our family of four will never forget!

The Kia Ora is a wonderful hotel. The grounds are gorgeous, staff is friendly, the restaurant is very good with a great buffet breakfast that leaves nothing to desire from French pastries, fresh fruit, eggs, bacon and other meats to excellent sashimi. Dinner is a la carte with a good selection. Presentation is beautiful and food is delicious. Expect to pay $25-35 for an entree. Prices include tax and there is generally no tipping. They offer smaller plates for lunch. We stayed in a two level, four person beach bungalow that was spacious including the very large bath with private jacuzzi on the outdoor deck. Everything clean and tastefully decorated. We also had one of the over-water bungalows for a couple of days. They are VERY NICE - lots of space (but they will limit occupancy to 3 people although 4 would fit), beautiful living quarters and bath. Two levels of large outdoor decks with swim ladders. It's heaven but you pay for it. By over-water bungalow standards it's a bargain at $1,000/night when compared to Bora Bora at $2,500+. Snorkeling is good but after the exceptional dives you'd expect better. There is not much coral, mostly sand. There is a good number of fish. You'll see small blacktip sharks from the beach or your terrace but we never encountered one when snorkeling (and we tried hard). They clearly like to stay away from snorkelers. We also saw eagle rays and even an octopus but always from our bungalows or when taking a walk along the shore, not when snorkeling.

We really liked the island. A nice, relaxed vibe and the views are stunning. In the afternoon you can go to Tiputa pass to see the dolphins play when the current is running. You'll watch them from land as snorkeling or swimming in the pass is dangerous given the current. It's walkable from the Kia Ora but the hotel also takes you there in a shuttle. We also had fun riding bikes all over the island and exploring the charming settlements.

The bottom line is that we loved our time at the Kia Ora diving with TopDive. We have been lucky to have traveled much of the world but we definitely want to return. It's a very special place.
Websites TOPdive   Kia Ora

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 251-500 dives
Where else diving Caribbean, Florida, Indonesia, Thailand, South Africa, Hawaii, Galapagos
Closest Airport Rangiroa Getting There via San Francisco, Papeete, Tahiti

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, dry Seas calm, choppy, currents
Water Temp 83-85°F / 28-29°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 100-0 Ft/ 30-0 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile no
Enforced diving restrictions 90 ft depth
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks Lots Mantas None
Dolphins Schools Whale Sharks None
Turtles None Whales None
Corals 5 stars Tropical Fish 4 stars
Small Critters N/A Large Fish 5 stars
Large Pelagics 5 stars

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

Subject Matter N/A Boat Facilities N/A
Overall rating for UWP's N/A Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments [None]
Was this report helpful to you?
Report currently has 1 Helpful vote

Subscriber's Comments

By Renee Ross in OR, US at Oct 23, 2021 16:44 EST  
Did you book your stay & diving with a travel agent? What airline did you fly?
By report author: Martin Klein in NC, US at Oct 23, 2021 17:42 EST  
I didn’t use an agent. We flew United to Papeete. The inter-island flights were all on Air Tahiti booked through their website. They offer multi-island packages. I booked the Kia Ora through Booking.com. For the Havaiki on Fakarava I booked directly through their website.
Leave a comment (Subscribers only -- 200 words max)
Subscribers can comment here
 

Subscribe Now
Subscribers can post comments, ask the reviewer questions, as well as getting immediate and complete access to ALL 161 dive reviews of French Polynesia and all other dive destinations. Complete access to all issues and Chapbooks is also included.

 
Featured Links from Our Sponsors
Interested in becoming a sponsor?
Reef & Rainforest, Let our experience be your guide -- Reef and Rainforest
Reef & Rainforest
is an agency for travelers that scuba dive. Want to see sharks, tropical islands, overwater bungalows? We specialize in planning adventures to French Polynesia.

Want to assemble your own collection of French Polynesia reports in one place?
Use the Mini Chapbook Facility to create your personalized collection.

Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

Undercurrent Home


Get more dive info like these and other important scuba updates sent monthly to your email.
And a FREE Recent Issue of Undercurrent

Free Undercurrent Issue
Get a free
monthly email and
a sample issue!


Find in  

| Home | Online Members Area | My Account | Login | Join |
| Travel Index | Dive Resort & Liveaboard Reviews | Featured Reports | Recent Issues | Back Issues |
| Dive Gear Index | Health/Safety Index | Environment & Misc. Index | Seasonal Planner | Blogs | Free Articles | Book Picks | News |
| Special Offers | RSS | FAQ | About Us | Contact Us | Links |

Copyright © 1996-2024 Undercurrent (www.undercurrent.org)
3020 Bridgeway, Ste 102, Sausalito, Ca 94965
All rights reserved.

Page computed and displayed in 0.89 seconds