Dive trip Fakarava

Stay, Diving holidays in Polynesia, in Fakarava

Visit Fakarava, in the Tuamotu archipelago, when the marbled loaches are breeding! Linger on the atoll of Fakarava, a ring of coral formed around a fully submerged volcano dating back 50 million years. Measuring 60 km long and 21 km wide, the coral reef borders a 1,100 km² inner lagoon. Swim, dive, snorkel, and snorkel in this extraordinary atoll of Fakarava, classified as a biosphere reserve by UNESCO. Enjoy some of the best diving in Polynesia, along the two passes, Garuae and Tetamanu, between the lagoon and the Pacific Ocean. To the north, French Polynesia's largest pass, Passe Garuae, is 1.6km wide. Then, from the north of Fakarava, allow around an hour's boat ride to reach the Tetamanu pass in the south of the atoll. Make the most of your lazy day in Fakarava by doing 2 or 3 dives in the pass, then have lunch on the deserted sandy beach. To the south of Fakarava, near the pass, discover the former capital of the Tuamotus, Tetamanu, a village with a church, Maria O Te Hau, built-in 1874. Allowing the lagoon's inner waters to renew and oxygenate themselves, these passes are therefore places where particularly strong currents prevail.

World-renowned for its exceptional fauna of marbled loaches, manta rays, eagle rays, grey reef sharks, hammerheads, tiger sharks, and dolphins, the Fakarava atoll attracts discerning divers from all over the world. Known as Le Secteur, the uninhabited west of Fakarava is made up of patches of reef where Polynesians harvest coconuts. To the northeast lies the airport and the main village of Rotoava, 4 km away, with a population of 800. Book your diving holiday in Fakarava in one of these charming guesthouses: KoriKori Lodge Fakarava Relais Marama Pension, Vaiama Village, Havaiki Fakarava. As soon as you leave the village, heading south, these accommodations are dotted along the tarmac road for around twenty kilometers. At the end of the road, the sand and coral take over. The only way to reach the southern pass by boat is from a pier located there. Cycling is the ideal way to get around Fakarava. Several diving centers, Dive Spirit Fakarava, O2 Fakarava, and Kaina Fakarava, offer introductory diving courses in the lagoon for those who are aquaphobic. They also organize try scuba dives to discover Polynesia's underwater fauna.

Beginner divers are surrounded by swarms of sergeant majors in translucent waters. Are you a certified Advanced Open Water diver with at least 30 dives under your belt? During your holiday in Fakarava in Polynesia, enjoy some fantastic drift dives around the passes. Full equipment hire is sometimes included in exploration packages to avoid excess luggage. Are you an underwater photographer? Fakarava gives you every opportunity to take your best Polynesian photos. With 8 flights a week from Air Tahiti, Fakarava is 450 km from Tahiti, a 1-hour 10-minute flight. Show your diver card to the airline to benefit from a 5 kg baggage allowance! Your transfer from the airport can be organized by your accommodation provider. In the Tuamotus, as throughout Polynesia, there are two main seasons. From May to October, the cool season - the austral winter - is characterized by air temperatures ranging from 25°C to 30°C and sea temperatures from 26°C to 28°C, with rare rainfall. From November to April - the austral summer - is wetter. Enjoy an exceptional diving holiday in Fakarava!

Marine species in the area

Dive sites

No need to look for the map of Fakarava's dive sites, as divers come here to dive only in 2 passes, Garuae and Tetamanu!
The Garuae pass concentrates all the species of fish that you can see in the Tuamotu archipelago including barracudas, groupers, loaches, manta rays, eagle rays, grey sharks, hammerhead sharks, tiger sharks, dolphins, and turtles because there are more than seven different currents that pass through this pass. The waters here are clear depending on the tides.
At the entrance of Garuae there are many raira, the superb predators that are the grey reef sharks.At rising tide, you cross a real wall of sharks waiting, almost motionless, for their feast.

The fish gather in a canyon to shelter from the strong currents!You must master your buoyancy perfectly if you want to experience new diving experiences here, because of the diving conditions.
Fakarava is also very popular for breeding thousands of marbled groupers, Epinephelus polyphekadion groupers that gather on the bottom of the channel during June and July.
At South Fakarava, the Tetamanu Pass is accessible from the village of Tetamanu, the former capital of the Tuamotu people, which now seems a little abandoned.
This southern pass, 200 m wide and 12 to 15 m deep, is swept by fairly moderate currents that force when the south wind sets in.

At the exit of the channel, on the lagoon side, underwater, a coral bank 4 m deep limits the draught of the boats.As soon as you have your head underwater the festival starts with large schools of fish, turtles and manta rays as well as grey sharks that form a real wall from the surface to the bottom, on the ocean side.You will also be surprised at The Shark Cave for the beautiful concentration of several different varieties of these pelagics.And don't worry, because you quickly learn to recognize the different species while staying in Polynesia!Photographers also enjoy themselves here, even at shallow depths, because you will discover a real microcosm of beautiful corals, in the middle of real lush gardens, which is ideal for ambient photos, as well as leaf fish, stonefish and frogfish for macro photos.

This pass, in the south of the atoll, accessible to certified divers, is framed by the wooded Motu Tetamanu to the east and the Motu Pahherehava to the west, where you can picnic between dives.For a diving holiday in Fakarava, plan to stay a minimum of 3 days or even a week, as the biodiversity is so extraordinary, each dive being a different adventure each time.Tahiti and its islands are home to more than 1,000 species of fish in a natural aquarium of 4 million km².Polynesia is a protected sanctuary for fauna, as drift net fishing is forbidden.

Others Activities

Fakarava : Dive shops

Top Dive Fakarava
Polynesia - Rotoava
French

The TopDive Dive Centre is located in two places in Fakarava, Polynesia: in the village of Rotoava, North Fakarava and in Motu Penu, Tetamanu, South Fakarava. The headquarters and main meeting point for divers before and after the dive trips is in Rotoava. Open 7 days a week, all year round, the shop on-site allows the purchase of equipment and small emergency supplies. The rental equipment is in very good condition and includes regulators with built-in computers. This TopDive training centre is a PADI 5 ***** however SSI and FFESSM/CMAS courses are also offered for beginners up to Advanced Open Water Diver level. The trips are carried out on board aluminium diving boats adapted to the comfort and safety of the participants. Instructors and guides speak English, French, Japanese and Spanish. Two trips per day, morning and afternoon, consist of two dives each and are scheduled according to the tide. Garuae Pass, located at the northern end of Fakarava Atoll, is the largest kilometre wide pass in Polynesia with (supposedly) seven different currents running through it. At the time of the rising tide, you will witness the incredible spectacle of a wall of sharks rising at the mouth of the pass. At the southern end of Fakarava, Tumakohua Pass is designated by UNESCO as a nature reserve of outstanding reef and ecosystem quality. Sharks can be seen during all your dives. Don't miss the marbled loaches at Fakarava, especially during the mating season! For those north of Fakarava, feel free to take a day trip south of Fakarava with 2 dives and a picnic at Motu Penu TopDive, located 5 minutes from the pass. [+]

Sharks watching
Dolphin watching
fast boat

From 75,42 €

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O2 Fakarava
Polynesia - Atoll de Fakarava
French

The O2 Fakarava dive center is located in the Fakarava atoll in Polynesia. Ranked in the world's Top 10 for the best dives, Fakarava is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Come aboard our 7.50 m semi-rigid dive boat, fitted out with an awning to shelter you from the sun. Go diving in the Garuae channel to the north, the widest in Polynesia, with its concentration of pelagic fish and sharks. You can also expect some exceptional encounters in the Tetamanu channel to the south. A family atmosphere awaits you at the O2 Fakarava diving club, with passionate instructors on hand to share some (very!) special moments with you. Ideal for those with a fear of water, try your hand at diving in the calm turquoise lagoon. Alternatively, try an SSI Try Scuba experience that allows you to admire Fakarava's fish-filled underwater world. For their part, most underwater photographers and divers wait every year for the marbled loaches to breed in Fakarava's passes. Choose one of Fakarava's guesthouses, each with its own identity. You can also camp in Fakarava or rent a holiday home. [+]