Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020 |

# Diving Suggestions Country forums / Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea / Tahiti & French Polynesia
simonc2046 15:45 UTC 09 Apr 2012 | Hi I am on a RTW trip and will be stopping off in French Polynesia for about 9 days. I am looking for some advise on good diving and and a reasonable priced place to stay to make the best of my time and spend as much time diving as possible. I know that this is an expensive location and have budgeted to allow for it however don't need any luxuries and would much rather stay at a B&B than a hotel . As far as the diving goes I have read that Tahiti, Fakarava and Rangiroa all have excellent diving. I have dived a bit but only manage to dive infrequently so in no way advanced, The main thing I am interested in seeing is Manta Ray. Any suggestions on itinerarys would be most welcome S |
yexley 20:38 UTC 25 May 2012 | If you want to see manta rays, then Bora Bora is a pretty safe bet - I saw loads when I went. Maupiti is supposed to be another place that's pretty reliable to see mantas, but I didn't get a chance to get there. Bora Bora had some nice diving, saw some lemon sharks too - they come incredibly close as they used to be fed during dives. Fakarava and Rangiroa were, in my opinion, a lot better in terms of diving - a lot more variety, greater fish life and better coral, but I didn't see any mantas there (although I think it depends on the season there). The trouble with Fakarava and Rangi and other Tuamotus are that the flights there are reasonably expensive, so it soon racks up the costs once you add in the diving too! | 1
chillij 21:35 UTC 07 Jun 2012 | TopDives in FP have dive Operations in all locations and also offer a good 10 dive pass that you can share between people with a special rate, contact them for tips. Also beware Air Tahiti flights are not cheap and they only have a 10kg allowance. BTW, if you do gomtomTop Dives tell them you are staying in a pension and you should get a discount. | 2