Which Tuamotu to dive?

Hi

I have 3 days in FP at the end of February, and want to see some world class diving during this time. I am thinking of spending all my time on a single Tuamotu. Ideally it would have been Fakarava, but flight schedules mean I would lose half a day this way, so I am trying to decide between Rangiroa, Manihi and Tikehau in particular.

Ideally, I am looking for an atoll with:

• big fish (esp sharks, rays)
• good visibility
• accessible dive centres that always go out twice a day
• some accommodation with single room/dorm beds for less than USD90 per night
• some degree of remote island vibe, turquoise lagoon & perhaps some white sand
• something to do on the day I fly out (eg lagoon cruise, accessible snorkelling)

Diving on Rangi sounds superb, but I have got the impression from previous posts that it's slightly commercial, polluted and has many tourists. Although it also seems to have more budget accommodation options than the others.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Edited by: mauox

Well for someone to have the money to go out twice a day, don't they sort of have to be somewhat commercial? Rangi's big enough to give you both diving acumen and access as well as the end of the world experience. They all are as a matter of fact. You really can't go wrong with any of them.

Ed

The dive (advanced) schedules are very current dependent, call the dive operators with your dates and arrival times. I spent 26hrs on Rangi before the first scheduled dive and had I known would have gone straight to Fakarava- nothing lost...I was not so lucky on Rangi dives, but did some good dives over 4 days, Fakarava was truly amazing!