+++ Best of Tuamotus +++French Polynesia

Schedule

start / end Fakarava – Best of Tuamotus

Your Dive cruise starts and ends in Fakarava, an hour’s flight from Tahiti.

The 15 nights trip includes the best dive sites in the Tuamoto archipelago. Fakarava is one of the most famous diving areas in French Polynesia, as it holds probably the richest and most spectacular underwater scenery.

Depending on the weather and conditions, you can expect 13 diving days with up to a maximum of 2 dives daily.

Dive cruises on Aqua Tiki III are not “hard core” diving cruises but rather as a very successful symbiosis of diving relaxing and island experiences. You will explore the best dive sites, channels, reefs and lagoons along the route through the atolls of Fakarava, Tetamanu, Kauehi and Toau.

For those who have not planned a connection program, the trip on Aquatiki III ends on May 20th. Alternatively, you can stay longer in French Polynesia, such as in the Tuamotus, Tahiti or also in Moorea or Bora-Bora. We are happy to advise you without obligation on the possibilities, which can be individually adapted to the days you want.

Aquatiki III

The Aquatiki III is a catamaran, from the Fountaine Pajot range built in La Rochelle, France.

The comfort on board is worthy of a hotel: a vast square very comfortable, with video corner, lounge library and cocktail bar. An American kitchen, a vast cockpit sheltered from the sun by a canopy where meals are served, a large sundeck, a front salon and 2 trampolines generally very coveted and a plancha for the grills.

The catamaran measures 20 meters long by 9.8 meters wide and has 5 cabins for a total of 10 guests: 2 cabins with double or twin beds, 1 cabin with bunk beds for 2 people, and 2 VIP double cabins equipped with TV/Hifi/DVD. They have individually controlled air-conditioning, a sound system and a private bathroom with toilet.

The propulsion is ensured by 230 m² of sail and by 2 motors of 150 HP, with a more than 1000 liters large fuel tank.

A powerful generator and inverter ensure the electrical production, delivering 220V continuously, with individual 220V outlets in each cabin 24/7.

The Aquatiki is autonomous in fresh water: more than 800 liters of reserve, with 2 desalinators of 190 liters / hour.

Of course, for maximum safety, this ship is equipped with the most complete modern navigation equipment and the latest technical evolutions: autopilot, GPS, BLU, VHF, computer navigation center, radar, standard C weather, beacon of distress Sarsat.
The catamaran is also equipped with all comforts: a hi-fi system with independent sound system in each cabin and CD-library, television and video recorder, DVD with video library. A library where you will find amongst others documentations concerning the underwater fauna, Polynesia, Navigation, etc and many games to animate your evenings.

A telephone, WIFI and a fax by satellite make it possible to stay connected in all circumstances and even on the other side of the world!

French Polynesia

Located at 18,000 km from France, French Polynesia is composed of approximately 118 islands of volcanic or coral origin, covering an area of about 4,200 km². These islands are scattered in a region expanding to the same size as Europe.

The climate is tropical, warm and humid, but tempered by trade winds. There are two seasons: a hot and humid season (27 to 35 ° C) from December to February and a cooler season (21 to 27 ° C) from March to November.

The area, which has the status of Overseas Territory, is composed of 5 archipelagos each offering radically different landscapes:

• In the west, the Society Islands, including the Windward Islands (Tahiti, the largest of the Polynesian islands, with Papeete as administrative capital and Moorea) and the Leeward Islands (Raiatea, Tahaa, Huahine, Bora-Bora, Maupiti), exist of mountainous islands surrounded by a coral reef and a lagoon fringing the coast. It is the largest and most populated region in this territory.

• Located 300 km north-east of Tahiti, the Tuamotu archipelago is composed exclusively of low-lying islands of coral origin called atolls, vast circular sand strips, covered with coconut trees, delimiting an inland lagoon with turquoise waters.

• The Australes Archipelago (Tubuai, Rurutu), located at the far south, is made up of 7 mountainous islands bordered by a lagoon and a reef. These ancient volcanoes with soft reliefs possessing a sub-tropical climate are suitable for vegetable gardens. The Australes are the meeting place of whales gathering there every year from July to October.

• The Gambier Archipelago (Mangareva) located at the far east of the territory, about 1,600 km from Tahiti, consists of a huge lagoon protected by a barrier of corals and dotted with a dozen rocky islands, vestiges of an immense crater now immersed.

• A 1,500 km from Tahiti, the Marquesas Archipelago (Nuku Hiva, Hiva Oa), located close to the Equator, consists of a group of high volcanic islands, without lagoon or coral reef important. The Marquesas, named Enua Enata (Terre des Hommes), offer few beaches but grandiose landscapes where pigs, goats, sheep and wild horses gallop in freedom.

The Tuamotu archipelago

The Tuamotu archipelago located some 300 km north-east of Tahiti is made up of 76 atolls of which hardly half are inhabited. These so-called low islands are ancient craters which have disappeared under the influence of erosion and whose edges, colonized by corals, are nothing but outcrops of white sand, strewn with shells and planted with coconut palms, which the Polynesians call “motu”.

The climate in Tuamotu is different from that of the high islands of Tahiti and the Leeward Islands. The warm and humid season, from December to February, is much more temperate here with a refreshing trade wind and reduced rainfall (usually at night), causing difficulties in supplying fresh water.

In the Tuamotu, the scenery is total, far from any urban agitation. Life on these atolls is simple and quiet. The activity of the native ones, the Paumotus, is limited to copra, fishing and for some years to the culture of mother-of-pearl. Grafted, it will give the famous black pearl, endemic Tuamotu. The inland lagoon, in fact, is a protected place, ideal for establishing pearl farms and fish parks.

Each atoll offers landscapes of wild beauty. Seen from the sky, they appear to be white rings on the indigo blue of the Pacific Ocean. The motus are covered with coconut groves interspersed with beautiful beaches and are separated from one another by small channels. The lagoons decline their waters from jade green to turquoise blue, turning purple.

Rangiroa was the most famous Paumotu atoll, especially at the level of its diving spots. But not far from Rangiroa is Fakarava and Fakarava has the largest pass of Polynesia and is surrounded by atolls offering the most beautiful Polynesian diving spots.

Diving in French Polynesia

Fakarava tours are high level diving trips that will satisfy the most demanding.

The supervision is provided by an instructor, accompanying the divers, and a person on the surface, who is constantly monitoring the dive. The dives are carried out in the passes, drift most often, the currents can be very strong!

Depending on weather conditions and currents, 2 dives are available every day except on days of arrival and departure.

The water temperature varies little: from 25 ° C in winter (September) to 29 ° C in summer (March), without thermocline. Visibility in these crystal-clear waters is always excellent.

Night dives are not planned (inquire on the spot).