Aqua Tiki II; Liveaboard diving in Polynesia; 9.1 out of 10 and is rated 'Superb'; from £316, $386, €360/day. Customer Review:
“Excellent trip. My wife and I took the Aqua tiki for our honeymoon. Diving: As above challenging exciting diving, x2 per day with steel tanks so duration was ~1 hour each. We saw so many sharks reefs, black tips, nurses and lemons, mantas, rays. A real “big stuff” location rather than macro. Most dives were drift dives. Confident dive team, one guide, one additional staff member diving and the skipper up top in the boat. Water temp 28C in May. Vis ~30m each day. Location: like a postcard, visited x4 atolls, this boat actually sails between atolls, not motoring everywhere Food: really good. French/Polynesian. Crew: exceptional, great English, really made an effort.” Recommended for: Challenging exciting diving, awesome french mixed with local food, friendly crew.
French Polynesian liveaboard diving is about remote diving with hundreds of sharks and powerful drift dives where divers are swept through channels at Rangiroa and Fakarava Atolls. The Aqua Tiki II liveaboard is the only French Polynesian liveaboard after the French Polynesia Master ran aground.
French Polynesian liveaboard diving means you dive with large marine creatures in gin-clear waters. French Polynesia is in the middle of the Pacific Ocean where the nearest land mass is thousands of miles away. French Polynesia has 118 islands and atolls, where only half of them are inhabited.
This remote area of the Pacific Ocean is idyllic, with crystal clear waters, white sandy beaches and marine life that is second to none. The waters are teaming with life.
The coral reefs are healthy, which is indicated by the large numbers of sharks present. Sharks are the top of the food chain, and when many are present as there are in French Polynesia, you know there has to be plenty of prey, and therefore a healthy ecosystem to sustain such large numbers of these top predators.
But French Polynesia is also home to an amazing annual event, which is when the Marbled Grouper congregate in enormous numbers to spawn.
Other marine life you’ll see in French Polynesia when diving from a liveaboard include dolphins, spotted eagle rays, manta rays, sting rays, Napoleon wrasse, barracuda, turtles, triggerfish, humpback whales and large shoals of pelagic and reef fish.
French Polynesia Liveaboards
French Polynesia liveaboards offer atoll drift diving like no other place in the world, as strong currents sweep you through channels or along outer reefs in amongst grey reef sharks galore. Typical liveaboard cruises in French Polynesia last from short 5-day trips to longer 17-day and 16 nights long.
The two French Polynesia diving liveaboards always sell-out very quickly, which is because the diving is so good. Whilst you can dive French Polynesia from a resort base, the diving doesn’t compare and the number of dives you can do on a liveaboard is always more than when you’re resort based.
This list of French Polynesia liveaboards is in descending customer rating order, so the liveaboards with the highest customer rating will be at the top of the list. To filter this table for the features that are important for your French Polynesia liveaboard trip, select from the list of filters below.
Note: The above “Price Per Day” was correct at the time of producing this article, as was the exchange rate used to convert the GBP cost to US Dollars and Euros. For an up-to-date cost for your chosen liveaboard, please visit the “Book” link above.
Where is The Best Diving in French Polynesia?
The best diving in French Polynesia is in the Tuamotu Archipelago, where you find Rangiroa and Fakarava Atolls. These two atolls are two of the largest atolls in Tuamotu and both have stunning coral reefs, deep walls, powerful drift diving in passes, abundant pelagic marine species and sharks.
Fakarava, which is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, is home to the famed “wall of sharks“. There is an annual event that takes place in July on a full moon, which is the spawning of the marbled grouper, which brings with it hundreds of sharks to feed on the grouper.
“This biosphere reserve is situated in the Tuamotu Archipelago some 360 km north-east of Tahiti. It is made up of seven low-lying coral islands and atolls: Aratika, Fakarava, Kauehi, Niau, Raraka, Taiaro and Toau, which are very different from each other. They vary greatly in size, shape, population, the activities carried out there, and whether they are open or closed to the ocean. This diversity makes the Commune of Fakarava Biosphere Reserve unique in its composition and characteristics. Those that are closed to the ocean include Taiaro which has a hypersaline lagoon, and Niau which has a brackish lagoon. Those that are open to the ocean include Fakarava, which has the largest pass in French Polynesia, at 1,600 metres wide.“
Diving in Tahiti and around French Polynesia isn’t just good, it’s great, and is where you dive with big marine animals like sharks, manta rays and whales. If diving with sharks and mantas is your thing, you’ll love Tahiti and French Polynesia.
Are There Sharks in French Polynesia?
There are many sharks in French Polynesia, and these include grey reef sharks (in their hundreds), whitetip reef sharks, blacktip reef sharks, nurse sharks, silvertip sharks, tiger sharks, great hammerhead sharks and lemon sharks.
Are There Tiger Sharks in French Polynesia?
There are tiger sharks in French Polynesia which can be seen off the island of Tikehau, but if you’re lucky you may see tiger sharks when diving Fakarava or Rangiroa atolls, but at these atolls you are more likely to see grey reef sharks, blacktips and silvertips instead.
If you need convincing that there are tiger sharks in French Polynesia, here’s a video of Kristin in French Polynesia free-diving with a very curious female tiger shark.
The water temperature in Tahiti (and French Polynesia) is warm year-round and sea temperatures range from 26-29°C (78-85°F). The water is coldest in August and warmest in March, but is the water temperature is warm enough year-round to only ever need a wetsuit to dive.
Diving French Polynesia – Fakarava and Rangiroa video:
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