DIVES IN TIKEHAU

This atoll is a bit unloved by the Tuamotus. However, it is only 340 km from Papeete and 15 km from the hyper media Rangiroa. It has daily air connections. And yet ...

Tikehau atoll is smaller than Rangiroa, the pass is shallower, the outside of the pass is very often calm and the maximum depths make it very accessible ... The atoll, the moved and the village have retained a very Polynesian authenticity and organization. To better understand, know that the last official census of 2012 counted a multitude of… 529 inhabitants!

DIVING SPOTS

There are seven different diving spots located mostly on the outer reefs of the Tikehau lagoon. The atoll is often downwind from the east, which creates quite sporty conditions to reach the pass. Provide mercalm for the most sensitive. Because of this distance, all the centers practice the “double tank”, that is to say two successive dives.

1 - The old pearl farm

It is arguably THE most famous dive in Tikehau. You are in the middle of the lagoon and it is also the only old pearl farm. Here, the famous manta rays come to be dewormed by cleaning wrasses. A sandy bottom of about fifteen meters at most where small coral potatoes are scattered above which the mantas come to twirl, offers perfect conditions to everyone, from the simple baptized to the most experienced divers.

We have chosen not to offer you a montage but simply three minutes taken almost at random in our rushes of nearly 130 minutes… There are days with and days without, but as a general rule, if you plan three days on site, manta rays will be waiting for you.

2 - TEONAI

A gentle reef slope opens onto a drop off that begins within 20 m. You will follow the drop off on your left towards the pass. During this dive, all encounters are possible. Play with an anemonefish, photograph a lionfish but above all, never forget to lift your eyes to the surface or to scrutinize the blue of the ocean, because here life is everywhere. Splendid. Swarming. Sometimes, the benches mix and merge, multiple scenes of life. Varied. Notice to amateurs ...

3 - UHEIAVA

When the current is in, you can take advantage of it to let you drift safely, from the ocean to the lagoon. Along the way, you will surely meet the white fin sharks of the reef, the coral sharks but also wrasse, trevally, barracudas, tuna, turtles, moray eels… and so on. Life is rich in this small pass in the Tuamotu and the proximity to animals is increased tenfold.

When the current is out, the southern corner of the pass becomes the place of all the meetings. A reef where the coral is still healthy offers hiding places for a multitude of animals. Try to flush out a leaf fish or rock fish as sharks, tunas and barracudas swirl in the blue.

4- Shark Hole

This deep dive is only for experienced divers! The drop-off which begins at 15 m is vertiginous, all lined with squirrel fish and it continues even lower, where divers can no longer descend. The more experienced will stop at 50 m, the depth where the famous hole begins. It is a vertical gut that follows the wall. At the entrance, an anemone and its clown fish will welcome you, while waiting for the school of gray sharks to appear. There can be a dozen or a hundred, the bulk of the bank lives lower and sometimes goes up, following the currents. You will continue the dive, slowly ascending along the drop off, the thousands of eyes of reef fish watching you from their hiding places.

5 - The buoy

This spot is so named because it is the only mooring point at the exit of the pass, on the left corner of it. It is a good starting point with a descent line for novice divers. You can also do your baptism there because the plateau which stretches under the boat between five and six meters deep is very full of fish. Often the captain drops the certified divers a little further south on a depth of ten meters and we descend gradually to the drop off, the top of which is twenty meters deep. Then the reef slope descends. We walk along the reef towards the pass. Keep an eye out in the blue, you can see white tip sharks from the sea, the famous “tapete”, an eagle or manta ray, tuna, trevally and barracudas. As you approach the corner, life intensifies. The majority of the fauna abounds between fifteen and twenty meters: schools of bigeye trevally, paddling poles, surgeons, nasons, blue triggerfish, cane beaks are at their peak at the new moon. Big Javanese moray eels with their cleaners and lots of lion fish, large wrasse and turtles make this site THE dive site of Tikehau.

6 - Ramu Ramu

In the ocean, a ten-minute boat ride northbound, this dive site is a long canyon dug into the reef between 14 and 20 meters deep. The outer wall can book some nice surprises but the interest is in the canyon. The underwater landscape is here very cut with crevices and overhangs that shelter many sciaphile fish. Very beautiful corals, some gorgons whips hide a beautiful fauna of small individuals. Under some rocks, white tip sharks have made their home and it is also very common to encounter small gray sharks at this site, however with fewer large predators than in the past. Large paddle poles are characteristic of the postcards of the Polynesian funds, as well as some napoleons. At the landing, above the canyon, getting closer to hoa You will see black tip sharks. It's a dive for all levels.

7 - Hina's bell

This relatively deep dive, minus 45 m, is reserved for experienced divers. You can see the passage of big, such as tunas, marlins or white tip reef sharks.

DIVING CENTERS

We did this report a year ago… this deadline is not always the prerogative of the paper press… and in one year, it is clear that things have changed quite a bit. Of course the center Top Dive Tikehau is still open within the Tikehau Pearl resort. They are even in the process of creating a second base in the village. A priori, the base of the Raie Manta Club closed and would have been bought by a young couple, but impossible to find their website… There was at the time a third center which also would have closed, which is hardly surprising, given the welcome we received at the time ...

ACCOMMODATION

Despite its small size and low traffic, Tikehau Atoll offers a multitude of accommodation solutions. This ranges from bed & breakfast, through boarding, local or more Europeanized, to the very select Tikehau Pearl Resort.

We suggest you visit two of them.

Royal tikehau

This pension consists of seven overwater bungalows and four rooms with private bathroom. One of the particularities of this pension is to be located on a motu. So you have to get there by boat. The setting is idyllic and enchanting.

Tikehau Pearl Resort

So there, we are changing our standing and prices! We are in the Tikehau palace! Very spacious bungalows, refined cuisine, attentive staff… that's the best !!!

The hotel has twenty-four suites and overwater bungalows and thirteen beach bungalows, on a carefully maintained four-hectare property. The bar and restaurant, housed in the magnificent do buddy, the common house, will welcome you at the edge of the infinity pool. Many excursions and activities will be offered to you: snorkeling, canoeing, sunset cruise, picnics, visiting the village by bicycle, scuba diving with the Tikehau Blue Nui center and the Fare Manea Spa will allow you to experience the extraordinary experience of traditional Polynesian massage, with herbal and Monoi products certified 100% natural.

Our opinion

French Polynesia is very far, too far from the metropolis! It would be a mistake to give up discovering this haven of peace when you go there. It is really an authentic atoll of great beauty where you will make superb immersions. Before or after Rangiroa, the choice is yours, but it is without a doubt a must!