Experiences
Experiences.
Five guides to diving, snorkelling, whale watching, hiking and surfing: where each is best, when, how to do it, and the rules that apply.
Blacktip reef shark, Moorea lagoon
The whole exclusive economic zone has been a marine mammal sanctuary since 2002, and shark fishing has been banned since 2006. The size and number of the fish, and their indifference to divers, follow from that.
Five guides
The guides.
Experiences
Diving
Pass diving on the incoming tide, with sharks in the current. Where, when, and what it costs.
Experiences
Snorkelling
Rays, turtles, mantas and the coral-garden drift, with no certificate needed.
Experiences
Whales
Humpbacks calve here from July to November. The rules for watching and swimming with them.
Experiences
Hiking
Ridge trails, crater valleys and waterfalls, and why most routes need a guide.
Experiences
Surfing
From Teahupo'o to the black-sand beach at Papara where beginners learn.
Related
Related pages.
Tuamotu
Fakarava
A UNESCO biosphere reserve with several hundred grey reef sharks in its south pass.
Open the island guide
Society Islands
Moorea
Thirty minutes from Tahiti by ferry. Rays off the beaches, humpback whales outside the reef from July.
Open the island guide
Australs
Rurutu
Limestone cliffs with caves, taro valleys, and humpback whales close to shore from July to October.
Open the island guide
Explained
The dolphins of Tiputa pass
A resident pod of bottlenose dolphins on Rangiroa surfs the standing waves of the outgoing tide.
Read the article