Experiences · Scuba
Dive where
the ocean breathes.
Pass diving is the country's gift to divers: ride the tide through a reef gate with sharks stacked in the blue. Here is how it works and where it peaks.
01 / The mechanism
Tides make
the theatre.
Atoll lagoons breathe through their passes. On the incoming tide, clear ocean water pours through the gates and pelagics gather to feed and hold station — so operators drop divers outside and let the current carry them through walls of grey reef sharks, eagle rays, and schooling jacks into the calm lagoon. Timing is everything, which is why the day's schedule belongs to the tide table, not to you.
The entire exclusive economic zone has been a marine mammal sanctuary since 2002, and shark fishing has long been banned — one reason the biomass here astonishes even widely traveled divers.
The classic sites
Passes, walls, and cleaning stations
03 / Before you giant-stride
The honest
checklist.
01Certification
Passes want comfort in current; advanced level opens the best windows
Refresh on Moorea first02Seasonality
Diving runs all year; June–July brings Fakarava's famous grouper aggregation
Whale song in winter water03Conditions
Incoming-tide dives for clarity; outgoing can mean chop and haze
Trust the briefing04Safety net
Recompression facilities exist on Tahiti; respect no-fly intervals in your route
Insurance is not optional05Etiquette
No gloves-on-coral, no chasing, reef hooks only where operators allow
The sanctuary is why it's good06Logistics
Book dive-and-stay packages on atolls; tanks and boats are finite
High season sells out
Not diving?
The lagoon
still delivers.
Snorkelers get their own version of the show — the south-Fakarava shark channel, Tikehau's mantas, and lagoon coral gardens ask nothing but fins and calm breathing.
Go to the snorkeling guide →Keep exploring