Oceania · French Polynesia
Ten days in the Tuamotu atolls: four nights on Rangiroa, one of the largest lagoons in the world, and four on Fakarava, a UNESCO biosphere reserve, with a 10-dive pass.
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Indicative price from
€2,899
per person
This itinerary is a starting point: we'll adapt it with you in your tailor-made proposal.
Request informationThe Polynesia of the atolls, for lovers of the sea and silence. After a night on Tahiti you fly to Rangiroa, a coral ring so vast that from inside you cannot see the far shore. In the Tiputa pass you swim with dolphins and sharks, and the Blue Lagoon looks like a natural pool.
Then Fakarava, a UNESCO biosphere reserve, wild and sparsely inhabited. Its passes are among the most famous dives in the world, with hundreds of grey sharks gathering in the current.
The 10-dive pass is shared between two; non-divers snorkel or enjoy deserted beaches with no clock to watch.
10 days in the programme
Landing at Tahiti-Faa'a airport and a Polynesian welcome with a flower garland around your neck. Shared transfer to the hotel for the first night. Tahiti is the most populated island in the archipelago and the hub for domestic flights: tomorrow you head north-east to the Tuamotu, a long chain of atolls. An atoll is a ring of coral that grew around an ancient volcano which slowly sank, leaving a lagoon in the middle. After the long flight and the 11 or 12 hours of time difference, the evening is for rest.
Domestic flight to Rangiroa, about an hour north-east of Tahiti, after the transfer to the airport. From the air the shape of the atoll is clear: a thin ring of sand and coral, broken into hundreds of motu, around a lagoon more than 70 km long. All of Tahiti would fit inside it, and from the shore you cannot see the far side. There are two villages, Avatoru and Tiputa, each next to a pass to the ocean. Shared transfer to the hotel and a free afternoon for a first swim.
A free day, devoted to the Tiputa pass, one of the two channels linking the lagoon to the ocean. On the incoming tide the current carries open-ocean water inside, and grey sharks, eagle rays and shoals of fish gather in the pass; at its mouth, dolphins often play in the waves. Certified divers can use the included 10-dive pass, to be shared between two: the currents are strong and experience is needed. Non-divers can snorkel at the Aquarium, a calm spot near the pass, on an optional trip.
A free day at the atoll's slow pace. The best-known option is the optional excursion to the Blue Lagoon, booked separately: about an hour by boat from the Avatoru area towards the western end of the atoll, to a pool of shallow, very clear water enclosed by a crown of motu. You wade among small blacktip sharks, and seabirds nest on Île aux Oiseaux, the islet nearby. If you prefer, stay put and rest, with no timetable and no plans.
The last full day on Rangiroa. A suggestion, optional and booked separately: an excursion by boat to Île aux Récifs, on the south side of the lagoon, where wind and sea have carved the fossil coral into grey pinnacles, with natural pools among the rocks. Divers can instead use another dive from the pass. Near Avatoru there is also a vineyard planted on coral sand, with a winery producing Polynesian wine. At sunset, feet in the sand on the shore of the lagoon.
You leave Rangiroa on a short domestic flight to Fakarava, the second-largest atoll in the Tuamotu, with an almost rectangular lagoon about 60 km long. Together with nearby atolls it forms part of a UNESCO biosphere reserve, which protects the reef, the seabirds and the life of the passes. Fewer than a thousand people live here, almost all in Rotoava, the village near the airport. Shared transfer to the hotel and the rest of the day free.
A free day, devoted to the sea. Fakarava has two passes: to the north Garuae, the widest in French Polynesia, with strong currents and large open-ocean fish; to the south Tumakohua, known for its wall of sharks, hundreds of grey sharks holding still in the current. Between June and July, thousands of groupers gather in the south pass to spawn. The dives are for certified, experienced divers. For snorkelling, on an optional trip, there is the coral garden next to the village of Tetamanu, at the mouth of the south pass.
A free day with no plans. Most of the atoll is uninhabited: you only need to go a little way from the village to find empty beaches, with the lagoon on one side and the ocean on the other. If you feel like moving, you can book a separate boat trip south to the pink sand beaches, where the sand, made of crushed coral, takes on a pinkish tint. Otherwise, hire a bicycle and follow the road that leaves Rotoava and runs along the motu, stopping wherever you like for a swim.
The last day on the atoll. In the morning, a walk around Rotoava: the church, the quay, a few shops and houses with flowering gardens. A few kilometres from the village stands the Topaka lighthouse, built in the shape of a stepped pyramid. Black pearls are farmed in Fakarava's lagoon: a visit to a pearl farm is one of the optional ideas. The afternoon is for a last swim in the lagoon and for packing without hurry.
Shared transfer from the hotel to Fakarava airport and domestic flight to Tahiti, where you catch your flight home. If you wish, you can carry on instead to another Polynesian island.
