Best Island for Scuba in Polynesia?

[Kissara22]

Which island is better for scuba diving over all, Rangiroa, Bora Bora, or Moorea? We will be on the Tahitian this November, so weather and time of year may play a factor :D

[nreeder]

It depends a little on what you would like to see. On Bora Bora, you can see the giant manta rays which are truly spectacular (although they like murky water which is rich in nutrients so you have trouble finding them).

 

On Moorea they have lots of sharks to see, and the divemasters often feed them so you get to watch the frenzy. Manata rays are within the lagoon on Bora Bora, but on Moorea, if I remember correctly, the sharks are outside the reef. I can't comment on Rangiroa as we didn't go there. We hit Raratonga in the Cook Islands instead and that was a bummer. The reefs have been devastated by crown of thorns which suck all of the corals out and leave a barren landscape. It will be 20 years before it returns to health.

 

Thanks

Norm

[10X]

I'd opt for Bora Bora (we just got back last week). We had some rough water the day we were there so the Manta Rays had moved out into deeper water. However, we did 2 shark dives that we fantastic. However, if you catch a good day, you should be able to see Mantas. We also saw a Napoleon Wrasse that was 4-5 feet long. He was a beauty and I got a great picture of him.

 

In Moorea, the rough water continued and our dives there were not good. It could just be the dive operator though. They never attempted to find calm water or dive inside the lagoon. They took us to the closest dive spot to their office and in we went. They took us to the same place twice, which made it twice as bad.

 

Be sure to use TopDive as your dive operator. That's who I used in Bora Bora and they were great. I did a ship's excursion in Moorea and they used Bathy's and I'll never make that mistake again.

 

We were diverted from Rarotonga, due to bad weather, and went to Rangiroa instead. Because of the diversion I didn't have anything booked in advance so I had to use a ship's excursion, and they used "Six Passengers" diving. They gave a nice dive but we didn't see anything unusual or spectacular.

 

Let me know if you have any questions.

 

Enjoy your cruise and your diving.

[lingfing]

Rangiroa has the reputation of having the best scuba-diving in French Polynesia. I've only been to Moorea & Bora Bora myself, but another forum I frequent has posters who scuba-dive and they all vote for Rangiroa for the best diving.

[Kissara22]

It all sounds just sooo fabulous, I can't wait....after reading some posts about how hot and humid it can get during their summer, ..I can't wait to plunge!! Hopefully being the beginning of their summer, ...it won't be so bad :D

 

Thanks Y'all!

[laurasue]

I've read some incredible reviews of the pass dives in Rangiroa. I've also heard great things about Bora Bora. The water is so incredible in FP that it seems like it's got to be great no matter where you are!

[MVPinBoynton]

I was on the TP last week and dove in Rangiroa and Bora Bora. Due to the water going out of the pass, they would not let you dive through the pass. This apparently is only done when the water is incoming. We dove on a wall just outside the pass and got to see a manta rays and a wrasse which were awesome. When we were there it was a beautiful sunny day, but since it had been raining for the last five days before we got there, the water wasn't as clear as normal; but it was nice. The 6 Passenger folks were great. I had never dove from a Zodiac and was concerned about getting back in, but it was a piece of cake. In Bora Bora we did the morning manta ray dive. As Norm said, the water in the lagoon was murky; but we did see a manta ray and lots of eagle rays.

 

I didn't hear a lot of good comments from those that dove in Moorea; but since it had been raining there a lot prior to us getting there and a little bit the day we were there, the water wasn't what it normally would be.

[Kissara22]

Well thank you all for the great responses, I've read recently that Rangiroa is the best place in FP for diving. We're very curious about the manta rays in Bora Bora, so we'll probably do both. So far the excursions for moorea don't look that super great and the reviews for diving are about 50/50. If you think of anything else that might be helpful, ...pass that info along.

 

Thanks so much,

Sara:D

[MVPinBoynton]

Sara,

The folks that did the night dive on Raiatea really enjoyed it. Also those that did the Bora Bora dives outside the reef raved about them.