Diving with Manta Rays- other Favorite dives?

[ltdemptynest]

 To all the Divers out there:  What are your favorite dives from the PG?  ONLY Society Islands (knowing there are better dives on the Tuamotu islands, but unfortunately I will not be there.)  

 

I am still searching for the Manta Rays... I have seen them from boats, and from shore... but never on a dive.  Does anyone know what the odds are of diving with them on Bora Bora (seems like a regular occurrence but want to set my expectations. )🐟 🌊

 

 

[EPTCB]

Have had quite good luck with manta rays while snorkeling in Bora Bora.

[FlightMedic555]

We have done a snorkel that looked for mantas 7 times.  3 times we did not find them.  I would do a snorkel as you get to many other sites.  If you do the dive and strike out you may have wasted an excursion.  With the dive you have to stay at the bottom and observe the mantas.  You really get a similar view from the snorkel.  

 

The shark dive site in Moorea was very good as was the Bora Bora dive outside the lagoon.

[Tahitianbigkahuna]

We've had good luck snorkeling for the mantas  .... I would say 2/3's of the time we've spotted mantas. About 8 out of 12 times ....

[Leejnd4]

20 hours ago, ltdemptynest said:

 To all the Divers out there:  What are your favorite dives from the PG?  ONLY Society Islands (knowing there are better dives on the Tuamotu islands, but unfortunately I will not be there.)  

 

I am still searching for the Manta Rays... I have seen them from boats, and from shore... but never on a dive.  Does anyone know what the odds are of diving with them on Bora Bora (seems like a regular occurrence but want to set my expectations. )🐟 🌊

 

 

 

While this is not really answering your question about the PG, I just wanted to mention that if you REALLY want to be 100% SURE to see Manta Rays, take a trip to Bali and book a dive to Manta Point at Nusa Penida. There are always Mantas there, as it's a cleaning station. Here's a 5-minute video I put together of one of our trips there - it's kinda old, the footage is from 2014 - but it's still the same. And as you can see, we got up close and personal with them, not just from below. It's a worthwhile trip if you are a lover of Manta Rays!

 

I wish you the best of luck finding some on this upcoming PG cruise. I'm hoping to see some too. I find them to be just magical creatures.

 

 

[ltdemptynest]

So mesmerizing....  love it!

[Tahitianbigkahuna]

Enjoy  ... taken on Bora Bora last year. Snorkeling on the surface, GoPro7, nothing fancy ... , yup, you can get that close to them.

 

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-5Zx7QpW/0/069ab4f1/1280/i-5Zx7QpW-1280.mp4

Edited August 15, 2023 by Tahitianbigkahuna

[Leejnd4]

11 minutes ago, Tahitianbigkahuna said:

Enjoy  ... taken on Bora Bora last year. Snorkeling on the surface, GoPro7, yup, you can get that close to them.

 

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-5Zx7QpW/0/069ab4f1/1280/i-5Zx7QpW-1280.mp4

Beautiful! They are like massive angels of the sea. I've never found myself so mesmerized by any creature on earth the way I am by Manta Rays. The grace of their movements, their enormity...I REALLY hope we see some on my upcoming PG cruise! Otherwise I'm gonna have to book another trip to Bali. 😉 

[minidonuts85]

@Leejnd4 love the video and thanks for sharing! Bali is definitely on our dive bucket list! At 1:45 I noticed a twirly looking thing off to the right. Was that old fishing line or some kind of worm?

[Leejnd4]

5 hours ago, minidonuts85 said:

@Leejnd4 love the video and thanks for sharing! Bali is definitely on our dive bucket list! At 1:45 I noticed a twirly looking thing off to the right. Was that old fishing line or some kind of worm?

Definitely not fishing line! No fishing allowed there. I went and looked at the video, and I believe it's some kind of plant.