After 27 hours on and off flights and a 3 hours sleep at a motel in Tahiti, we finally got to Rangiroa!
The picture speaks for itself. The sight on the airplane is already breathtaking.
Upon arrival our host Nico from Le Coconut Lodge was kindly waiting for us. We were very surprised learning from him that less than 3000 people lived on the atoll. Well, we were surprised at first, not so much after noticing how small the main village (Avatoru) was. Also considering there is no island on the atoll, only Motus. Motu is the name given to land on an Atoll’s border in French Polynesia.
Dining
The motu was really small. We could find only 3 restaurants to eat. Two of them were open for lunch and one of them for dinner.
The two lunch restaurants were in opposite sides of the street, both at the end of the road towards Tiputa Pass (Yes, the road, as in “there is only one”). The one on the right side (looking at the ocean) serves extremely tasty traditional meals with fresh coconut water and costs about 16 USD (which is the least we spent for food in French Polynesia). The other one called Chez Lili was extremely good and is a mandatory stop. It is ran by a woman from Madagascar that mixes tastes from all over the world and refused to give us her incredible good sauce’s recipe! It costs ~18 USD a meal.
Since I don’t eat fish, we couldn’t have dinner at Le Coconut Lodge, because they only serve fresh fish. Thus, we headed over twice to Te Mao. It is ran by a lovely and thoughtful french couple and is definitely a pleasant night out to enjoy a cold Hinano Beer. Also, most dishes are comprised of several different pieces of food, so if you have a meat dish, you’re probably going to taste beef, lamb, sausage, duck, ostrich and so on…
Accomodations in the atoll
There are not plenty of options to stay in Rangiroa. The fanciest and most well-known option would be Kia Ora Resort & Spa. It is also the most expensive option. We only saw it from the water and it looks beautiful. It is the only local place that hosts a traditional Polynesian night and buffet, with traditional and fire dances (~80-90 USD). We decided not to go because of its price and the fact that we would be diving all the time, instead of enjoying the holtel’s facilities. Also, we always loved a cozy environment as opposed to a fancy one.
Thus, we decided for Le Coconut Lodge! It has only 5 rooms and a small private beach with a hammock and a sand bed. The couple running the place, Nico and Alice, were lovely and truly inspiring. Divers born in France raising two kids in Rangiroa. The breakfast was great and they had free bikes available all the time for you to get around (which pretty much takes you everywhere). Not only that, but Nico and Alice were absolutely willing to help you get any tours straight, call whoever it was needed to book whatever it was. More than enough structure to enjoy the beauty of Rangiroa.
Diving in Rangiroa!
Anyway, on our first afternoon we were down to business: finding our dive shop. We read loads about Top Dive and visited their facilities, which were very attractive, but their price was the highest on the atoll. After a few dive trips we concluded that Dive Shops are as good as their dive masters, so that we usually focus on finding cheaper places with nice people (the difference wasn’t enormous though, from 90 USD to 75, the only difference being that Top Dive offered Nitrox diving. We weren’t going any deeper than 25m so I figured it wouldn’t make a huge difference).
Finally we decided to accept Nico’s suggestion and join his chilean friend Claudio at Rangiroa Plongée. There we also met a dive master called Yannick (who had about 2,000 dives in Rangiroa), who we shared a couple of dives with. Both of them were awesome and Rangiroa Plongee was a great choice. We had the best time and highly recommend them.
The dive sites
The Tiputa Pass, world class dive site, works like this: When big swells are hitting the atoll, thus throwing water in the lagoon, the current is outgoing and one cannot dive because the current throws you downwards to 60m of depth in a matter of seconds or minutes. You can only dive there when the current is in-going and that window can last only a couple of hours.
When we were in Rangiroa we were receiving Mara’amu winds for 3 days in a row of up to 35 knots, having no hope of diving the pass. The second best option is the Outer Reef, where you can see plenty of coral gardens, fish, dolphins and rays. On the first day we headed twice to the outer reef and on the way we could already see dolphins.
As soon as we entered the water about 12 dolphins went by us. I figured it would be quite common to see them and barely took pictures, believing I could do it calmly next time. What a misjudgement… never saw them under the water again…
The rest of the two dives were incredibly good. We got to see an eagle ray, plenty of fish including barracudas, massive napoleons, other rays, schools and so on.
Tiputa Pass itself
On our second day, since we could not dive the pass, we were thinking about going to the Lagon Bleu. Gladly we decided not to, because as soon as we got to the dive shop on the next day, they rushed us to get to the boat because the current might be ingoing. And ohh… it was!
Although the current is really strong the pass is flooded with fish and sharks. Flooded! There are many canyons on the pass, whenever you reach one you grab a rock, hold on strong against the current and spend minutes admiring the myriads of sea life around you. The larger sharks had about 1.70m.
At the end of our last dive we saw a massive Manta Ray! We had never before and it was insanely cool. They are not at all common in Rangiroa, which just made it better. Our buddy Laure from New Caledonia couldn’t be less excited about it. It turned out to be a good thing though, because she told us about how they are common in New Caledonia. Which makes for a good next diving trip.
Diving in Rangiroa was an absolute dream. We can’t wait to go back!
Tiputa Pass above the water
Around the “corner” of the ocean and the Tiputa Pass, on the Avatoru’s motu side, there is a little square. It is called Cite de Dauphins (The Dolphin’s Place) which isn’t even on TripAdvisor. It is a very simple square in which you have a good view of the pass.
You will notice how locals gather there at the end of every afternoon.
Interestingly, we did not see many tourists there, although we haven’t seen them anywhere.
Anyway, everyone is there to see the waves quite literally playing on the waves. When the current changes, some waves form in the pass and the dolphins surf ’em and throw backflips.
It is unforgettable and absolutely stunning to see them. We ended up stopping there every afternoon.
Despite the fact that people usually stop there about 4:30 PM, there is no special reason you’ll see dolphins at that time. It can happen anytime during the day. We were fortunate to spot’em every single day.
Other things to do in Rangiroa
The two most well known things to do in Rangiroa are Le Lagon Bleu and the natural Aquarium. We haven’t been to Le Lagon Bleu, but heard wonders about it. The aquarium is a tiny potion of land just inside the pass on the laggon side. We only saw its surface. The water is crystal clear and beautiful. Although it does not compare to the diving itself. Everyone we questioned about endorsed our decision of skipping the lagoon and the aquarium to dive. That is what Rangiroa is all about, diving!
Also, there is the Tahiti Winery / Mana’o Rum facilities. We had never been to a winery, so it was pretty cool. But they barely speak English, so we couldn’t understand everything. They have 4 wine options out of which we liked only two. And the rum was good! It is a short visit (about an hour) at the end of the day (5 PM), so due to the lack of activities, it is worth a visit! You’ll pay about 20 USD.
Rangiroa is exactly what we expected from Polynesia. A few around-the-world sailboats were anchored there and we could meet some of their crews and family and it was great. Natural beauty is at its best and we can’t wait to go back. Next stop: board the boat in Raiatea!
Cheers!
For more information refer to our video about this trip: