French Polynesia and Tahiti diving holidays
One
of the world's most beautiful diving destinations: Tahiti and her
islands.
Whales, sharks and
dolphins combined with fast currents and exquisite sandy islands all
await those prepared to make the long trip to French Polynesia.
Tahiti and her
islands are about as far away from any large continent as it is
possible to get. Located between 5 and 25 degrees below the equator
and around 150 degrees from the Greenwich Meridian, they are also
about as far as one can travel around the globe from the UK. The air
temperature changes little, averaging an extremely pleasant 26°C,
while the water remains a comfortable tepid-bath temperature for
most of the year. This is where the ocean is home to big marine
life. Here, a variety of pelagics either take up residence or are en
route to and from their breeding grounds, and huge humpback whale
cows suckle their young for about a third of the year in the
sheltered waters found off the island of Rurutu. Tiger, great
hammerhead and grey reef sharks all enjoy the fast-flowing channels
that supply an aquatic breakfast and supper to the gigantic lagoon
of Rangiroa, while throughout the autumn dolphins gorge themselves
on the tens of millions of breeding snapper at the narrow passage in
Fakarava.
I
have come to French Polynesia to learn how to relax. No place better
suits the idle than French Polynesia, a group of 118 tiny volcanic
islands scattered like pebbles over a stretch of the South Pacific
Ocean the size of Western Europe. Although the entire country is
familiarly called Tahiti, French Polynesia actually encompasses five
far-flung archipelagos: the Tuamotus, the Marquesas, the Austral
Islands, the Gambier Islands, and the thirteen Society Islands, so
named by Captain James Cook during his 1769 visit. (This was ten
years before he met his ignominious end in Hawaii, 2,400 miles to
the northeast.) Today, Tahiti and Bora Bora are the best-known of
the Society Islands, though Moorea, Raiatea, and Huahine are also
members of the chain. Ever since Cook's visit, French Polynesia has
attracted pleasure seekers and runaways, people hoping to escape the
grayness, the routine, of their lives. "I am entering into the
truth, into nature," said Paul Gauguin, one of the most famous
runaways, and looking at these islands, it is easy to believe him.
Soon
I am settled on my own deck, staring out into nothing—so
hypnotizing, this clear aqua water! Here, time shrinks or expands,
is impossible to measure or parse. The magazines I've brought remain
untouched, and before I know it, the sun is fading from the sky, the
afternoon is gone, and it's twilight.
Posted by a Alexandra Marshall on the Conde Nast Traveller website
July 2006. These words somehow reflect the unique atmosphere of the
Islands of Tahiti, contrasted only by the adrenaline and excitement
of the diving. No place offers more shark encounters like the Atoll
of Rangiroa or the unforgettable interaction with humpack whales in
Rurutu.
Tahiti is now more accessible than ever thanks to lower flight and
accommodation prices. Like Alexandra says time shrinks or expands
and is impossible to measure. Here two weeks will feel like month.
Diving World offers you flexible tailor made itineraries thanks to
our intimate knowledge of these Islands and dive sites.

Tahiti was rated shark capital of the
Pacific by Skin Diver magazine and it definitely lives up to its
rating. Lemon, grey, black tip, white tip, and hammerhead sharks all
make the waters around Tahiti their home.
To a diver, Tahiti spells sharks –
tons of sharks that can be observed and enjoyed by both scuba divers
and snorkelers alike. With an estimated population of 240,000
residents, Tahiti (more correctly known as French Polynesia) is
literally outnumbered by the sharks that inhabit the outer reefs and
open seas. While no one knows the exact number, the shark population
is estimated in the millions. And because of the extraordinary
underwater visibility (often 200 feet), it is not uncommon for a
diver to view more than one hundred sharks on a single dive.
According to shark expert Dick Johnson, in his book Sharks of
Polynesia, at least 16 shark species have been recorded in French
Polynesian waters. It is definitely a sharky place, as I have
observed five species in a single day of diving: Gray Reef sharks,
Silvertips, Great Hammerheads, Whitetip Reef sharks and small
Blacktips. Few places on earth offer this kind of variety and
abundance for shark dives.
  
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