Tuamotu Islands, French Polynesia
Rangiroa
The largest atoll in French Polynesia, dived almost entirely in two tidal passes where incoming water carries divers into the lagoon past resident sharks and a habituated bottlenose dolphin pod.
- Great hammerhead
- Reef manta ray
- Drift
- Strong current
Best season
Best Dec–Mar
Minimum cert
Advanced
Water
26–29°C
Current
strong
Season
When this place works
Open year-round with no closure. Jun-Sep is the peak tourist season and the drier half; Dec-Mar is warmer, wetter and carries the hammerhead window. The two headline seasons pull in opposite directions, which is the useful thing to know…
Why dive here
What this place is known for
01driftTiputa Pass drift
The product. You drop outside on the incoming tide and get flushed through the pass into the lagoon, past everything holding in the channel. Avatoru Pass is the quieter second option. Both are timed to the tide, not the clock.
02cetaceanResident bottlenose dolphins
Surprise relative to the headline. Rangiroa is filed under shark diving, and it holds one of the few genuinely habituated wild bottlenose pods that interact with divers in the pass rather than fleeing. They also surf the standing wave at Tiputa in the late…
03sharkLow confidenceMulti-species shark density
Grey reef, silky, lemon, whitetip and blacktip in the same pass, with counts of 200+ animals reported on a single dive. Unbaited.
Marine life
Twelve-month species timelines
Resident pod at Tiputa Pass, habituated to divers over decades and known to initiate contact. Present year-round.
Holding in the pass in numbers on every tide.
Jul-Sep. Note this is the inverse of the hammerhead window, so the two headline seasonal animals cannot be combined in one trip.
Conditions
What the water is like
Water temp
26–29°C
15°C — 32°C
Visibility
20–30 m
0 m — 40 m
Current
strong
mild — strong
Thermoclines
Not typical
unlikely
Minimum certification — Advanced
Low confidenceWarm and clear, but the passes carry serious tidal current and getting the timing wrong means being flushed out to sea rather than into the lagoon. Operators expect divers comfortable with drift, negative entries and blue-water ascents.…
Entries — boat
Logistics
How people dive it
4-10 days
scuba
Small operators and pensions near the two passes at Avatoru and Tiputa. Diving is tide-dependent, so the daily schedule shifts through the…
7-10 days
scuba
Tuamotu itineraries usually pairing Rangiroa with Fakarava.
Operators
Who to book with
Loading operators…
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