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A palm-covered motu and clear turquoise water over coral shallows on Rangiroa atoll

Sample journey · 9–11 days

Three Tuamotu atolls: Rangiroa, Fakarava and Tikehau

Tahiti, Rangiroa & the Tiputa pass, Fakarava & its south pass, Tikehau & Bird Island

Photo: Slim MARS / Unsplash

Illustrative journey ideas — not bookable packages. No prices, dates or accommodation are implied.

The Tuamotus are a very different French Polynesia from Bora Bora or Moorea. There are no mountains here, only narrow rings of coral and sand fringed with coconut palms, and inside them vast lagoons. Life revolves around the passes, where the ocean floods into the lagoon and out again with every tide, carrying shoals of fish, sharks, rays and, with luck, dolphins. The villages are small, the shops modest, and the evenings dark and full of stars.

This is a journey for those at home in the water: snorkelling the passes and, for those who wish, scuba diving are the reason for every atoll. Stays are family-run guesthouses on the lagoon shore and a few small, refined hotels, and the two can be mixed. Which atolls, how many nights and what level of diving suits you, we'd shape around your experience and wishes.

The route

The journey

  1. Tahiti
  2. Rangiroa
  3. Fakarava
  4. Tikehau
  5. Tahiti
  1. Evening on the shore at Papeete: a tree and rocks by the water, yachts at anchor and the peaks of Moorea in silhouette across the channel

    01Day 1 · Tahiti

    A breather after the long journey

    The journey from Europe to Tahiti is one of the longest there is, so the first night is for rest near Papeete airport. With energy to spare, walk through Papeete's covered market among tropical fruit, vanilla and flower garlands, and in the evening have dinner by the sea with Moorea's silhouette across the water.

  2. A blacktip reef shark swimming in clear, shallow water over a sandy bottom

    02Days 2–4 · Rangiroa

    A lagoon with no far shore

    About an hour's flight, and Rangiroa appears below, one of the largest atolls in the world, its lagoon so wide you can't see across. On the incoming tide dolphins often play in the Tiputa pass, and with a local guide you can drift through the pass on the current, above coral and shoals of fish. Another day, by boat across the lagoon to the Blue Lagoon, a shallow lagoon within the lagoon where blacktip reef sharks cruise over the sand, and lunch on a motu. A curious detail: there's even a vineyard growing on the coral sand here.

  3. 03Days 5–6 · Fakarava: the north

    By bicycle along the lagoon

    Fakarava is part of a UNESCO biosphere reserve and one of the quietest atolls in the archipelago. The village of Rotoava in the north is small: a road along the lagoon, a little church, a pearl farm where you're shown how black pearls are grown, and a jetty where local children jump into the water at sunset. Nearby is the Garuae pass, the widest in French Polynesia, where experienced divers ride the current while others snorkel its edges.

  4. 04Day 7 · Fakarava: the south pass

    The wall of sharks

    By boat across the whole lagoon, about an hour and a half, to the Tumakohua pass and the tiny village of Tetamanu in the south. Here hundreds of grey reef sharks often gather in the pass, especially in the southern winter months when groupers spawn: a sight that draws divers from around the world. Snorkellers see a great deal too, but the currents in the pass are strong, so you always go with a guide. On the way, the Pink Sands, a motu where you stop for lunch on a warm, rose-tinted shore.

  5. 05Days 8–11 · Tikehau

    Pink sand and an island of birds

    Tikehau is a smaller, almost circular atoll whose motu are ringed with pink-tinged beaches. Days here are slower: a boat to Bird Island, where terns and noddies nest in the trees and on the sand, snorkelling in the pass where manta rays sometimes appear, and long hours in the lagoon. On the last day, a flight back to Tahiti, sometimes via another atoll, and a night or next-day flight home.

Experience highlights

  1. 01

    The Tiputa pass

    Drifting on the current above the coral and, on the incoming tide, often dolphins in the waves.

  2. 02

    The Blue Lagoon

    A shallow lagoon within the lagoon, blacktip reef sharks and lunch on a motu.

  3. 03

    Fakarava's south

    The Tumakohua pass, where hundreds of grey reef sharks often gather.

  4. 04

    Tikehau's motu

    Pink-sand shores and an island of birds in the middle of the lagoon.

First, we listen. Then, we explore what's possible.

Make it your own

  • For divers

    More dives in the Tiputa, Garuae and Tumakohua passes, matched to your certification, with the months chosen for what you'd most like to see.

  • With the Society Islands

    End with a few nights on Moorea or Bora Bora: mountains and lagoons after the low atolls.

  • Two atolls instead of three

    Slower: just Rangiroa and Fakarava, four nights on each, and fewer flights.

  • Deeper into the Tuamotus

    Several atolls by boat through the archipelago: a longer, more adventurous alternative to flying.

Practical considerations

  • Small local planes link the atolls, their schedules change often, and some routes connect via Tahiti or another atoll, so the nights on each atoll are set around the flights.
  • Currents in the passes are strong and follow the tides, so snorkelling and diving there are always done with local guides; some dive sites call for experience and a higher certification.
  • The lagoon's residents, dolphins, sharks or manta rays, can never be guaranteed, though in many places they're seen often.
  • Shops and cash machines are few on the atolls and comforts in family guesthouses are simple; light clothes, a hat and reef-safe sunscreen matter most.

General guidance only. Seasons, weather and wildlife are never guaranteed, and travel requirements are always worth checking before you go.

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