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Dive Review of Blue Dolphin/Kia Ora Resort in
French Polynesia/Rangiroa

Blue Dolphin/Kia Ora Resort, Aug, 2009,

by Karen Guthrie, CA, USA (Sr. Reviewer Sr. Reviewer 9 reports). Report 5004.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations 4 stars Food 3 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity 3 stars
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling 4 stars
Value for $$ 2 stars
Beginners 1 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments I am glad that we dove Bora Bora as well. Rangiroa boasts some tricks like dolphins that failed to appear for us. Riding the currents in from the open ocean was interesting but unless you see some interesting critters (which the divemaster said were more likely to appear on the non-pass dive) it was just a matter of staying together with the divemaster and flying along. I wish we would have focused more on the tropical fish. The divemaster was friendly and funny and seemed like the long lost son of Jacques Cousteau but he was only interested in looking for big animals. Our last dive with a different divemaster revealed that there was a lot of little stuff we should have been paying attention to. We did see huge schools of barracuda, jacks and other fish on every dive and there was a carpet of sharks that was very deep and visible but not photographable from 100 feet. The fish are very friendly, particularly while snorkling in the lagoon and I did get some fun underwater shots of fish up very close. Not a great destination for underwater photography in my opinion because of the depth, current and subjects. That said I did get some nice shark and turtle pictures on dives. The resort was nice but we had been spoiled in Bora Bora at the Pearl Beach Resort so it was just okay. Food at the resort was spotty. Fish dishes tended to be better than beef dishes. Breakfast was an amazing array of food eaten after your first dive so bring a snack for before the first dive. They go out for 5 single tanks per day though and we were diving the first dive of the day and the first dive after lunch (as it was the pass shooting dive at that time).

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 101-250 dives
Where else diving Fiji, GBR, Grand and Little Cayman, Belize, Cozumel, Hawaii, Cay Sal Bank, La Paz Mexico, Isla Guadalupe Mexico, Thailand and Catalina California.
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, dry Seas currents
Water Temp 81-°F / 27-°C Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility 50-100 Ft/ 15-30 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile no
Enforced diving restrictions Stay with the divemaster
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks Lots Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals N/A Tropical Fish 4 stars
Small Critters N/A Large Fish 5 stars
Large Pelagics 5 stars

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter 2 stars Boat Facilities 1 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 1 stars Shore Facilities 1 stars
UW Photo Comments Here you are drifting quickly, the dives are deep and the zodiac had no space for cameras apart from the boat floor.
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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