Dive Review of TOPdive/White Sands in
French Polynesia/Fakarava

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TOPdive/White Sands, Jul, 2011, by Gary, AB, US ( Reviewer 4 reports). Report 6170.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	5 Dives in Fakarava, French Polynesia (aka Tahiti) from July 30th to August 1st, 2011. There are really only two main dive areas on Fakarava - the North Pass and the Southern. The Southern is always rated higher (North is great though as you will see below. Whether you stay at the Southern Pass in somewhat questionable accomodations which are only accessible by boat or stay in the North near the airport, you can dive the opposite pass. This is however highly dependant on weather conditions and the tide tables (I heard the outgoing current from the Lagoon is not a great dive) and the boat ride takes at least 90 minutes. We never made it too the South (very expensive for a 2 tank dive (appox $280 USD)) due to the incomming currrent not arriving until mid-afternoon which made a 2nd dive not possible. We stayed at The White Sands Hotel and found it very nice with accomodations facing an incredibly large and colorful lagoon - pay the marginal extra price for a premium beach front unit as the views are gorgeous - especially at sunset. There is also another little cozy looking place about 1 mile North of White Sands. We dove with Top Dives on Fakarava and had a very good experience with them. I have to say there were two dive masters that were the worst coral touchers I have ever dove with. They would tell us on the surface to grab or hold onto dead coral when the current was strong and we were watching the shark parade but someone really needs to teach them the difference between live coral and dead coral. I was sharing air with one divemaster (I've always been an air pig) and he was getting mad at me since I was not holding onto the live coral like he was. The Grey Reef and Black Tip action here is out of this world and we found the sharks more abundant than Rangiroa. Add in some very pretty corals (hopefully some of the divemasters won't kill them off anytime soon), some big Napoleons, and a few Morrays, and you get world class diving.Highly recommended. Note there is very strong current here but the divemasters definitely know the area and tide schedules. However, if you are nervous in strong current, then just do the slack tide dives. We did one slack tide dive where the current switched over (dead calm for a little while) and had the best dive of our trip on Fakarava.
Websites	TOPdive
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Carribbean, Cocos Island, Micronesia, Sipidan, Thailand, Maldives, Indonesia, Vancouver
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, dry	Seas	calm, choppy, currents
Water Temp	76-78°F / 24-26°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	60-130 Ft/ 18-40 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	120 ft
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	1 or 2
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	None	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	[None]

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Dive Review of TOPdive/White Sands in French Polynesia/Fakarava

TOPdive/White Sands, Jul, 2011,

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

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

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

Dive Review of TOPdive/White Sands in
French Polynesia/Fakarava