Dive Review of Top Dive/Kia Ora, in
French Polynesia/Moorea, Rangiroa, Bora Bora

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Top Dive/Kia Ora, , Aug, 2008, by Morgan Armstrong, FL, United States ( 1 report). Report 4641.
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	Spent 14 days in French Polynesia. First 5 days were spent in Moorea in which 2 days of diving were done. Moorea is simple and good for beginners. It is a 5 minute boat ride out to the dive sites just outside the reef. Surface conditions can get hairy due to the ocean currents coming straight onto the reef. Absolutely stunning visibility, no current just surge. Black Tip Reef Sharks and Lemon Sharks greet the divers. And yes, they do bait them in with a fish tail tucked into their bc's. Coral is pristine and small creatures everywhere. Moorea is a beautiful island, very relaxing with some fun hiking. The next 6 days were spent in Rangiroa. We dove for 4 days, 4 dives per day for the first three days and then unfortunately only 3 on the last day because of flight. Ok first, I had never heard of this place before it just so happened that I ended up going to F.P. for my honeymoon. My wife and I are avid divers and so we asked where the best diving was. Rangiroa. WOW!! That is all I can say about the diving there. Day 1, dolphins on every dive, hundreds maybe thousands of Grey Reef Sharks, Napolean Wrasse, Black Tip Reef, Barracuda the size of school buses, turtles, tuna. Day 2, Silvertip Sharks, Great Hammerheads, Grey Reef Sharks, Dolphins. Day 3, Everything you read above and now add Mantas every dive. The same for Day 4. It will blow you away, the coral wall is fantastic and the fish are ridiculously abundant. However, watch out, this is no nonsense diving. You dive the passes of this place. Rangiroa is an island shaped like a donut with a giant lagoon in the middle and all the water inside it gets exchanged within two passes. Tiputa and Avatoru. The current and surface conditions can be extreme. Diving done out of zodiacs. Therefore I would say advanced divers only. Top Dive Rangiroa was a first rate dive outfit. They changed your tank for you between dives and were always cheerful and helpful. They used aluminum 100's with 33% Nitrox which gave you nice long dive times. Stayed at the Kia Ora next door to Top Dive. Great place to stay ,the over water bungalows are spectacular and the food was the best. Definitely recommend. The one negative I have about French Polynesia is they are not exactly reef conscious. I saw more coral destroyed in 4 days than I have in 10 years of diving due to all the tourist divers hitting and touching the reef. I am not exaggerating when I say it truly was an abomination. They keep it up you will have to put this place as another once was and I mean soon. Other than that this place is simply amazing, expensive but amazing.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Washington State, Florida, Cozumel, Bahamas, Galapagos, Curacao,
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy, rainy	Seas	calm, choppy, surge
Water Temp	78-81°F / 26-27°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	60-150 Ft/ 18-46 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	Stay with the group, 1 hr max dive time
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	Squadrons
Dolphins	Schools	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter	N/A	Boat Facilities	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	[None]

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Dive Review of Top Dive/Kia Ora, in French Polynesia/Moorea, Rangiroa, Bora Bora

Top Dive/Kia Ora, , Aug, 2008,

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 Top Dive/Kia Ora, in
French Polynesia/Moorea, Rangiroa, Bora Bora