Experience the best of Rangiroa

Rangiroa is a long atoll of narrow islets around a lagoon, lying about 350 kilometres north-east of Tahiti. Its villages sit along the islets, which are edged with coconut palms, and the lagoon stays calm inside the ring of reef. Most visitors arrive by small plane from Tahiti.

Tiputa Pass, where the tide runs through a gap in the reef, is known for drift dives with grey reef sharks and groupers. Dive boats leave the villages most days. The lagoon also has pearl farms, which raise black pearls in its calm water.

Food is fresh fish, coconut and breadfruit, and poisson cru, raw tuna marinated in lime and coconut milk, is the favourite dish. From May to October the weather is cooler and drier, and from November to April it is hot and wet, with cyclones possible. Most visitors come for the water in the milder months.