Rangiroa, Tiputa Pass
Fakarava, South Pass (Tetamanu)
Tikehau Lagoon
Manihi Lagoon
Makemo Lagoon
Drift-Dive Fakarava’s South Pass
Swim with Dolphins at Tiputa Pass
Tour a Black Pearl Farm on Manihi
Kitesurf Avatoru Pass, Rangiroa
Picnic on a Motu at Rangiroa’s Blue Lagoon
Avatoru Village, Rangiroa
Tetamanu Ancient Village and Church, Fakarava
Motu Puarua Pink Sand Beach, Tikehau
Ahe Atoll
Hao Atoll
The dry season from May to October brings the calmest winds and the clearest water for diving the passes, with July and August the most settled months overall. November through April is wetter and more humid, and while the Tuamotus sit largely outside the main cyclone belt, occasional systems have affected the eastern atolls, so many charter yachts reposition toward the Society Islands or Marquesas for the shoulder season instead.
Air Tahiti runs regular flights from Papeete to the main atolls, including Rangiroa (RGI), Fakarava (FAV), Manihi and Tikehau, most in well under an hour and a half. Rangiroa is the usual gateway for a Tuamotus charter thanks to its size and facilities, with connections onward to the smaller, less-visited atolls handled by yacht rather than by further inter-island flights, since many atolls have no runway of their own at all.
Rangiroa and Fakarava have the most reliable anchorages, each with a wide, well-charted pass and enough depth for larger yachts once inside the lagoon. Smaller atolls such as Tikehau and Manihi are equally beautiful but their passes are narrower and more current-driven, so timing an entry or exit around slack tide matters more than on the bigger lagoons. A few eastern atolls have no safe pass at all and are best seen by dinghy rather than attempted under sail.
Seven to ten days allows time to properly explore two or three atolls without feeling rushed, since inter-atoll passages can run twelve hours or more even between neighbouring islands. Many guests pair the Tuamotus with a Marquesas or Society Islands leg rather than a standalone charter, given the distances across French Polynesia. Budget a minimum of three full days per atoll, since a single day rarely allows both a pass dive and unhurried time on the motus.
Tuamotu and Gambier lagoons produce the naturally dark ‘Tahitian’ pearl, grown in the black-lipped Pinctada margaritifera oyster found almost nowhere else in commercial quantity. Quality is graded A to D on surface, lustre and shape, with rare peacock-green and aubergine tones commanding the highest prices at auction. Working farms on Manihi and Ahe welcome yacht visitors for a tour of the grafting and harvesting process, a window into an industry still underpinning much of the territory’s economy.
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