7 Reasons Why You Should Consider Visiting Fakarava, French Polynesia

White and pink sandy beaches, palm-trees delivering the freshest coconuts, a lagoon that can easily be qualified as a 'giant natural aquarium' with colourful corals and a variety of fish only seen here.

Our unexpected adventure in French Polynesia started with the cosy island of Maupiti, went through honeymoon-flair on Bora Bora and culminated here, on Fakarava.

It's here that we actually developed a taste for diving that lead us to finally do an Open Water Diver's qualification once we got to Moorea later, a certificate that also allowed us to go shipwreck-diving for the very first time in Jordan at the end of our year-long world trip.

Here are 7 reasons to consider visiting Fakarava!

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What and where is Fakarava?

Fakarava is an atoll of approximately 1200 km² in the Tuamoto-archipelago in French Polynesia.

It lies about 490 km to the Northeast of Tahiti and is accessible by the Garuae pass in the North and the Tumakohuna pass in the South. There is no proper main island like most of the inhabited archipelagos in French Polynesia but a long line of motus - reef islands - instead, surrounded by one of the biggest lagoons in Polynesia, a biosphere reserve protected by the UNESCO.

Fakarava rose to fame in Polynesia and Europe thanks to a documentary filmed in the Tumakohuna pass (also called 'passe Sud' - South pass) showing a wall of hundreds of sharks hunting during the night called '700 requins dans la nuit'.

How to get to Fakarava

First, you have to get to Tahiti. Check on Skyscanner to find the best possible deals for your departure point by comparing different flight providers.

Then there are regular flights going straight from Tahiti almost every day of the week or from Rangiroa on Wednesdays and in the weekends. 

If you book separate flights, count about 200 € / 240 US $ per flight. It is easier and a lot cheaper if you combine this trip with other islands by choosing one of the passes offered by Air Tahiti.

It's not possible to arrive here by boat as a passenger - the only boats coming through the pass are those bringing essential groceries and such. However, it appears that some cruise-ships do make a stop here. But we are not very fond of that sort of travel so I won't advertise routes or companies in this post.

Things to know before visiting Fakarava

Language

Just like with all of French Polynesia, the official spoken language is French.

Though every archipelago still uses a Polynesian language from time to time.

While it might be harder to get by with English in some pensions, those that are also running a dive-school for example, are a lot more international and finding people who do speak English should be alright.

By the way: I read several blogposts from English speaking travellers and they all talk about how they tried to greet people with a 'local Bonjour' [sic], trying not to butcher the word. I don't know where these bloggers have been but I never EVER have heard a single "Bonjour" during our whole Polynesia trip.

The local greeting is 'ia Orana' (pronounced 'yoh-rahna') and they love when you adapt and use this as well. You might even want to add the 'shaka' the hand-sign with thumb and pinkie extended to fit in even more.

Internet

Just like pretty much everywhere in French Polynesia except for the main island Tahiti, internet is hardly ever good.

It's slow, it's spotty and sometimes accommodations didn't get the chance to buy a 'recharge' and so they might be out of data for several days.

If you are purely travelling for leisure, that should not be a problem since you are supposed to just savour every instant without being connected all the time.

However, lots of people combine travelling with work and a stable internet connection is a must.

So that's something you should keep in mind before booking your stay in Fakarava, especially regarding its length.

Booking accommodations

In French Polynesia, there are two main types of accommodations: huge all inclusive-style resorts and private family-run pensions.

The resorts are mostly found on the bigger islands such as Tahiti, Bora Bora or Moorea while pensions are the best option everywhere else.

But the thing with pensions ist: they are nearly impossible to find on Booking or other bigger sites. They will most likely not even have a website and the communication goes through by calling, WhatsApp or sometimes e-mail.

When arriving in Papeete, French Polynesia's capital city, head to the Air Tahiti agency right next to the market or the tourist office in the center to get the latest brochure for all the islands.

It has a short information notice about each archipelago that you might want to visit as well the phone numbers of most of the private pensions.

If you get the brochure from Air Tahiti, don't hesitate to ask for recommendations. We booked our pensions based on what the lady told us and we didn't get disappointed.

Boats are very much needed

If like me you get seasick quite easily, be prepared for that. Fakarava consists of only islands and islets and visiting all the beautiful places implies regular boat drives.

While little motorboats generally don't move a lot from side to side while on full speed, they do start rocking once you're waiting on the shore.

Be sure to have your travel pharmacy equipped with Dramamine or other remedies for seasickness. Or check out the glasses I tried out and helped very much without having to use medication causing drowsiness.

Bugs 

Bugs are everywhere in French Polynesia, especially the nasty 'nonos' like the locals call them, which are sandflies that will leave a mark on your skin for weeks.

Definitely take bug-spray containing Deet when you visit Fakarava, you will need it. But you could also rely on the local remedies which are monoï-oil to put all over your skin (it makes the bugs stick to it before they can even sting or bite) and tamanou-oil to heal the skin faster afterwards.  

Where to stay on Fakarava

DISCLAIMER: this section contains some affiliate links which means we earn a teeny-tiny commission every time you book a stay through one of our links. It doesn't cost you anything extra and just helps keeping this blog afloat.

The North/Garuae pass

Fafapiti Lodge offers double rooms with sea-view or triple-rooms if you're travelling as a group or with kids. It is located in the North part of Fakarava, in the main town Rotoava. The owners Valérie and René are former diving instructors and will gladly give you some tips on where to find the best spots in the North pass.

Another possibility - quite budget-friendly according to fellow travellers we met in the South pass - is the Relais Marama, also located in Rotoava, but a bit closer to the North pass. They offer cute little bungalows but also the even budget-friendlier option of camping with your own gear.

For these options on the main motu, it might not be necessary to book an accommodation including lunch and dinner like you would have to do on the South part (read below) because there are snacks, restaurants and a little supermarket close-by.

The South/Tumakohuna pass

Tatamanu Village & Sauvage

If sharks are your thing, this is the side you will want to choose. Even though we know there are plenty of sharks in the North pass as well, the Tumakohuna pass has the notorious 'wall of sharks' I mentioned earlier (read more about it below).

We stayed at Tetamanu Village & Sauvage on a separate motu on the South side of Fakarava. The 'village' part are bungalows located right next to the water where the famous South pass comes through. Because of the light current, you can literally jump in at one end of the 'village' and let yourself float to the other side while looking at the thousands of colourful fish and beautiful corals all around you.

The bungalows here are very spacious and lovely decorated, the bed was amazing. Every bungalow has a little terrace looking out onto the sea.

They do offer budget-friendly options such as staying at one of the bungalows in the 'sauvage'-part that lies on the other side of the motu. For an even more money-saving experience, they have two rooms located near the common areas with a separate bathroom/shower hut a few meters away.

Food is served on a platform above the water so you can literally watch the black-tipped reef sharks swimming by at every meal.

Things to know before booking at Tetamanu Village & Sauvage

Tetamanu Village & Sauvage was an absolute delight to stay at: the general atmosphere, the sharks swimming around us, the staff, the freshly prepared food as well as the vibe with fellow travellers. It was perfect.

Plus: they set value on being eco-friendly and use filtered sea-water for the showers and solar-cels to get the necessary power.

Though the internet is quite spotty and you only get a certain amount of data every time you ask for a connection-code. But hey! You're in paradise. You don't need that much wifi, do you? 🙂

Tetamanu Village & Sauvage also has its own diving center with qualified instructors.

We paid 480 € / 580 US $ per person for four nights, including transfer to and from the airport, full board (three yummy meals a day), one excursion to the pink sand beaches, one fishing-trip (which we actually didn't do) and one dive per person (that normally costs 59 € / 70 US $ per person).

Another very private stay would be at the eco-friendly Motu Aito Paradise that offers bungalows on a secluded islet. They have a formula including full board (breakfast - lunch - dinner), transfer from and to the airport and one exclusion for 68 € / 82,50 US $ per night per person.

Reasons you should consider Fakarava when planning your French Polynesia trip

1. Fakarava's underwater paradise: snorkelling and diving

Fakarava is known for its immense lagoon that has an incredible amount of coral reefs and therefore sea-life that is so out-of-the-ordinary, that is has been classified as a biosphere reserve by the UNESCO.

It doesn't come as a surprise then, that underwater-activities are the number one thing to do on Fakarava and one of the main reasons this atoll should be on every multi-island trip in French Polynesia.

Rainbow-coloured parrot fish, massive banks of squirrelfish or huge Napoleons are but a few of the thousands of varieties you will encounter in Fakarava's insane lagoons. 

And, as I mentioned twice already (sorry about that), a documentary was filmed in the South pass by French diver Laurent Ballesta and his team called '700 sharks in the night'. He came to the Tumakohuna pass for a research on mating behaviour of the triggerfish but once he saw the amount of reef- and lemon-sharks coming together at night to hunt in that specific spot, he quickly had a different focus. It's actually the biggest known grouping of sharks on the planet.

Diving here is absolutely brilliant because you won't see that many black- and white-tipped reef sharks, grey and lemon sharks all together anywhere else in the world!

Night dives are also very popular here and it's something we will keep dreaming about until we reach the acquired level of diving expertise: at night, these sharks get very aggressive and they don't differentiate between their prey or the arm of a diver when attacking. Plus: diving at night means its pitch black and you loose all of your reference points which can easily cause panic when you're not used to this.

If you prefer booking a scuba-diving experience beforehand to have all the details, check out this cool tour with Sébastien. 

Don't like being underwater but still want to see what Fakarava has to offer? Try this guided jet ski tour. 

2. Pink and secluded sand beaches

One the excursions usually organised by the family-run pensions are the pink sand beaches. Granted, they are not as bright coloured as elsewhere in the world where these kind of beaches are advertised, but here you will probably have it all to yourself.

I remember when we visited the pink beach of Elafonissi in Crete, we had to be very early in order to escape the masses arriving by buses as of 10 am. 

Here, there are so many tiny deserted islands that every pension most likely has a different one. When we went, we were 5 people in the whole area. It was heavenly. 

Surrounded by crystal turquoise water stretching as far as you can see, you really will feel like there is no civilisation anywhere near. And that's because there isn't: by boat, it's about half an hour drive to even reach these spots.

3. Sunsets

Gosh, French Polynesian sunsets are just indescribably beautiful! I mean, I can try to describe the orangey-purple shades on the clouds forming outer-worldly shapes but it just won't do. Even pictures don't do them justice.

There is something about these evening skies - maybe conditioned by the fact that everything else around you looks like heaven on earth - that makes you feel at peace every time the sun is setting.

Do to being surrounded by only water, the clouds in French Polynesia offer a show on their own - so add the bright colour splash to that and the skies look like surreal paintings.

4. Starry skies

This again is something common to a lot of atolls in French Polynesia, not only this one. But on Fakarava, there are no real towns, no cities at all - unlike on Tahiti, Moore or Raiatea and such - and so the views on the milky way are insanely clear.

Because of these perfect conditions, it's here that we had our first shot at astrophotography. No light pollution, even though we were in the middle of Tetamanu village, no wind, no movement. We managed to catch part of the milky way on camera and I barely had to adjust the picture on Lightroom Classic. It isn't bad, isn't it? Knowing what I know now, I am itching to go back and have another go at it of course.

5. The people

French Polynesians are a delight. They are warm, welcoming, friendly, they have a lot of humour and enjoy life. They are always positive and will have you feel at home. 

Have you ever watched the Disney-movie 'Vaiana' (or 'Moana' - depending what country you're in)? Remember the girl's parents and her grandma? That jovial, caring way of talking and being? That's so Polynesian. And that's also how people are in French Polynesia and especially on Fakarava.

Like in all of Polynesia, people here are quite religious - the first catholic church of Fakarava was actually built in Tetamanu (South side) with white corals in 1874 - and amazing musicians. Going to church on Sunday is not only great to meet locals and get to know their culture, it's also an absolute feast for the ears.

6. The coconuts

Sure, coconuts are everyhwere. But there is just something about the ones on Fakarava that makes you wonder if these might be the best ones in Polynesia?

Or maybe its just the surrounding that influence the taste. I don't know. 

7.  Pearl farms

The whole world knows 'Tahitian pearls'. But what most people don't know, is that these pearls are actually not bred on Tahiti.

Fakarava has a big concentration of pearl farms despite its size. The craftsmanship that goes into creating them is extraordinary. 

These pearl farms are usually found on these pink sandbanks I wrote about earlier. Do take the time of visiting one and if you have the cash, get yourself or your loved ones a gorgeous souvenir.

Conclusion

Honestly? I'd say any of these reasons is enough to visit this incredible atoll. But all of them combined? Come on, you really shouldn't be hesitating, should you??

This was one of the places during our French Polynesian adventures where we would have loved to stay for a few months, alternating between working on the blog (slowly because - you know - of the slow internet connection), getting more experienced in diving and having some delicious fish (oh! Check out what I wrote about French Polynesian cuisine before you leave!).

We loved the place, the food, the marine life, the people, the atmosphere. It was all an unforgettable experience.

I hope I could persuade you to give that magnificent atoll a chance and please feel free to comment or contact us with any question or remark.

Also, do pin and share this post for other to see and to support us.

As ever

xx

Cyn

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