Dive site
Tiputa Pass
Rangiroa, French Polynesia
- Typical depth
- 30 m
- Type
- Drift
- Level
- Advanced
Marine life
- Rays
- manta ray (seasonal), eagle ray, stingray (large gatherings in Jan, prey for hammerheads)
- Sharks
- grey reef shark (large school in pass), blacktip reef shark, silvertip, occasional hammerhead (Dec–Mar), occasional tiger shark
- Turtles
- hawksbill, green
- Pelagics
- giant trevally, dogtooth tuna, barracuda, wahoo
- Whales & dolphins
- bottlenose dolphin (resident)
- Reef fish
- napoleon wrasse, snapper, grouper
Site features
- Pass Drift
- Strong Current
- Tide-Dependent
- Shark Wall
- Dolphin Encounters
When to dive
- Best
- Apr–Nov
- Avoid
- Jan–Mar
Tiputa Pass is one of the two passes into Rangiroa atoll — incoming tide pulls clear ocean water and pelagics into the pass at high speed. Year-round diving; austral summer (Dec–Mar) brings the most variable weather and occasional cyclones. Hammerheads visit Dec–Mar (with stingray gatherings in January drawing them); resident bottlenose dolphins seen in the pass year-round.
Conditions & access
- Visibility
- 25–40 m
- Water temp
- 26–29 °C
- Current
- Strong
- Access
- Open access
- Min cert
- Advanced Open Water + 30 logged dives recommended; current briefing mandatory
Location
14.9683° S, 147.6333° W
Sources
Curated from 1 source
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