Diving in French Polynesia offers a wide variety of colorful fish, moray eels, manta rays, turtles and sharks.  Azure blue warm waters yield a plethera of underwater sealife regardless of the island you stay on.  There are low-growing corals, rays, dolphins, sharks and reef fish on Moorea.  Bora Bora is home to manta ray and shark feeding excursions (very safe!) and a lagoon with more shades of aqua and green than you can count.  Raiatea and Huahine have more colorful coral ledges and cliffs.  Without a doube the Tuamotu atolls of Fakarava, Manihi Tikehau and Rangiroa are a divers paradise.  The drift diving through the passes is filled with not only countless sealife but has the added excitement of black-tip and white-tip sharks.  Best to arrange your diving upon arrival as pre paid dives are non refundable if prepurchased and not used.

The water temp varies between 79-84. Visibility is typically 100ft +. Very little current in the Society Islands makes for great diving of all levels. You will find more advanced diving in Rangiroa and Fakarava as the current can get quite strong thru the passes. Manihi & Tikehau do not have such strong currents. Society Islands: Humpback whale season in July-Oct. Rangiroa: Nov-Feb is hammerhead season and September is the best time to see mantas. Fakarava: June-July is the best time to see huge schools of groupers. Tikehau: July -Dec is the best time for mantas Manihi: June/July is grouper mating season & June-Dec the best time for mantas Nuku Hiva: Home to the pygmy orca. The best time to see them is January-April. The best time for hammerheads is June-Nov. In terms of getting certified, you can get certified here but the best option in my opinion is to do a "referral course." This means you would do your pool & theory work at home and then save your 4 open water dives for our warm clear waters. The 4-dives can be done in two days. Call around to your local dive shops. Many offer the referral course over a weekend, others spread it out, a night a week over a month.