French Polynesia is a French territory in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, which is made up of five archipelagos: the Society Islands, Tuamotos, Marquesas, Gambier, and the Australs. All Islands combined, there are over one hundred. Tahiti is the largest island and hosts the capital city, Papeete, in the northwest. Bora-Bora is also part of French Polynesia and probably one of the most well-known islands—aside from Tahiti—as it’s a very popular place to honeymoon, though neither is that great for snorkeling. That being said, we know where the great snorkeling is and we’re running tours there!
We’ve been running tours to French Polynesia for a few years now, and it’s been a huge hit with the guests. We actually just launched our 2027 French Polynesia tour dates, and the first tour sold out in a matter of days!
Our French Polynesia snorkeling tours take place in the Tuamotus in the northeast of French Polynesia around spring. For snorkelers, this is one of the most unique regions as the Tuamotus are a set of amoeba-shaped atolls, unlike the rest of the area which is made up of small islands. If you look at the Tuamotus on Google Earth you might imagine that you these atolls as something like the Blue Hole in Belize, where you could sail around the perimeter in a few hours. Not the case, these atolls are absolutely massive. If you were to sit in the middle of the lagoon, you wouldn’t be able to see either side by a very long way. This is great for us as it offers us snorkelers no shortage of reefs to explore.
We run our French Polynesia aboard a beautiful and very well-equipped catamaran sailing boat called the Aquatiki III. We charter the boat exclusively for our eight guests and Snorkel Venture guide, making this our smallest tour group on offer. Aboard this intimate vessel, we make our way around several of the different atolls, namely Fakarava as it’s become very famous for its stunning shallow coral reefs, healthy population of reef sharks, and other big fish like the Napoleon wrasse and schools of snappers. Snorkeling in the Tuamotu Islands of French Polynesia offers an extraordinary underwater experience, thanks to the region’s crystal-clear lagoons, vibrant coral reefs, and abundant marine life. The turquoise waters provide perfect visibility for exploring a diverse array of colorful fish, graceful rays, and fascinating coral formations. Fakarava and the other atolls are renowned for their lagoon ecosystems, where snorkelers can marvel at the kaleidoscope of marine biodiversity and enjoy the serene beauty of this remote paradise.
