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Dive Review of TOPdive in
French Polynesia/Rangiroa

TOPdive: "Not what I expected", Nov, 2018,

by C Leroy Anderson, UT, US (Contributor Contributor 13 reports with 4 Helpful votes). Report 10726 has 1 Helpful vote.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations 3 stars Food 3 stars
Service and Attitude 1 stars Environmental Sensitivity 3 stars
Dive Operation 1 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling 3 stars
Value for $$ 2 stars
Beginners 1 stars
Advanced 2 stars
Comments We went in January, which was billed as "hammerhead season". I was expecting a lot of pelagics but other than a few small sharks while snorkeling at Tikihau Peal Beach resort, saw none. The coral was as expected, non colorful and drab, but a lot of the hard coral did look healthy, and we did have good visibility. The dive guides at Tikihau were good, pleasant, and helpful. The guides at Kia Ora on Rangiroa were overly controlling and rude. My air consumption is pretty fast and always has been as I have large lungs. I had paid for my dives and reserved them in advance, but the TopDive guide at Kia Ora refused my entry into the boat as he said he wanted to take some Japanese divers out even though they did not have any reservations in advance, refusing me as he felt my air consumption would limit the dive experience of his several other guests. Resulted in several missed dives which was a bummer after traveling so far.
So, not much to see while underwater, rude dive professionals at TopDive, and to top it off, the very pricy resort Kia Ora gets rid of all its trash by burning it at the resort, so my wife who suffers from pulmonary difficulties had to put up with smoky unpleasant air for the duration of our stay here. Next time I'm going back to Indonesia or Galapagos and hopefully more positive experiences!
Websites TOPdive   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience Over 1000 dives
Where else diving Everywhere
Closest Airport PPT Getting There Flights from LAX

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, dry Seas choppy, currents
Water Temp 80-85°F / 27-29°C Wetsuit Thickness 5
Water Visibility 80-100 Ft/ 24-30 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile no
Enforced diving restrictions See below
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks 1 or 2 Mantas None
Dolphins 1 or 2 Whale Sharks None
Turtles 1 or 2 Whales None
Corals 2 stars Tropical Fish 2 stars
Small Critters 1 stars Large Fish 2 stars
Large Pelagics 2 stars

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter 2 stars Boat Facilities 1 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 2 stars Shore Facilities 1 stars
UW Photo Comments Nothing much to photograph on this trip.
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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