Rangiroa - Getting to the Heart of the South Pacific
Written: Dec 26 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Remote South Pacific island, small town feel, water is like an aquarium
Cons: Limited hotel selection compared to more touristed islands
The Bottom Line: If you want to experience a genuine South Pacific island -crystal water, marine life, tropical sun- different from high islands such as Bora Bora and Moorea, don't miss it!
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| yaelcow's Full Review: Rangiroa |
"Tahiti really appeals to all of your senses - the warm tropical breezes, the colorful and scented flowers, the sweet juicy fruits, the warm sun, the ocean sounds, the colors of the lagoon, dramatic mountains, motus (small islands) covered in palm trees, sea life, Tahitian music...and it feels like you’re in the middle of nowhere"
This was our second trip to French Polynesia, after a trip to Bora Bora (Pearl Beach) and Moorea (Sheraton) in March 2000. We fell in love with the islands and just had to return. See the review of our previous trip to get a feeling for the South Pacific in general: http://www.epinions.com/content_21926416004
We chose Rangiroa to try something really different.
Summary:
Rangiroa is amazing! The water is like an aquarium and Avatoru is like a small hometown – a great combination.
Kia Ora Village:
The Kia Ora Village is the fanciest and most expensive hotel on Rangiroa. The Kia Ora is a good hotel, but it doesn't quite have the quality of bungalows, grounds, or service of the other hotels we have stayed at (Sheraton Moorea, BB Pearl Beach, Te Tiare Huahine). Things like our room not being ready on time, not ever having truly hot water, and a condescending activities director detracted from the gorgeous location. The island more than makes up for it though! Our travel agent booked us a premium beach bungalow because we couldn’t get an overwater, but it turns out premium just means that it has a second story. It would be a great idea for sleeping 4 people in one bungalow though (the roof upstairs has openings that let in wind and bugs, FYI). There were occasional mosquitoes, but I get bitten very easily and did not get bitten in our room. There is AC both upstairs and downstairs. The shower is HUGE and there are coconuts growing in it! The deck outside is great and shaded during the day, and there are also beach chairs if you want to be in the sun on the beach right in front of the bungalow. There is a cold-water hot tub on the deck. Some of the beach bungalows face the OWs, so their view is blocked, and some don’t have water access right in front of the room because there is a small cliff, so check the map if you are picky about that sort of thing (like I am). Our requested bungalow, #18, was the last one on the beach and there were houses right on the other side of it, so we could see the local kids splashing in the water, the fisherman with their catches, feeding the bad parts to the awaiting birds, and the local puppies swimming and sitting on the coral heads when they got tired. It was a very different experience than feeling “removed” at a hotel, and we loved it. The snorkeling here is good – not a ton of fish, but the ones you do see are very colorful. The fish are obviously used to being fed, because not only are they not afraid of you, they come up to you!
Hotel Restaurant:
The restaurant is nice and overlooks the water and overwater bar, which is even more gorgeous - a great place to order a fun drink under the stars. The service in the restaurant was excellent. The food was fine, but not exciting. We would have preferred to eat at Le Kai Kai every night. Instead of the continental breakfast, I grabbed a croissant and juice and was charged $5 or so, a good deal since the continental breakfast is too big for me.
Le Kai Kai:
Le Kai Kai is a husband and wife owned restaurant not too far from the hotel. They will pick you up if you make reservations. The place is charming and open air. Great selection of seafood and the desserts were terrific. We even saw the fisherman from outside our bungalow eating here with his wife. We wish we had eaten here every night!
Excursions booked through the hotel:
Shooting the Pass:
This excursion is based on the tides, so check what time it will start when you sign up. It’s great in combination with renting a fun car (see below). For us it was at 8am and while the excursion is only 2 hours, we saw hundreds of fish, a moray eel, white and black tip reef sharks, barracuda, a dolphin, Napoleon wrasse, and manta rays! All in one excursion! And the visibility is incredible – you could see all the way to the bottom even in the deeper parts. After going through the pass twice (in different parts each time), you snorkel in a coral garden for a bit. There were five of us that day and we all put on the Lycra suits they provide and jumped into the water together, held hands in a row, and drifted with the current from the ocean into the lagoon while the guide pointed out different fish. The current isn't strong and you are wearing a life vest and flippers and occasionally you might have to kick. If you are comfortable in the water, it wasn't a scary current like I expected. Don’t miss this! (~$50 each)
Fun car:
We rented a fun car for two hours after Shooting the Pass. There is only 6km of road, but it’s a great 6km! The small town feel is great - we even ran into both of our snorkeling guides while driving around! The fun car is TINY – it’s like a scooter with a car’s body on it. It’s fun just to drive it – was easier for me than for my boyfriend since he could hardly get his legs to fit in the car, let alone press the pedals :) We stopped at a grocery store and got lunch and the cashier replaced the bread we had picked out with fresher bread! We stopped at a few stores including Pareo Carole for postcards, another pareo shop, Gaugin Pearls, and the pearl shop right outside the hotel, where I designed a keishi necklace and they made it for me! We also stopped by Le Kai Kai to make reservations. This trip was great fun – really can’t take more than 2 hours to see everything, but if you do, the hotel doesn’t mind. ($45)
Blue Lagoon:
We did the Blue Lagoon excursion, which was absolute paradise - not to be missed. It’s an hour boat ride on a pretty large boat – could hold 20 people but we only had 6. The lagoon is enclosed by a few sand-and-palm-tree-only motus. The colors are incredible and it’s like a swimming pool. You have a few hours to explore the motus and splash in the BLUE water – nothing can be seen except blue and motu – paradise. (So beautiful we sort of forgot to put on the sunscreen…) There are also baby sharks and stingrays hovering around, but most of them only come out after lunch when you feed them. The sharks are NOT scary, they move away from you when you come near. The birds were aggressive when we fed the sharks, grabbing fish out of our hands! Our guide prepared a BBQ feast and we pigged out – was a great meal. Some notes about this trip: you have to wade from the boat to the lagoon via 1-4 feet of water, so dress and pack accordingly and make sure you have water shoes. The ride back is ROUGH - no one got sick, but the boat really goes up and down. (Only one bad thing here, our guide roped a shark out of the water so we could see it up close - it was bleeding, I was really appalled - please make your guide stop if you see him doing this! Poor shark!) We heard from another couple that the Pink Sands excursion was wonderful, but Reef Island is skippable. ($100 each)
Pearls:
Gaugin Pearls is a pearl farm that has tours and a pretty good selection of pearls, depending on the day and time you get there. The pearl shop just outside and to the left of the hotel has a smaller selection, but also very nice. The prices at both are 1/3-1/2 of what I saw at chain stores. The pearl shop by the hotel will drill and mount pearls for you and create jewelry for you to pick up later. I designed a necklace there and they made it for me. At the time we were there, their credit card machine was broken, but they did accept US dollars.
I think Rangiroa brings you closer to the real South Pacific. It was the most "South Pacific" of the islands we visited, with the best underwater visibility, small town feel, and exciting excursions.
For my review on Bora Bora, Moorea, what to pack, etc, please go to: http://www.epinions.com/content_21926416004
Huahine: http://www.epinions.com/content_77156421252
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Couples
Best Time to Travel Here: Jun - Aug
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Epinions.com ID:
yaelcow
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Member: Yael
Location: San Francisco Bay Area, CA
Reviews written: 5
Trusted by: 3 members
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