Pacific Islands · French Polynesia
Maupiti
Manta rays at a lagoon cleaning station every morning, all year
Maupiti is a small island in French Polynesia ringed by a lagoon that opens to the ocean through a single pass. The diving turns on manta rays, which come every morning to a coral head inside the lagoon to be cleaned by small wrasse, and on coral gardens such as the Fa'a'apu. Outside the reef, the drop-offs fall into the blue with grey reef sharks, Napoleon wrasse and leopard rays. One centre runs the island's diving, and groups stay small.
About diving in Maupiti
All diving on Maupiti runs from one centre, aboard a traditional Polynesian fishing boat refitted for diving that carries up to six people, and no more than five divers go out on any trip. The manta dive stays inside the lagoon, while the ocean-side sites on the outer reef slope are 15 to 30 minutes away by boat. The lagoon opens to the ocean through a single pass, reputed to be one of the most dangerous in Polynesia, and the set of the swell and wind can make trips outside the lagoon difficult, above all when the strong mara'amu blows.
Inside the lagoon, the mantas gather beside a coral head where small cleaner wrasse pick off their parasites. The same site holds lagoon life on a smaller scale: pearl oysters, pipefish, bulldozer shrimp and, with luck, nudibranchs, octopus, moray eels and leaf scorpionfish. Elsewhere the coral gardens are well preserved, with parrotfish, lionfish, soldierfish, surgeonfish and triggerfish. Outside, the reef drops in sheer walls into the blue with excellent visibility, and the dives end among faults where the waves break; Napoleon wrasse, barracuda, trevally, tuna, leopard rays and grey reef sharks are not rare on the outer slope.
Maupiti suits divers who want manta rays at close range in shallow lagoon water and who are happy with a small operation. Open Water and CMAS Level 1 divers can join the outer-slope trips, but those depend on the swell and wind of the moment and are confirmed only the day before, so a short stay in the windy months may hold lagoon dives only.
Best time to dive Maupiti
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good |
January and February fall outside the window of best lagoon visibility, though the mantas stay in the lagoon all year. March is the warmest month, with the water near 29 °C, and the lagoon clears from then until October. The strong mara'amu wind blows from May to October and can make trips outside the lagoon difficult. June opens the manta mating season, which runs to December, so from June to October courtship and the clearest water coincide while the sea cools to about 27 °C in August and September. November and December keep the courtship but lose the best visibility.
Dive types & marine life
Manta rays live in the lagoon all year and are seen every morning at the cleaning station. June to December is their mating season, when they perform courtship dances as long as divers leave them undisturbed. Grey reef sharks, whitetips, Napoleon wrasse and leopard rays turn up on the outer slope.
- Coral garden
- Wall
- Drift
- Manta rays
- Reef sharks
- Napoleon wrasse
- Eagle rays
- Barracuda
- Trevally & jacks
- Tuna
- Nudibranchs
- Octopus & cuttlefish
Best dive sites in Maupiti
- 1
Manta Ray cleaning station
Lagoon coral head where mantas are cleaned each morning, in less than 10 m (30 ft).
- 2
Fa'a'apu
Sprawling coral garden 20 minutes from the island, where many reef fish are born and raised.
- 3
Outer drop-offs
Steep ocean-side slope with whitetip sharks, trevally and the odd leopard ray, for experienced divers.
Site guides
Manta rays queuing at a coral head for cleaner wrasse
How to get to Maupiti
Maupiti Airport sits on Motu Tuanai and links the island with the rest of French Polynesia. From the airport, private taxi-boats reach the main village in 15 minutes. The island has a single dive centre, Maupiti Diving.
Photos from Maupiti
Pom' from France, European Union · Public domain
Véro_L · CC BY-SA 2.0
Dive videos
Diving with Manta Rays in Maupiti (French Polynesia) | 4K · Thomas Stadler on YouTube
Vertigo Tahiti Diving Maupiti reef and open ocean · Into The Blue Productions on YouTube
Questions divers ask
Can divers fly out of Maupiti on the day of a dive?+
No. The dive centre requires at least 12 hours between the end of the last dive and an inter-island flight.
Where is the hyperbaric chamber for divers on Maupiti?+
At Ta'aone hospital on Tahiti, which has a multiplace chamber.
What certification is needed for the outer reef at Maupiti?+
Open Water or CMAS Level 1. The ocean-side sites lie 15 to 30 minutes out on the outer reef slope, and those trips are confirmed the day before, once the swell and wind are known.
Do dives on Maupiti need booking ahead?+
Yes. The centre takes no more than five divers per trip, so the boat fills quickly, and it calls divers at their guesthouse the evening before the first dive to set the pickup time.
Sources
- Diving in Maupiti - Tahiti Tourisme — Tahiti Tourisme
- Diving in Maupiti - e-Tahiti Travel — e-Tahiti Travel
- Maupiti Diving — Maupiti Diving
- Maupiti Diving - Raies Manta — Maupiti Diving
- Maupiti Diving - FAQ — Maupiti Diving
- Maupiti - Wikivoyage — Wikivoyage
- Maupiti - Wikipedia — Wikipedia
- Best time to swim in Maupiti: water temperature by month — SeaTemperatu.re
Photo credits
- A palm-covered motu with a small white house on a sand spit, turquoise lagoon water in front and a hazy green mountain behind. by Pom' from France, European Union, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- Clear, ankle-deep water over rippled white sand in the foreground, with a single green peak rising across the lagoon under a blue sky. by Véro_L, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Openverse
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