Moorea · French Polynesia · Reef
Rotui
Shallow outer reef, to 15 m, thick with juvenile fish
Area photo: DANIEL JULIE from Paris, France · CC BY 2.0
Rotui shares its name with Mont Rotui, the peak that stands over Moorea's north coast, and the dive runs along the outer reef on that side of the island. The published maximum is 15 m and the listing's one detail is the fish: thousands of juveniles over the reef. It is rated from Open Water or Level 1, a shallow and undemanding profile rather than a deep one.
Where it is and how deep
17.4757° S, 149.8281° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
The whole dive sits in the light: 15 m is the published maximum, so there is no deep phase to get out of the way at the start and the reef stays lit for the length of the dive. The listing's single observation is the fish life, thousands of juveniles over the coral - the small, dense schooling life that gathers on a reef top rather than the sharks divers go to Moorea's passes for.
With no more than 15 m under you, bottom time is long and the dive is easy to run slowly, which makes it reasonable ground for a checkout dive or the second tank of a morning. Currents, visibility and the entry point are not published for this site, so the boat briefing decides where you drop and which way you work along the reef before turning back.
Marine life and season
- Reef fish swarms
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair |
Season follows Moorea: Aug-Oct brings breeding humpback whales; the rest of the year stays warm with consistent reef and shark diving, aside from occasional Dec-Mar cyclone-season swell.
Dive videos
2018-01-24 Tahiti Moorea Rotui SCUBA Dive · Derek Vanditmars on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is the Rotui dive site?+
The maximum depth published for Rotui is 15 m, and the listing rates it as diveable from Open Water or Level 1. The dive runs along Moorea's outer reef, so it is reached by boat rather than from the beach.
Sources
- Rotui - Scubago dive site guide — Scubago (SSI MyDiveGuide)
- Rotui - Wannadive.net — Wannadive.net
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