Fakarava Atoll French Polynesia: Things to do, Highlights & Attractions
Fakarava, formerly Havaiki, belongs to the Tuamotu atolls archipelago of French Polynesia and is located 560 km northeast of Tahiti. Fakarava is nicknamed “the end of the world”. And that’s exactly what it is for me. Paradise on earth, at the end of the world. The atoll Fakarava fascinated me twice. On the one hand with its luxurious flora and fauna, which allows extraordinary dives in the magnificent waters of the South Seas, on the other hand by the most beautiful palm tree on the most beautiful beach in the world, which I was ever allowed to discover. When talking about the South Seas and the islands of Tahiti, I immediately think of Fakarava.
In this post, I’m taking you to the fantastic island of Fakarava, which is part of French Polynesia. Besides my TOP 3 things to do on Fakarava, I’ll tell you where to stay best and how to get to Fakarava. A lot more sights, accommodation tips and information about Fakarava but also the French Polynesia archipelago can be found in our French Polynesia travel guide.
Do you like our texts, do you appreciate our work and would like to support us? This article contains affiliate links in the form of text links*. Through these links you can support us and our work of researching info and providing it for free, without paying more or having any disadvantages. We see this kind of support as a small, dear thank you for our work and would be very happy. 😊
Helpful tips for your vacation in the island paradise of French Polynesia:
- Best Travel Guide: is our 599-pages Frech Polynesia travel Guide – personal, individual and informative! Now available as E-book!
Overnight stay on Fakarava
Fakarava has a small but fine selection of accommodations and can basically be divided into two smaller destinations. Most of the accommodations are located around the town of Rotoava near the northern pass. The airport is also located there at a distance of 4 km. Near the southern pass is the smaller village of Tetamanu. There are the most popular diving sites and the famous pink sand beach.
We spent the night in the wonderful Havaiki Fakarava Lodge, which I can highly recommend. Havaiki Fakarava Lodge is located in the north of the island with an enchanting pearl farm and a dazzling array of marine life. The guesthouse has bungalows right on the beach but also slightly cheaper second-tier options. In addition to the location, which could hardly be better, we were particularly impressed by the daily half-board dinner.
Our highlight at Havaiki Fakarava Lodge: the nurse sharks and blacktip reef sharks swimming by.
More fabulous accommodations on Fakarava:
Fakarava: Things to do and my tips:
The island of Fakarava can hardly be surpassed in paradisiacal perfection. In the following I will tell you my personal highlights and thus the most beautiful sights on Fakarava for me. On the map you will find my TOP 3 things to do on Fakarava and the locations of the accommodations.
1. Fakarava Things to do: PK 9 Beach
Fakarava has one postcard motif after another as far as beaches are concerned. Not only are they as soft as powdered sugar, but they are also dotted with paradisiacal coconut palms. Since Fakarava Atoll is barely 200 meters wide in most places, you can easily alternate a beach day with the rugged ocean side beaches and the heavenly white lagoon side beaches. No matter where you stop, I assure you, you’ll be nearly speechless wherever you go.
PK 9 is the most famous sandy beach in Fakarava and if you ask me, one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. You should not miss a trip to PK 9 when you are on Fakarava. Once you arrive at PK 9, you can admire enchanting palm trees, enjoy the view of the lagoon, watch nurse sharks, black tip reef sharks and rays in the shallow water or go snorkeling.
2. Fakarava Highlights: Havaiki Beach
The Havaiki Beach is located directly at the Havaiki Lodge and is for me also one of the most beautiful beaches on Fakarava. Besides the enchanting fine-grained sandy beach, this is mainly due to the fact that nurse sharks and blacktip reef sharks visit regularly. Loungers are available on the beach for guests of the lodge. Non-guests can order from the snack stand over lunch time and relax on the beach for that time as well. If you visit the resort’s pearl farm, you can also check out the beach. Havaiki Beach is located on the main island, not far from Rotoava.
3. Fakarava diving: 700 sharks at the Wall of Sharks
Diving in the South Seas and especially in French Polynesia is special, if not unique. A wide variety of shark species are almost the order of the day when diving on the islands of Tahiti. But have you ever heard of the Wall of Sharks?
There are 700 grey reef sharks living in the south of Fakarava. It is the largest known group in the world. During the day they rest, but at night they are relentless. On Fakarava you have the unique opportunity to go diving with these 700 reef sharks at the Wall of Sharks. If that’s not a special dive!
If you are looking for the ultimate thrill and want to watch the sharks during their lightning fast hunting technique, you can also do a night dive if you have the right diving experience. But then the sharks are busy hunting, seem wild and no longer form a wall, but scurry around very close to the bottom. As soon as a shark catches a grouper, it turns away from the group. Knowing that divers are not prey for sharks, but merely an obstacle, divers mingle with the sharks at night, especially for research purposes.
For diving in Fakarava it is best to contact one of the 7 diving schools. Dive Spirit, for example, is part of Te Moana Diving Pass and offers daily trips to the North Pass and occasional trips to the South Pass.
How to get to Fakarava?
Fakarava can be easily reached by air with the airline Air Tahiti. Air Tahiti flies to Fakarava several times a week from Tahiti, Rangiroa and Bora Bora. As part of an itinerary, Air Tahiti offers two multi-island passes that include Fakarava: The Lagoons Pass and the Bora-Tuamotu Pass.
If you choose the Bora-Tuamotu Multi-Island Pass and want to be the first Tuamotu island to Fakarava Atoll, you can fly exclusively from Bora Bora with a short stopover on Rangiroa to Tikehau. You usually have this possibility twice a week on Wednesdays and Sundays. Of course, you could also fly from Tahiti to Tikehau, but Air Tahiti requires you to visit all your favorite Society Islands first before continuing to the Tuamotu Islands. The flight time from Papeete is around 1 hour and 10 minutes and from Rangiroa 45 minutes. The flight time with a stopover on Rangiroa from Bora Bora to Fakarava is 2 hours and 20 minutes.
Arrival to Rangiroa is via the small airport Aéroport de Rangiroa (RGI), located about 5 km south of the village of Avatoru and 4 km north of Tiputa Pass.
You’ve been to Tikehau before, how did you like it?
Which places have enchanted you here? Do you have any insider tips or maybe a question about the journey or our accommodations? Write it in the comments! We are curious!
Did you like this post? Then bookmark it on Pinterest!
Tahiti travel guide for your dream vacation in French Polynesia
Are you still looking for a great travel guide? Then we have great news for you! More than two years and countless hours have passed since we started what is probably the biggest project of our lives: Our own travel guide to the island paradise of French Polynesia.
And now the time has come and it is official: Our French Polynesia travel guide with more than 500 pages, 599 pages to be exact, has been published. After more than two years of writing this book more or less every day, it is hard for us to believe that we have actually managed to complete this project and create a travel guide about the island paradise of French Polynesia that not only tells you everything you want to know about the islands of Tahiti on 599 pages, but also gives you the feeling that you are already there. Our French Polynesia travel guide should not only facilitate your planning to the island paradise, but also be a support on the spot.
In addition to numerous informative and exciting chapters, the travel guide contains individual island guides to a total of 9 islands of French Polynesia from two island groups. Lots of heart tips included!
Why we wrote an entire guidebook with an incredible 599 pages?
Because we noticed during our travel preparations that there is simply far too little useful information about this beautiful spot on earth. Most travel guides only scratch the surface, a pure French Polynesia travel guide, which has an answer to all questions, did not exist in our opinion – but the islands have so much to offer! And that’s exactly what we wanted to change!
Travel inspiration French Polynesia
You don’t want to miss any more info?
Feel free to follow us on Instagram or Pinterest. Here you can also reach us with a personal message. Otherwise, you can always reach us by E-mail info@ourtravelwanderlust.com.
*Transparency: This post contains affiliate links. If you book or buy something through these links, we get a small commission. For you, the products are not more expensive and there are no expenses. We see it as a small, sweet thank you for our work and are happy about any support.
You May Also Like
Tikehau Atoll French Polynesia: Things to do, Highlights & Attractions
