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Rangiroa

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A ring of coral eighty kilometres long around one of the largest lagoons on earth, with two passes where the ocean pours in and dolphins ride the current.

Fly to Rangiroa All of French Polynesia
Arrival
Tahiti Faa’a · PPT
To the atoll
About 1 hour by air from Tahiti
Private jets
Customs at Faa’a; RGI by prior permission
Best time
May to October

The city

Two passes and an inland sea.

Rangiroa lies in the Tuamotu, some 350 kilometres north-east of Tahiti, a thin necklace of some four hundred motu around a lagoon about eighty kilometres long. Tahiti Tourisme counts it the second largest lagoon in the world. The ocean enters by two passes, Avatoru and Tiputa, and each tide carries manta rays, sharks, turtles and dolphins through them.

The airport and the village of Avatoru are on the main motu; elsewhere a boat is the only way across. On one motu the Domaine Dominique Auroy, begun in 1992, makes white and rosé wine: the only vineyard on an atoll, and the only one in French Polynesia. From May to October, the dry season, the breezes are steady and the air less humid.

  • Tiputa Pass Drift dives on the incoming tide among rays, sharks and dolphins, and wild dolphins to watch at sunset.
  • The Blue Lagoon A lagoon within the lagoon, a full day’s boat trip from Avatoru, with stingrays in the shallows.
  • Domaine Dominique Auroy Vines on a coral motu, and a white and a rosé from French Polynesia’s only winery.

Arriving

By way of Faa’a.

Every international arrival comes through Faa’a on Tahiti. Rangiroa’s own airport, opened in 1965 on the motu of Avatoru, takes the domestic flights; there is no customs post on the atoll.

Business & First Class Scheduled flights Long-haul travellers reach Tahiti first, for instance on Air Tahiti Nui's Dreamliner from Los Angeles, whose front cabin is Poerava Business. Air Tahiti and Air Moana then reach Rangiroa in about an hour, and direct flights link the atoll with Bora Bora in around an hour and a quarter. Business & First fares Private Jet Private jets Jets clear customs at Faa’a, where Universal Aviation and Swissport Executive Aviation handle business aircraft. Rangiroa’s runway is 1,536 metres long and open in daytime hours only; landing needs 24 hours’ prior permission, handling is mandatory, there are two parking spots for private aircraft and only small amounts of jet fuel, on notice. Charter a jet
Approximate flying time by midsize jet
  • Papeete 50 min
  • Nadi 5 h 10
  • Honolulu 5 h 45
  • Auckland 6 h 05
  • Tokyo 12 h 30 long-range jet

When to go

May to October.

Afternoons run from 28 to 31 °C through the year, and the lagoon from 26 to 29 °C. Tahiti Tourisme gives May to October as the dry season; from November to April showers are heavier and the air more humid.

  1. 30° J 240 28°
  2. 30° F 246 28°
  3. 30° M 183 29°
  4. 31° A 102 29°
  5. 30° M 75 28°
  6. 29° J 102 27°
  7. 28° J 60 27°
  8. 28° A 69 26°
  9. 29° S 96 26°
  10. 29° O 150 27°
  11. 30° N 252 28°
  12. 30° D 201 28°
Best months partir.com monthly averages; dry season from Tahiti Tourisme

Elsewhere in French Polynesia

More reasons to come.

All of French Polynesia

Flying to Rangiroa?

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A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.

Business & First Private Jet