Tetamanu Village

I read reviews before I booked Tetamanu Village for my husband and I so I new what to expect. The 1 1/2 hour boat ride to the Resort was pretty rough. It was dark no lights that I saw guiding us. The water was pretty rough with a lot of rocking due to high waves. I actually was a little nervous and relaxed at the same time. Dinner was waiting for us on our arrival and direction about our stay was given. Many reviews I read stated no toilet seat in their bungaloo (we didn't have one) torn mosquito nets (true). My rags at home were better than the towels that we received. I knew this going in so I was ok with all of this. We loved it here. Loved sleeping at night with the fresh air blowing through the windows and front door. The food was plentiful and very good. Drinks were beer, punch and wine if you wanted alcohol. Not much of a variety and not always available. Again this is not a Resort that people are waiting on you and trying to please you at all times. You are not always greeted with a big smile but as long as you are respectful and don't expect a lot you will be pleased with your accommodations. The fish, the views, diving and snorkeling are so wonderful. I loved the black tip sharks and couldn't wait to see them as much as I could. The variety of and amount of fish you see as you snorkel just off of the decks of your room and especially the docks where you eat are amazing. We stayed four nights. Two of which we met pretty amazing people from different areas of the world. The next two nights we were the only guests (we were called the the VIP guest of these two days). We visited the pink sand beach a few times. I didn't see much pink but the area was beautiful and took many pictures. Sylvie spent a lot of time with both my husband and I. She explained detailed information on Tahiti, diving and her background. She took a lot of time getting my husband certified for diving and explained all we needed to know for safe diving. She was always pleasant and helpful and went out of her way to help us with anything we needed. She made this visit even more special. We were very happy with our stay and would love to return one day. Recommendations would be to have a toilet seat, no holes in the mosquito net and a little nicer towels.

Amazing place for diving, beautiful landscape. The accommodation is pretty basic, but I didn't mind since my priority was diving, and yeah the night dive with sharks was out of this world. The pink sand beach was also beautiful

OK, so I must admit that I had so much hesitancy staying here due to the recent reviews that I asked Top Dive (unaffiliated and their competitor dive company) and they were actually shocked to hear any negative reviews. Done. So we went and we are SO HAPPY we did! Tetamanu Village was our favorite experience (and we dived 5 islands on our honeymoon and stayed in some 5 star resorts). There were absolutely no problems whatsoever and the management felt like family! We were the only guests who were non-native French speakers and had no difficulty making friends and feeling like a part of the Tetamanu family. This place is such a gem that we even met non-divers there who were referred by other non-divers! Jaw drop! This location is listed as one of the top 10 dive spots in THE WORLD. Yes. And we sent a girl we met in Bora Bora over who doesn't dive! It really was that good... We stayed for three nights in an ocean view bungalow with a direct view of the Pass. We were picked up at the airport and drove south as far as the road could take you (?15-20 minutes) then boarded a 1.5 hour boat ride to ultimately arrive in the charming and very remote village of Tetamanu. We literally felt like we were on the edge of the Earth. Exhilarating! Our bungalow was rustic but reasonable; certainly not uncomfortable by any means. We slept well and without complaint. We did not expect hot water but most of the time it wasn't even needed. We didn't expect wifi either but they had it, and I even had good signal in our bungalow!?!!?! But if I had to do it over again, I would have never asked for wifi just so I could feel as off the grid as we were! The food was good, plentiful and we never felt like we needed to be aggressive AT ALL despite being "busy" per staff. There were plenty of leftovers after every meal and tons of variety (even for vegetarians). You will not go hungry (or unhappy). The reef below our bungalow was spectacular- we feel like "unofficial" fish behavioral science experts now! It's fascinating to watch all the wildlife interact...and sunset is the main event! Not only do you have spectacular sunsets, the entertainment is in the water! Tons of fish and insane biodiversity- just below your feet... You will not be bored if you spend all your time on your balcony! Most people who stay here dive with Tetamanu; which is as safe as any (just to negate previous reviews). Scientists come here from all over the world and dive with Tetamanu (they were there when we were) so that should dispel that rumor. In fact, we were the ONLY ones diving with Top Dive. We were on a 10 dive pass otherwise we would have dived with Tetamanu. You like sharks? You can't miss them, above or below the water...they're everywhere! We not only feel fortunate for getting to experience Tetamanu Village, we are honored to have had the opportunity. Our trip to French Polynesia would not have been the same without our memories here and for that we would recommend this once in

First, the good stuff: The location is extremely remote, and the sealife is absolutely stellar. That’s why we come here, right? How many places can you night dive in a channel with literally hundreds of sharks as they become more active and begin to hunt after the sun goes down? Amazing. I scuba dived multiple days on the north pass before traveling here to the south pass and recommend you experience both, as they are quite different. The scary stuff: The dives were not well organized or executed, and during my 3-day stay, two guests (from separate dives, I might add) had to be evacuated to the hyperbaric chamber on Tahiti because they ended up with the bends and cardiac issues after their respective dives. This is NOT the place you want to find yourself in an emergency. Despite being a diving operation, staff seemed entirely unprepared to deal with this, and medical supplies were scarce to non-existent. A guest who happened to be a doctor had to manage both patients on her own as well as their evacuation all the way to Tahiti. This meant a nearly 2-hour speed boat ride to the Fakarava airport and then a chartered airplane to fly the patients at low altitude to the decompression chamber in Papeete, while their stressed spouses took the once-daily flight from Fakarava to meet up with them at the hospital on Tahiti. The speed boat’s engine had broken on the southbound journey two days prior, and staff was still working on the engine as they loaded the patients onto the boat to head north to the airport. Both divers were breathing from oxygen tanks during the evacuation, and the lodge owner was upset at the fact they were “using up” his tanks. The owner is quite old and seems to be burned out and care nothing of the quality of his lodge or safety of his guests. This is obvious in the dive gear as well, which was the oldest, least maintained scuba gear I’ve had to use anywhere in the world. In fact, some divers were told upon arrival at the lodge that they would not be able to dive at all, because the air compressor used to fill the scuba tanks had broken that morning. (It was “fixed” after my last dive but before the emergency evacuations.) Divers were given BCDs with a pressure gauge for the air supply but no depth gauge or dive computer. This is absolutely unacceptable, especially with the large number of divers per guide and the significant depths of the dives in the swift channel. After our night dive, I congratulated a new (level 1) diver on what must have been his deepest dive to date. But he was shocked to see on my personal dive computer that we had been at 95 feet, not 60, where he thought we had maxed our depth. Divers should not be blindly led into situations for which they are not trained or comfortable or even aware. This operation doesn’t use the buddy system but tells everyone to just stay together as a group so the guide’s dive computer can be used for everyone’s dive profile. This doesn’t work for multiple reasons, including the fa

Be prepared to stay in a very basic bungalow with no glasses, no shampoo, hardly any light at evening and no lock on the door - and experience great food, amazing views above and below water and very friendly staff. This is a diverse paradise. Very relaxed, people eat together after the sound of the bell and talk about todays discoveries. Snorkelling is wonderful too! The reef is 5 meters from the beach and you can easily enter from beach of bridges. The hotel offers daily shuttle boat to a bounty island area free of charge. Amazing with just sand and palms.

Not only did the boat transfer take THREE+ hours, the captain had to refill the petrol TWICE during the trip - while the boat was rolling and pitching. The reason? NO functioning navigation equipment on board. Both the Garmin AND compass didn't work. In good weather situations, I believe the captain relies on beacons. Typically, the trip only takes 1.5 hours. But that evening, it was pouring, dark and due to high waves - the beacons could not be seen. No visibility of the coastline - nor where the reefs were. The captain resorted to making 'figure eights' in rough seas to get his bearings. Eventually, he used a guest's smart-phone to navigate. I repeat, HE USED A GUEST's SMARTPHONE. To make matters worse, apparently bad weather the day before meant there was a backlog of travellers. There were, I believe, 24 souls on board with the baggage piled up in the middle. People who became sea-sick had to trade-places as we were packed in like sardines. A boy SCREAMED for 30 minutes straight 'Dad, I'm afraid' until he whimpered with exhaustion in his father's arms. We were soaking wet and cold and shivering by the time we arrived, luggage and contents wet/damp. A couple even left the very next day due to stress. (They took a different transfer back). Sure, the reef is insanely beautiful. Yes, the location is superb and should not be missed. But there ARE other ways to experience this amazing place safely. So be warned. We got lucky. But it could be an accident waiting to happen.