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One thing all vacations in The Islands of Tahiti have in common is the first stop. Arriving flights touch down at Faa'a International Airport on the Island of Tahiti. From there, some travelers hop a ferry boat to the island of Moorea, while destinations such as Bora Bora, Rangiroa and Fakarava will require a connecting flight.
But savvy travelers don't rush these connections and often opt to spend a few days on The Big Island taking in the sights and sounds of the capital city of Papeete and the lush landscapes that lie beyond. Divers can also get more from their vacation by booking a few days with Top Dive Tahiti to take in sites along the island's northwest coast. And the favorite place to stay for Big Island diving and tours is the InterContinental.
The Island's Biggest and Best
The InterContinental Tahiti Resort & Spa is the Island of Tahiti's largest and most convenient luxury resort. It's a quick five minutes from the airport but seems a world away. The lushly landscaped oceanfront setting provides a relaxing oasis that sets the stage for visits to French Polynesia.
Guest rooms and suites feature Polynesian-inspired fabrics and furnishings, natural timber floors and original local artworks. Full-length windows open to private terraces and balconies that take in with private terraces and balconies with garden or lagoon views. The resort also includes a collection of over-water bungalows that provide sweeping views of the Pacific and the distant island of Moorea.
The property includes a sand-bottomed infinity pool with ocean views and a second large pool with water features, a swim-up bar and hot tub. The pool deck overlooks the resort's Fare l’a Reserve lagoonarium, where a protected coral habitat is home to 200 species of marine life, including numerous species of colorful tropical fish.
Guests have access to a variety of water sports including kayaks and paddleboards, a 24-hour fitness center and tennis courts. The resort’s Deep Nature Spa offers holistic Polynesian-inspired treatments in a garden setting. Dining and entertainment options include the open-concept Te Tiare Restaurant, which hosts a popular dinner show. There is a tiki bar with live entertainment and the Le Lotus Gourmet overwater restaurant, which is considered the island's premier dining venue.
TOPDIVE at The InterContinental
The resort's activities center is also home to TOPDIVE Tahiti, which is French Polynesia's only PADI Five Star dive center. This convenient location makes it easy for divers to take advantage of the TOPDIVE facilities to get in some local diving before traveling on to other islands.
The dive center's boats operate daily and visit more than a dozen local sites. The shores of northwestern Tahiti are flanked by slopes, walls and canyon-like faults covered in a mix of hard and soft corals. Deeper sites are often covered in large gorgonians and groves of pink and black coral.
Near the resort, a trio of small wrecks at The Aquarium attract clouds of colorful tropical fish. Another favorite with fish watchers is the La Zélée wreck is frequented by pelagic fish. More dramatic seascapes await at Aure Fault, which is a wall dive that begins at 15 feet and drops to an underwater cave, and at Papa Whiskey which sits on the edge of a collapsed undersea plateau.
Tahiti is known for shark encounters, and TOPDIVE's Tahiti Shark Experience offers non-threatening encounters with the region's most common species of sharks, including whitetip reef, blacktip reef and lemon sharks. The site known as White Valley adds gray reef sharks to the mix, along with turtles and large schools of jacks.
Another highlight of Tahiti diving is the chance for seasonal encounters with whales and other marine mammals. From July through October, TOPDIVE offers blue water trips to swim with migrating humpback whales. Open ocean swims may also yield sightings of pilot whales, spinner dolphins and numerous species of sharks and rays.
The Intercontinental is one of four TopDIVE facilities in the Islands of Tahiti. Divers traveling to Bora Bora, Rangiroa, Fakarava can schedule two-island packages that include time on the Big Island to add an extra dimension to their vacation. Caradonna works with TOPDIVE and the InterContinental Tahiti Resort & Spa to create your ideal Tahiti dive vacation.