Snorkel· Tahanea· French Polynesia: Tuamotus, Marquesas, Gambier & Australs
Motupuapua Pass Manta Snorkel (Tahanea North)
16° 50.2′ S · 144° 41.9′ W
Tahanea's star attraction: the NW pass, where manta rays loop through the current feeding on plankton, alongside Napoleon wrasse, big groupers, sharks and occasionally hammerheads and marlin.
Practical
Coordinate is the Motupuapua pass beacon (OpenStreetMap). Sugar Shack (2019-2020): mantas on both tides. Wait about 45 minutes past slack. On the incoming they are on the SE side, on the outgoing the NE side; 'be patient and look for them from your dinghy, they make large loops'. The best coral and fish are on the west side; drift in right after slack on the flood. They have also seen hammerheads and marlin here. Kokopeli (Oct 2018) went just before the morning high slack and swam with many mantas converging at the surface; visibility dropped with the plankton but stayed good. Noonsite (2023): an 'absolutely amazing drift snorkel' with sharks, rays, four Napoleons, and a marlin seen by another boat. Several boats prefer this pass to enter and exit too (less current and waves; Sugar Shack 2021). Don't touch or chase mantas; no-take zone.
Best for
Swimming with manta rays
Season
Manta sightings reported in July, September and October (2018-2020 cruiser reports)
Nearby
- Tahanea NW Pass Sand Patch Anchorage0.5 NM away
- Tahanea Blacktip Reef Sharks0.9 NM away
- Teavatapu Pass Anchorage (Tahanea)0.9 NM away
- Tahanea Pass Dive1.2 NM away
- Teavatapu Pass Drift Snorkel (Tahanea)1.2 NM away
- Otao Pass Anchorage (Tahanea)2.5 NM away
- Otao Pass Snorkel (Tahanea East)2.7 NM away
- Tahanea Lagoon Pinnacle Snorkel (TAHA6)4.4 NM away