Tikehau Island - 10 things to do on the atoll

Among the islands of which I have very good memories, the Tikehau atoll, is definitely one of them. This polynesian atoll is located about 340 km north of Tahiti, in the Tuamotu archipelago. There are many things to do and see on Tikehau Island in one weekend. The latter is known to be a relatively quiet atoll and much less visited than its neighbors Rangiroa and Fakarava, two well-known world-class diving spots. For those who cannot make it to Tuamotu due to lack of time or budget, you have the possibility to discover the superb Tetiaroa atoll. A few hours on a catamaran, departing from Papeete, will allow you to set foot in some of the clearest water that I have ever seen. By the way, if you book a catamaran day trip with Poe Charter, you can use the coupon code “les2pieds” to get 10% discount.

I recommend it to anyone who wants a bit of calm, in a place that is not yet too developed, and who is looking for a little piece of paradise!

When you arrive on the main motu (island) where the airport is located, you immediately realize that you are in a relatively small area! The tour of the motu is 9 Km.

Take the time, wherever you’re sleeping, to take a short walk in the charming main village. Nothing really happens here, except the villagers who are taking a nap or watching you pass by. Everyone lives to the rhythm of the atoll. You can even enjoy a small swim at the tip of the village, on the lagoon side with its wonderful beach! A real natural swimming pool surrounded by coconut trees and perfect for swimming with black tip reef sharks…

Among things to do and see on Tikehau Island, a walk on the ocean side really leaves you dreaming. I think I even appreciated this one more than the one on the lagoon side, which still remains quite “mundane” in the end. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not bored by the beautiful lagoons and white sandy beaches, but the ocean side beach has something extra for me.

You will get to see these huge blocks of dead reefs on the sand, with which you can imagine all kinds of shapes. In front of you, the ocean with all its power crashes on the island’s reef. One feels so small.

At the end of the beach, you will see, with some imagination, the famous beach of “La Cloche de Hina”. It’s not easy to find but basically you go to the beach on the ocean side and keep going until you get to the tip of the island.

In short, in any case, when you visit the atoll, don’t miss a few hours walk on the ocean side.

So, figure that even though it’s part of the main things to see on Tikehau Island, I had to Google it to check if we had actually been there or not and on further consideration, I don’t think we did.

In the end, I don’t think It mattered. The island’s famous pink sandy beach is actually on a motu on the reef. We had stopped in the area, but I don’t remember seeing this beach, or I would have remembered it. Instead, we had spent a few hours on a superb motu for lunch time. We had enjoyed it just as much as we would have Rose Island.

However, if you go out on the lagoon during your trip to the atoll, perhaps ask the guide or the pension to stop there. It must be worth seeing!

On the other hand, I remember very well having spent time on Bird Island during our day trip to the lagoon. This walk is one of the things to do on Tikehau Island, according to all the guides you can find around!

The particularity of this island (in addition to the birds I mean!) is that it is located in the middle of the lagoon, or more or less so. In most atolls, motus, that are sandy islets, (including the one of the main village) are located on the reef barrier of the atoll. Sometimes, as in this case, there are still a few small islets left in the lagoon.

Bird Island is exactly in that case. The uniqueness of this islet, as you may have suspected, is in that it shelters thousands of birds of different species, which come to nest or simply thrive.

A small path lets you to cross the island from both sides. It’s a great little walk and on the edge of the islet, you can see the many reef sharks that are swimming around!

The tour of the island by foot (or by bike for the lazier ones) is a free activity and it’s very nice as well! Take the time to walk to the village, and then go over to the ocean side to admire the superb coral cliffs mentioned above.

Then come back by the lagoon side to enjoy a swim in the beautiful calm turquoise waters! Who knows, you might even come across a shark on the way back.

I hesitated in putting this in the to-do and see list for Tikehau Island. Why is that? In fact this island is known on the Internet. If you do a quick search, you will find that a Chinese guru runs the island, if that can be said. Nonetheless, the whole thing looks a little like a cult….

Today, a few families live on the Isle and live in complete autonomy. This is decisively the most interesting aspect when visiting the island. Indeed, they show you how they manage to grow vegetables, make compost, on coral soil, where basically not much actually grows.

It is not a mandatory visit, but it is often part of a day trip (as in our case).

Whether scuba diving or snorkeling with masks and snorkels, you will easily have the opportunity to swim with sharks on the island. They are everywhere, if it is at the tip of the village, on the beach in 60 cm of water, on the banks of the motus, or on Bird Island.

With a little luck, and without being too afraid of the animals, you can see them quite closely. At the tip of the village, you can even have fun running after them between the sandbanks!

Unfortunately, I didn’t get the time or the opportunity to dive on the island, but everyone says good things about both the dive center (Tikehau plongée) and the underwater world in general around the island. A passionate diver will of course have the opportunity to see all the classic underwater fauna of tropical environments: moray eels, barracudas, white tips, various tropical fish, dolphins, and of course a multitude of corals.

There seem to be 3 diving clubs (Tikehau Plongée, Api Dive in the Hotu pension and the Manta Club Ray) on the island, which can be fully booked very quickly. So remember to make your reservations as soon as you arrive by plane if you plan to dive on the atoll.

The atoll is particularly well known thanks to Commander Cousteau who, according to the 1987 study, described it as “the most fishy atoll in the lower islands of French Polynesia”.

So test it out for yourself if you like diving!

After swimming with sharks, one of the things to not miss on Tikehau Island is of course to swim with manta rays. As on the island of Maupiti, rays are more or less around all year.

You will then have a very good chance of seeing them during your day trip to the lagoon. Swimming next to these sea monsters is an incredible experience! To be enjoyed without moderation!

Finally, to bring to an end the list of things to do on Tikehau Island, I think you should book a day trip to the lagoon. On the program: a guaranteed change of scenery and a white sandy beach, is that fine with you?

In addition to the things already mentioned above (swimming with manta rays, visiting bird island, pink sand beach), you will enjoy a stroll in the island’s lagoon.

With good weather, it’s still a great way to spend the day when you’re on Tikehau.

Most pensions offer this service, so don’t hesitate to book a day.

So these are my Top 10 things to do on Tikehau Atoll!

• If you have arrived from outside French Polynesia, just like when going to Tahaa Island or the Gambier archipelago, you will have to land first in Tahiti. I invite you to come and read the article on how to get to Tahiti cheaply! For Americans, the cheapest solution is to flight from San Francisco to Papeete with Unites Airlines or Frenchbee.

• Once in Tahiti, you will fly from Tahiti to Tikehau with the local airline Air Tahiti. It will cost you about 30000 xpf which is about 250€.

• Once in Tahiti, you will fly from Tahiti to Tikehau with the local airline Air Tahiti. It will cost you about 30000 xpf which is about 250€.

There are almost daily flights to Tikehau from Tahiti. You can find the updated schedule here (in French sorry). You can also integrate the visit of the island into one of the company’s multi island passes.

For those who have the time and wish to travel cheaply around the territory, there are cargo ships that occasionally serve the atoll on their tour. Check out my page on ways of transportation between the islands for more information.

For those who sleep in guesthouses, remember to book your stay with the site “Séjour dans les îles” which offers flight packages + accommodation with half board (for locals only or if you book when in French Polynesia). In any case, it is always cheaper than booking things separately (I checked). You will need to be on Tahiti Island to do so.

Tikehau Island has many guest houses. I personally stayed at Aito Motel Colette. The location is splendid, nothing to say about that. We were surprised when we were told of the additional fees that needed to be paid… (invoiced excluding taxes and credit card fees). So be careful to clarify everything beforehand with the pension. Otherwise, we had an excellent stay there.

For those who want to enjoy themselves with a much larger budget, but without mass tourism, there are also two superb hotels on the atoll, which offer bungalows on stilts. I didn’t test the experience personally (I would have liked to though), but I only heard good things from friends.

For smaller budgets, you can also camp at the Pension Justine (I haven’t tested it but friends have done it, so it is a possibility) and you can do your own shopping at the motu store that sells the necessary food for cooking. Check in with the pension to know about the prices but it’s supposed to be 3500xpf/night for a tent (around 30$).

As often when we go on a trip to the Polynesian islands, for meals, we opted for half board. It was good, we had no worries. At lunchtime, you can eat in one of the motu’s small snacks (if they are open). Otherwise, you’ll have to go to one of the local stores to buy food!

The main motu is very small which means no travel worries, so everything is done by foot here, or by bike for those who don’t want to walk. All guesthouses generally offer bike rental. If you don’t know which islands to go to in French Polynesia, I strongly advise you to read the article on the Gambier Islands, the most beautiful islands I’ve had the opportunity to encounter since I’ve been here.

So, I hope you now have a good idea of the things to do on Tikehau Island. With this, you should have a very nice stay on the atoll.

Feel free to leave me a comment or to share the article with others if you enjoyed it!

See you soon,

Sylvain