Rangiroa, French Polynesia - November 1, 2026

Rangiroa – A Little Local Knowledge, a Few Technical Difficulties and a Beautiful Day in Paradise

Another beautiful day in French Polynesia, this time returning to Rangiroa, one of the largest atolls in the world and a place we particularly enjoyed on our visit last year.

A little background on this island paradise. Rangiroa is part of the Tuamotu Archipelago, approximately 350 kilometres northeast of Tahiti. Its name comes from the Polynesian Ra’i Roa, meaning “immense sky”, which seems particularly appropriate when you consider the vast expanse of ocean and sky surrounding this enormous atoll.

Polynesians are believed to have settled here as early as the fifth century. The early inhabitants lived in small communities scattered throughout the atoll, making use of the abundant marine life and resources of the lagoon. There was a rather turbulent period in the late 1700s when attacks by warriors from neighbouring Anaa forced much of the population to flee. Many eventually returned around 1825, under the protection of the ruling Pomare family of Tahiti.

Today, Rangiroa has approximately 2,800 residents on the atoll itself. The population is concentrated mainly around the villages of Avatoru and Tiputa. Traditionally, fishing and copra (dried coconut meat used to produce coconut oil) were important industries. Tourism has since become a major part of the local economy, particularly because of Rangiroa’s spectacular lagoon, coral reefs and world-renowned diving. Fishing remains important, with fresh fish also shipped to Tahiti.

Our day started with a bit of patience. We waited until around noon before heading to the Wyang Theatre to collect our tender tickets. This is the designated pickup location for priority tender boarding for 4- and 5-star Mariner Society members.

The room was packed, and when we finally received our orange number 21 tickets, I thought this could turn into a rather lengthy wait. However, just as we sat down, an announcement came over the loudspeaker that orange tender tickets 18, 19, 20 and 21 were now ready for boarding!

Now that’s what I call timing. I hope those holding number 18 hadn’t been waiting too long! Sometimes you just get lucky.

We particularly enjoyed Rangiroa last year, especially my local excursion to the aquarium. The price has now increased from $60 to $70 USD. Given that I had done this excursion only last year, decided not to repeat it, and I had another reason in mind as well.

We headed over to the windward side of the island first, taking a leisurely walk for about 40 minutes before making our way to the beach area on the leeward side. We found a lovely spot under some palm trees, perfect for settling in for the afternoon.

I put on my snorkelling gear and headed out towards the nearby reef. This is an area I had discovered last year and remembered quite well. I figured that rather than spending $70 on the excursion out to the aquarium, I could enjoy some pretty spectacular underwater scenery right here.

And I wasn’t disappointed!

The highlight was a school of more than 300 good-sized fish swimming right in front of me. What a sight! The underwater life here is impressive, and having experienced it last year, I knew there was some wonderful snorkelling to be found without having to go on an organized excursion.

I guess you could say I have a little local knowledge by now, lol.

Don’t get me wrong, if this is your first visit to Rangiroa, I would certainly recommend taking the trip out to the aquarium. It really is a special experience. But if you’ve been here before and know where to look, there are some excellent alternatives.

Now, on to a couple of unexpected problems!

Problem number one – My Apple Watch.

During our walk earlier, my Apple Watch had asked whether I was doing a walk. Yup! So I started the activity and carried on.

After getting ourselves settled at the beach, I headed into the water. I thought I had put the watch into its water mode, but I’m guessing that because I hadn’t ended the walking activity, it wasn’t quite sure what I was trying to do. Perhaps it figured I couldn’t be walking and swimming at the same time!

About ten minutes into my snorkelling, the watch suddenly started producing a rather loud alarm, complete with some sort of countdown. Uh oh!

I pressed the Crown button, followed by the on-screen slider, and then the watch went completely blank. Uh oh again!

Long story short, I enlisted the help of Chat to investigate what had happened. The watch appeared to be having a serious charging or power issue. We went through several troubleshooting steps, including letting it cool down and dry out, and eventually discovering that the third-party chargers I had with me weren’t doing the job.

Chat suggested trying an original Apple magnetic charging disc rather than continuing with the third-party chargers. It also suggested checking with the ship’s front desk, or Guest Services, to see whether someone might have an original Apple charger I could borrow.

Fortunately, a helpful crew member came to the rescue, and I was able to borrow one. The plan was to leave the watch on the charger for a while, monitor it for any excessive heat and give it a chance to recover. I even had to make sure I returned the charger by 7 pm when his shift ended, lol.

After allowing it to charge for approximately 40 to 60 minutes, I picked it up and touched the screen. And thankfully, we appeared to be back in business! What a relief. A little technical support from Chat and a helpful crew member had saved the day.

Problem number two – My GoPro.

I had assumed I still had sufficient battery power in my GoPro, but apparently the battery hadn’t held its charge either. So here I was, out in the water with no functioning watch and no camera. Oh boy!

I returned both items to shore and put them away. Jan was comfortably settled in the shade, enjoying her book.

“That was fast,” she said.

Well, yes, it certainly was!

Rather than letting these little technical mishaps spoil the afternoon, I decided to head back out into the water. This time, without a watch, a camera or any other electronic distractions.

And you know what? It turned out to be rather wonderful.

There was something quite refreshing about simply enjoying the surroundings, watching the fish and taking everything in without worrying about capturing it on camera or checking a device. Just being there and enjoying the moment. Perhaps a little reminder that we don’t always need our electronics to have a great experience.

We stayed until approximately 3:30 before making our way back to the tender and the Zaandam. By then we were ready for a very late lunch, followed by a short nap before getting ready for sail away.

And what a lovely sail away it was!

We spotted about half a dozen dolphins swimming alongside the ship. I tried to capture them with my camera, and although my pictures aren’t exactly award-winning, you’ll get the idea. Sometimes you just have to take my word for it!

Another beautiful visit to this island paradise. Rangiroa certainly didn’t disappoint, and despite a few technical hiccups, it turned out to be another memorable day.

Sometimes you get lucky with your tender tickets, sometimes you discover a wonderful snorkelling spot, and sometimes the best part of the day is simply putting everything away and enjoying the moment.

Until the next port!