Les rairas
Dive site · French Polynesia
Advanced divers and up
Is it worth the trip?
63Good out of 100 for your dates
Best on Tue 3: Sea 1.2 m, Visibility about 25 m, Water 28 °C
Tue 3 · 74 out of 100
- Sea
- 1.2 m
- Wind
- 9 kn
- Gusts
- 22knboats in
- Air
- 27°C
Wed 4 · 10 out of 100
- Sea
- 1.1 m
- Wind
- 14 kn
- Gusts
- 32knboats in
- Air
- 25°C
Thu 5 · 38 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.9 m
- Wind
- 12 kn
- Gusts
- 29knboats in
- Air
- 28°C
Fri 6 · 68 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.7 m
- Wind
- 10 kn
- Gusts
- 24kn
- Air
- 29°C
Sat 7 · 68 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.7 m
- Wind
- 9 kn
- Gusts
- 22kn
- Air
- 29°C
Sun 8 · 67 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.9 m
- Wind
- 8 kn
- Gusts
- 26kn
- Air
- 30°C
Mon 9 · 67 out of 100
- Sea
- 1.0 m
- Wind
- 8 kn
- Gusts
- 18kn
- Air
- 30°C
Tap a day for sea, wind and water. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Mon 284, good
- Tue 374, good
- Wed 410, poor
- Thu 538, poor
- Fri 668, good
- Sat 768, good
- Sun 867, good
- Mon 967, good
- Tue 1083, good
- Wed 1139, poor
The site in five facts
- Down to 25 mits deepest
- From a boathow you get in
- Advancedand up
- Water 28 °C3 mm wetsuit
- Faces NEswell from there reaches it
Full forecast
every day, every number
The score doesn't know currents, the visibility on the day or your certification.
Suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it. Scored for Advanced divers.
| Day | Score | Sea | Wind | Gusts | Air |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 2Nov | 84, good | 0.6 m | 5 kn | 17kn | 30°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 74, good | 1.2 m | 9 kn | 22knboats in | 27°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 10, poor | 1.1 m | 14 kn | 32knboats in | 25°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 38, poor | 0.9 m | 12 kn | 29knboats in | 28°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 68, good | 0.7 m | 10 kn | 24kn | 29°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 68, good | 0.7 m | 9 kn | 22kn | 29°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 67, good | 0.9 m | 8 kn | 26kn | 30°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 67, good | 1.0 m | 8 kn | 18kn | 30°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 83, good | 0.8 m | 8 kn | 21kn | 28°C |
| Wed 11Nov | 39, poor | 0.7 m | 11 kn | 27knboats in | 28°C |
Sea is the waves near the site, in metres; wind and gusts in knots. "Boats in": gusts that keep dive boats in. More
Tide
- Mon 2 NovHigh 01:57 +0.0 mLow 05:41 +0.0 mHigh 08:45 +0.0 mLow 15:58 −0.0 mHigh 22:41 +0.0 m
- Tue 3 NovLow 03:30 −0.0 mHigh 09:38 +0.1 mLow 16:04 −0.1 mHigh 22:21 +0.1 m
- Wed 4 NovLow 03:57 −0.0 mHigh 10:11 +0.1 mLow 16:24 −0.1 mHigh 22:30 +0.1 m
Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Slack water, the safest time to dive where there is current, is about half an hour either side of each high and low. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.
Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.
Best time to go
No month stands out
Good diving days in a typical week, each month, for Advanced divers, from 2016 on (ERA5 history scored the same way).
- Jan7of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
- Feb7of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
- Mar7of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
- Apr7of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
- May7of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
- Jun6of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
- Jul6of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
- Aug6of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
- Sep7of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct7of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
- Nov7of 7: a trip from Tue 3 Nov
- Dec7of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec
Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.
Typical, not a forecast: the sea and the mean wind of each day, with no gusts or rain in the history.
Map
the site and its town
Les rairas on Google Maps · Directions
Each place wears its best day on these dates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.
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One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
More diving near here
5 places
- Te Ava Piti 3 km away
- Iriru 3.4 km away
- Le Nordby 4.5 km away
- Te Ava Mo’a 9.6 km away
- Le trou de la Pieuvre 10 km away
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Les rairas
A reef dive. It goes down to 25 m. You get in from a boat. It suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it. The coast faces NE: swell from the NE reaches it, and wind from the SW blows out to sea. 1 dive centre or shop within 10 km, the nearest 9.1 km away. The sea is about 27°C in July, its coldest month (3 mm wetsuit), and 29°C in January, its warmest (rash vest or 1 to 2 mm). The town to stay in is Uturoa. Within 5 km we also list 1 surf spot and 3 dive sites.
- What it is Reef.
- How deep Down to 25 m.
- Getting in From a boat.
- Who it suits Suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it.
- Dive centres 1 dive centre or shop within 10 km, the nearest 9.1 km away.
Water about 28°C: 3 mm wetsuit. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.
Visibility about 25 m. Typical for the time of year, estimated from ten years of NASA satellite water clarity, not a forecast. Clearest in Jan, Feb, Aug and Dec (about 30 m).
The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).
Rough cost (estimate): about US$1,410–US$2,660 each
about US$1,410–US$2,660 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, stay, food.
Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 2 November 2026.
How we worked it out
| What | How we worked it out | Each |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | return MDW to PPT, estimated from distance and season, changing at LAX, full-service airlines, with a hold bag | about US$604–US$1,250 |
| Hire car | 6 days, shared | about US$154–US$255 |
| Stay | 6 nights, a mid-range double, shared | about US$309–US$510 |
| Food | 7 days eating out | about US$342–US$637 |
| Total | about US$1,410–US$2,660 |
Guided dives are not priced yet: we have no sourced price, so it is not in it. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.
Where to stay: Uturoa
Ad Links marked Ad may pay us if you book. You pay the same, and they never change a score. How we earn
about 15 min by car · 4 places to stay
about US$114/nightcountry average
About Uturoa its beds, food and every spot near it
About US$114 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 2 November 2026.
Getting there: about 23h 30m
About 23h 30m door to door from Chicago
Fly MDW → PPT, changing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), then 4h by road
Flights MDW → PPT on your dates · AviasalesAd
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.
In the water
Dives and courses in Uturoa · GetYourGuideDive gear hire in Uturoa · GetYourGuide
Dive centres nearby
Centre de plongée Hemisphère Sub 9.1 km
The nearest named dive centres and shops within 25 km, in a straight line; training agencies where the map states them. Listings, not a recommendation. Dive centres: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Credits
What you might see
Too few records at this site itself, so these are the animals divers and surveys have recorded at other sites within 25 km in the last 15 years. A record says someone saw it there, not that you will.
Bluespotted cornetfish Fistularia commersonii
Seen in 4 records.
Redtoothed triggerfish Odonus niger
Seen in 4 records.
Lagoon triggerfish Rhinecanthus aculeatus
Seen in 4 records.
Moorish idol Zanclus cornutus
Seen in 4 records.
Manini Acanthurus triostegus
Seen in 3 records.
Brown land crab Cardisoma carnifex
Seen in 3 records.
Records: OBIS (Ocean Biodiversity Information System, IOC-UNESCO) and GBIF.org (1 November 2026, doi:10.15468/dl.jeesns), from the datasets named here, CC0 and CC BY records only. Names: WoRMS and GBIF; common names from the Catalogue of Life, the GBIF Backbone and Wikidata. Largest datasets here: Programme CROMIS: carnet de plongée en ligne de la FFESSM-Observations d'espèces subaquatiques collectées par les utilisateurs de CROMIS; iNaturalist Research-grade Observations; SIO Marine Vertebrate Collection; INSDC Sequences. Credits
This week's visibility and the current no free forecast gives. Ask a dive centre before you book.