Snorkeling & Diving in Aitutaki

With its spectacular blue lagoon, Aitutaki is a fantastic snorkeling and diving paradise. The crystal clear waters here are teeming with a wealth of marine life and coral, making diving here truly something special. Since the entire lagoon is a sunken volcano, you can easily snorkel and dive off Aitutaki’s coast to discover a whole new world underwater.

While snorkeling off the main island of Aitutaki is pretty good, the diving opportunities off the many motu are much better as the water here is deeper and more pristine. However, if you only have a short time on the island, a good place to go snorkeling is just north of the Pacific Resort. Here the water is roughly a meter and a half deep, but the main drawback of this area is that the dangerous stonefish can also be found here.

There are a number of snorkeling opportunities also on hand further north up the coast from here till the airport. O’otu Beach and in the area between the main island and the motu of Akitua are also considered to be good snorkeling spots. Additionally, any place where you can find a jetty or wharf is a good place to go swimming and snorkeling in. Organized tours are another way to enjoy the snorkeling opportunities of Aitutaki, with most tour companies taking you to the best locations to dive in.

For the serious scuba diver, diving outside the Aitutaki lagoon is amazing with the underwater visibility here near perfect and water temperatures relatively warm throughout the year. Diving outside the reef also lets you explore many drop offs and caves underwater in the area, as well as offers wall dives and deep dives for the more experienced diver. With 200 meter drop-off from the edge of the reef, diving here is an experience to remember. Not only will you see a plethora of tropical fish but you will also get the chance to swim with whales and sharks that feed and rest in the area as well.

There is only one professional diving operator on Aitutaki and it is affiliated with both PADI and NAUI courses. You can rent your diving gear from here as well as learn how to dive. To rent your snorkeling gear there are only a few shops available on the island.