Tikehau

Getting there

The airfield and the main village, Tuherahera, occupy the south of the atoll. The fact sheet of the Circonscription des Tuamotu-Gambier, updated on 29 September 2025, gives a 1,300 m runway, a direct 55-minute flight by ATR 72 from Tahiti, four flights a week out (Monday, Tuesday, Friday, Saturday) and five back, five weekly links with Rangiroa, 20 minutes according to Tahiti Tourisme, and one with Fakarava on Wednesdays; Tikehau is 322 km from Tahiti and 15 km from Rangiroa, of whose commune it is a part. Air Tahiti flies the route, Air Moana flies to Tikehau from Tahiti, Bora Bora, Rangiroa and Fakarava, and Air Archipels operates charters.

On arrival, the host meets guests at the airfield and takes them on by boat or shuttle, as several guesthouses are on motu. You can also come from Rangiroa by boat, through your guesthouse or the tourist office. By sea from Papeete, the DPAM lists the schooners Cobia 3, Dory, Mareva Nui and Saint-Xavier Maris Stella IV for the western Tuamotu; the sheet notes at Tikehau the Dory, the Mareva Nui (12 passengers) and the Saint-Xavier Maris Stella (9 passengers), the latter temporarily replaced by the Saint-Xavier Maris Stella 3.

Climate and seasons

For Météo-France, the Tuamotu have a humid tropical climate with fairly distinct seasons: the rainy season runs from November to April, December and January being the wettest months, and the southern winter, from May to October, is less humid. The archipelago is exposed to organised weather systems as well as to the humid air masses of the trade wind; rainfall stays moderate, temperatures vary little, sunshine is good and the wind, with no relief to stop it, is little disturbed. Tahiti Tourisme quotes nearly 3,000 hours of sunshine a year for the archipelago. Every year from November to April, the Haut-commissariat points out, French Polynesia is subject to cyclone risk.

What makes the atoll

A single pass, Tuheiava, opens the reef, and it is a gathering place for pelagic species: it is dived between 8 and 23 m, the site suits all levels, and Tahiti Tourisme recommends going with a guide from one of the island’s dive centres. Tuna, barracudas, dolphins and blacktip sharks frequent the pass; a second site, Teonai, is known for its whitetip sharks and dogtooth tuna. Tahiti Tourisme reports that the Cousteau team held Tikehau to be the Tuamotu atoll richest in fish.

The beaches owe their pink tint to microscopic organisms, foraminifera. Seabirds nest on the motu: blue and brown noddies, red-footed boobies, lesser frigatebirds. Eden island houses a religious community living self-sufficiently on the site of a former pearl farm. The circonscription’s sheet gives 20 km² of land, 461 km² of lagoon and 500 ha of coconut grove; copra remains an activity, with 128 producers in 2023, and four fish parks are in use. The atoll is covered on foot or by bicycle, and boat outings on the lagoon do the rest.

Where to stay and eat

The fact sheet of the Circonscription des Tuamotu-Gambier records, on 30 June 2024, 27 places to stay: 9 family guesthouses, one hotel, 14 holiday rentals, 2 bed-and-breakfasts and one campsite. The Service du tourisme’s list of 31 March 2026 places half the guesthouses in Tuherahera, the village, and the other half on motu (Hakamanu, Tavararo, Fafarua, Varney), reached only by boat. Tahiti Tourisme sums up the choice: one hotel and several guesthouses, from luxury to the simplicity of a guesthouse on a small motu. Most places lend bicycles, and hosts arrange transport on the lagoon. In the village the sheet counts three shops, a bakery and two snack bars; a craft house on the quay sells the work of seven artisans. Best to book ahead and agree the transfer with the host.

On the atoll

Tikehau is an associated commune of Rangiroa; the commune says its tariffs will be published shortly, so the amount of the tourist tax could not be checked. Until 31 December 2026 the 1997 regime applies (20 to 60 F CFP per person per night outside classified hotels, children under 12 exempt); from 1 January 2027, country law 2025-38 sets a ceiling of 100 F CFP a night in family guesthouses and exempts children under 2. Money: a cash machine at the OPT office in Tuherahera since September 2021. Health: a nursing post with one nurse and one health auxiliary. Water: the atoll treats rainwater; the sheet reports a drinking-water point out of order, filtered water sold at 13 F CFP a litre and a prepaid-card dispenser near the town hall; boil it or buy bottled water, as the Centre de santé environnementale advises. Electricity is supplied around the clock on prepaid cards; the internet arrives from Rangiroa by radio link and the Vini network covers the atoll. As on the remote islands, cash remains useful, and the dollar is not accepted.