Aqua Tiki II

Catamaran · Polynesia · Official Website
Aqua Tiki II at anchor in a turquoise Tuamotu lagoon

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18 m · 8 guests · 4 cabins · 3 crew members

TL

Aqua Tiki II is a Fountaine Pajot Eleuthera 60 sailing catamaran, launched at La Rochelle in 2011 and sailed to Tahiti under her own power. She belongs to Aqua Polynésie, a local company that runs two catamarans in the Tuamotu. The other one, Aqua Tiki III, is bigger — over 20 metres, five cabins — and is sold only as a whole-boat charter for a group of up to ten divers. Aqua Tiki II is the one where you can buy a single berth, and in French Polynesia that is rare: the usual choice here is between day boats from a shore centre and chartering a yacht outright.

She is a small sailing boat, and that shapes everything else. Eighteen metres long, eight and a half wide, 140 m² of sail and two 38 hp engines. Eight guests maximum and a crew of three: a skipper, a hostess who cooks and keeps the boat, and a dive instructor holding the French state BEES diploma. A catamaran does not roll the way a monohull does — two hulls mean a steady ride on passage and an almost motionless deck at anchor. Passages are made early in the morning and usually under sail, and the boat does not move every day: the spare days go to the atolls, the shore and the water.

There are four cabins, each with its own bathroom, hot and cold water, and its own 24-hour 220 V socket. Two are standard doubles — the operator’s own deck plan labels them “honeymoon” — one is a twin with two separate single beds, and one is a VIP double with a TV, hi-fi and DVD. The deck plan also shows a forepeak berth for one person with a bathroom of its own, which is why the specification lists five bathrooms for four guest cabins. The operator claims no air conditioning on this boat: only Aqua Tiki III has it, and there only for three hours in the evening. At night you rely on ventilation and open hatches.

Fresh water comes from a 190 l/h watermaker on top of more than 800 litres of tankage. That is not a luxury but a necessity: the Tuamotu atolls have no mains water. For the same reason the food on board is mostly fresh fish and rice — vegetables and fruit are scarce out here, and the cook makes up for it with bread, brioche, pancakes and yoghurt all baked on board. Drinking water and home-made lemonade are free all day; everything else — soft drinks, mineral water, alcohol — is paid for.

The diving is pass diving. Dives are drifts, the current in the passes can be very strong, and the operator says so in plain words. Two dives a day every day except the arrival and the departure day, when there is no diving at all. Night dives are not part of the programme. The BEES instructor leads the group and a second person stays on the surface watching the bubbles the whole time. The water is warm all year — 25 °C in September, 29 °C in March, with no thermocline and consistently excellent visibility.

The entry bar is set in writing, in the terms of sale: CMAS level 2 or equivalent and at least 50 logged dives at boarding. A beginner will be taken on board — there is always an instructor — but Open Water and CMAS level 1 divers will be kept off some sites because of current and depth, and the instructor decides that on the spot. Dives you miss, whether through your level or the weather, are not refunded. Bring your certification card, your logbook and a medical certificate.

Gear is lent free of charge, and that is a line in the price rather than marketing: masks, fins, snorkels, regulators with gauge and octopus, BCDs, SMBs, dive alerts and 3 mm shorties for eight divers. In the southern winter (July to September, 25 °C at forty metres) bring your own full 3 mm suit. Tanks are steel with DIN and INT valves; each buddy pair gets one 12-litre and one 15-litre filled to 230 bar. There are no dive lights on board — the operator considers them all but unnecessary here. The one regular underwater surcharge is Nitrox 50 for the safety stop: 50 € for a 7-litre tank, paid on board. The nearest chamber is the hospital in Papeete, which is why the operator recommends the option strongly.

The money is transparent. A berth is priced at a flat nightly rate, so the cost of a trip follows its length: on the 2026 grid a standard cabin is 4,960 € for eight nights in high season and 4,560 € in low, a VIP cabin 5,360 € and 4,960 €. High season means July, August, September, the grouper spawning dates and Christmas and New Year; the rest of the year is low. A non-diver on the same trip pays 400 € less. The whole boat can be bought out: 34,200 € in high season and 31,200 € in low for eight nights and eight guests, with separate rates for groups of six and seven. Payment comes in two parts — 30 % at booking and the remaining 70 % sixty days before departure. Cancelling more than 60 days out costs 30 % of the price; later than that, the whole of it.

Things worth knowing in advance. You get yourself to Fakarava: Air Tahiti flies from Papeete five times a week (65 minutes) and there are direct flights from Rangiroa (20 minutes). Your flight numbers go on the booking form and boarding is timed to the plane; the transfer from the airstrip to the boat by dinghy is already included. Arriving more than 12 hours late means no boarding and no refund, so travel insurance is not a formality here. And one more clause: the terms of sale allow the operator, exceptionally, to move a trip from Aqua Tiki II to Aqua Tiki III and back — a different boat with different cabins. The operator publishes no compulsory on-board charges at all: no port fee, no park fee, no tourist tax.

No mark-up

You pay the rate the operator publishes. The only thing added on top is the actual payment processing cost — no fee of ours.

We run the booking

Correspondence with the operator, holding your places, the contract, confirmation and all paperwork sit on our side. Nothing for you to arrange yourself.

Pay by card

We send you a Stripe invoice — pay by card, in your own currency, from anywhere in the world. The transfer to the operator is handled on our side.

Support in your language

We help you pick the cabin and dates, answer questions on the route and gear, and stay reachable until you are home — in English, in your time zone.

We quote the exact amount when confirming the booking: it covers the operator's rate plus the actual payment processing cost. No hidden charges.

Yacht Specifications

Length

18 m

Beam

8.5 m

Material

fibreglass

Year Built

2011

Capacity

8 guests

Cabins

4

Crew

3 members

Engine

2 × 38 hp plus 140 m² of sail

Bathrooms

5

Tender

85 hp RIB with sounder, GPS and VHF

Water capacity

over 800 l

Fuel capacity

over 500 l

Freshwater maker

watermaker, 190 l per hour

On Board

Four guest cabins, eight guests maximum on board
Every cabin has its own bathroom with hot and cold water
An individual 220 V socket in each cabin, around the clock
A forepeak single berth with a bathroom of its own
Spacious saloon with a video corner, library and cocktail bar
Open-plan galley
Large cockpit under an awning where meals are served
Plancha grill on deck
Two trampoline nets forward
Watermaker — the Tuamotu atolls have no mains water
Generator and inverter, uninterrupted 220 V
Hi-fi with independent sound in every cabin, television and DVD
Library with marine-life guides and books on Polynesia, plus board games
Wi-Fi on board
Satellite telephone and fax
Kayaks, snorkelling gear, trolling tackle
Water skis and wakeboard
The crew speaks French and English
No air conditioning in the cabins — only Aqua Tiki III has it

Diving on board

Two dives a day, except the arrival and departure days
Drift dives in the atoll passes, where the current can be very strong
A BEES instructor leads the group, a second crew member watches from the surface
Divers are dropped from an 85 hp RIB with sounder, GPS and VHF
Two Bauer compressors, 19 m³/h each
Steel tanks with DIN and INT valves
Each buddy pair gets one 12 l and one 15 l tank at 230 bar
A full set of Scubapro gear is lent free of charge
Masks, fins, snorkels, regulators with gauge and octopus, BCDs, SMBs, dive alerts
3 mm shorty wetsuits on board
Nitrox 50 for decompression stops, at extra cost
Training and FFESSM certification available on board
No dive lights on board
Night dives are not part of the programme

The operator asks for CMAS level 2 or equivalent and no fewer than 50 logged dives at boarding — that is written into the terms of sale, not the marketing copy. Divers must be in good physical shape, comfortable in current and must stay with the guide at all times. A beginner will be taken on board, as there is always an instructor, but Open Water and CMAS level 1 divers will be kept off some sites because of current and depth; the instructor decides on the spot and dives that do not happen are not refunded. Night dives are not scheduled. The water runs from 25 °C in September to 29 °C in March with no thermocline and excellent visibility; for the winter months bring your own full 3 mm suit, as the boat only carries shorties. Dive lights are not provided. Nitrox 50 for the safety stop costs 50 € per tank, paid on board — the nearest chamber is in Papeete and the operator recommends the option strongly. Bring your certification card, logbook and a medical certificate.

Food and drinks

Full board on board
The menu is built on fresh fish and rice — supply on the atolls is limited
Bread, brioche, pancakes and yoghurt are made on board
Local Polynesian cooking alongside European dishes
Drinking water and lemonade free all day
Welcome cocktail
The cocktail bar opens in the late afternoon
Plancha barbecue on deck
Soft drinks, mineral water and alcohol at extra cost
Vegetarian dishes on advance request

Supply is its own story out here: fresh fruit and vegetables are scarce on the atolls, so the menu is built around fish caught on the way and rice. Bread, pastries and yoghurt are made on board. Special diets and allergies should be declared when booking. A dinner ashore in a local village is possible as a paid extra, subject to availability.

Navigation and safety

Radar and computer navigation station
GPS and chartplotter
Autopilot
VHF and BLU shortwave radio
Standard C weather reception
Sarsat emergency beacon
Oxygen and first-aid kit on board
Satellite link for emergencies
Nearest recompression chamber — the hospital in Papeete, Tahiti

Cabins

· 2 cabins

Double bed

Beds: 1 double bed

Two identical double cabins, one in each hull — the operator's own deck plan labels them honeymoon cabins. A double bed across the full width of the cabin, light joinery with wood trim, a curtained porthole, shelves and lockers along the bulkheads. Private bathroom with a shower and hot and cold water. The 220 V socket works around the clock. There is no air conditioning — it was never fitted to this boat. On the 2026 grid the cabin costs 4,560 € per person for eight nights in low season and 4,960 € in high; a non-diver pays 400 € less.

Double bed Private bathroom with hot water Curtained porthole 220 V socket around the clock Towels in the cabin No air conditioning

· 1 cabin

Two separate single beds

Beds: 2 single beds

A cabin with two separate single beds along the hull sides — the one taken by two people travelling together but not as a couple, and the one the operator uses to pair up solo guests, matching them by gender. The booking form asks outright whether you are willing to share and, if you are, names the person you would share with. Private bathroom with a shower and hot and cold water, a porthole, shelves above the beds, a 220 V socket. The price is the same as the standard double.

Two separate single beds Private bathroom with hot water Curtained porthole 220 V socket around the clock Sharing with a same-gender guest, agreed at booking

· 1 cabin

Double bed

Beds: 1 double bed

The best cabin on board and the only one of its kind: the same double bed and private bathroom, but with a television, a hi-fi and a DVD player. It costs 400 € more than a standard cabin — 4,960 € in low season and 5,360 € in high for eight nights on the 2026 grid. In the schedule it is often the last cabin to go, which is why it is frequently the one still free on nearly sold-out dates.

Double bed Television, hi-fi and DVD Private bathroom with hot water Curtained porthole 220 V socket around the clock

Schedule & Pricing

Northern Tuamotu: Fakarava, Toau, Kauehi

The company's core route and almost the whole calendar. Boarding and disembarking at Fakarava, then a loop around the northern Tuamotu: the southern Tumakohua pass by Tetamanu village, Kauehi atoll, Toau with its narrow Otugi pass, and on the way back the vast Garuae pass in northern Fakarava — over a kilometre wide, the largest pass in Polynesia. Weather and trip length permitting, Aratika and uninhabited Tahanea are added. The rhythm is simple: an early-morning passage under sail, then an eco-mooring right at the dive site, two dives a day and time ashore — Tetamanu village with its old coral church, the pink-sand motu, a pearl farm near Rotoava. The boat does not sail every day, so it never feels like a race. Trips run 7 to 14 nights: short ones circle Fakarava and Toau, long ones reach the outer atolls. The skipper announces the exact plan on the day — it depends on wind, pass currents and the group.

November 2026
1 departure
March 2027
1 departure

Christmas and New Year in the Tuamotu

Two holiday departures: eleven nights from 14 to 25 December, and eight nights from 27 December to 4 January. The northern Tuamotu route with a festive table on board and a high-season rate.

December 2026
1 departure

Prices and availability can change. Get in touch and we'll confirm current dates and pricing.

Included in Price

Accommodation in a cabin with a private bathroom
Full board — breakfast, lunch and dinner
Drinking water, tea, coffee, lemonade, welcome cocktail
Two dives a day through the trip
Full set of rental gear
Tanks, weights and the dive tender
Guiding by a BEES instructor
Transfer from Fakarava airstrip to the boat and back
Shore excursions, village visits and a pearl farm
Kayaks, snorkelling gear, fishing
Cabin towels
Taxes

Not Included

International flights to Tahiti
Air Tahiti domestic flights to Fakarava and back
Accommodation on Tahiti before and after the trip
Alcohol, soft drinks and mineral water
Nitrox
Personal dive insurance and trip-cancellation cover
Dinner ashore in a local village
Crew tips

Optional extras

Nitrox 50 for decompression stops, paid on board — 50 € per 7 l / 200 bar tank
Nitrox course on board — 100 €
Dive computer rental — 50 € per week
Soft drinks — 4 €
Wi-Fi on board — 25 €
Water skiing or wakeboarding — 25 €
Night dive — not part of the programme, only by arrangement on board — 100 €
Dinner ashore in a local village, subject to availability — price not published
Single occupancy — taking a whole cabin — price not published
Whole-boat charter for eight guests, eight nights — 31,200 € low season, 34,200 € high season
Crew tips — at the guest's discretion

Extras are shown per person and are paid on board.

Aqua Tiki II

from 3990 EUR / 7 nights

Estimated wait time — 24 hours

Aqua Tiki II

from 3990 EUR

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Aqua Tiki II

Aqua Tiki II

Catamaran · Polynesia

from 3990 EUR

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