Faille d'Arue

Faille d’Arue is an advanced cave and wall dive site off Arue, on Tahiti’s north coast east of Papeete, French Polynesia. The site features a dramatic outer reef wall beginning at around 5 metres, with a notable cave or cavern structure starting at approximately 27–30 metres depth.

Overview

The site presents a coral-covered outer reef wall with a cave or grotto opening at around 27–30 metres, described as resembling a church door arch. The upper reef plateau (5 m) transitions to the vertical wall face, which carries hard corals, diverse reef fish, and a scenic abyss drop-off beyond the recreational diving range. Visibility can reach 30–40 metres on clear days. Water temperatures are 27–28°C in the upper sections. The site is located in the marine environment off Arue, benefiting from the outer reef’s oceanic exposure.

What to Expect

The upper reef plateau hosts coral tables, parrotfish, groupers, surgeonfish, and bonito. The wall face descends to the cave opening at 27–30 m, a dramatic arch-like cavern entrance. Inside and around the cave, soldierfish, lobsters, and crayfish shelter. Grey reef sharks, whitetip reef sharks, blacktip reef sharks, and lemon sharks are confirmed at this site; the wall and cave setting concentrates fish activity. The outer wall below the cave extends into depths beyond recreational limits — drift diving potential exists on the outer wall face on certain tidal conditions.

Conditions

• Best season: April–November
• Visibility: 25–40 m typical
• Current: Variable; can be strong on the outer wall; drift possible
• Water temperature: 27–28°C
• Entry: Boat dive

Tips

Advanced Open Water certification is required for accessing the cave at 27–30 m. Dive the upper reef plateau first to assess conditions before descending to the cave. A torch is useful inside the cavern. The cave system should only be accessed while natural light from the entrance remains visible — this is a cavern, not a cave penetration dive.

Sources: Scubago – La Faille d’Arue, DiveOtion – Scuba Diving in Tahiti, Dive Discovery – Tahiti Diving. Last updated 2026-05-30.