Tuamotus Recap, the Calypso experience

Over a period of roughy 8 non-consecutive months, from June to December of 2025, and then again in scattered hops between January and April of 2026, we visited 13 of the atolls in the Tuamotus. Each has its own unique reasons for visiting. There’s a linked blog post for each of them which gives more detail about anchorages.

As a rough recap, here are our impressions of the atolls in the Tuamotus. It’s almost impossible to rank them, except #1 is clear to us as is #13.

OUR ABSOLUTE FAVORITE:

Takaroa for the people, the welcome, the interesting history. Anchorages not particularly easy; abandoned pearl farm infrastructure everywhere in the lagoon can make navigation tricky. We have joked that if we ever came through FP again, we probably would not get a long stay visa for me but would clear in and then race almost directly to Takaroa and stay there for most of our time.

The rest (with the exception of #13), we’d happily visit again.

Amanu for ease of protection from almost any wind direction, obviously accessed by moving around. The year we were there it was not on the “Cruiser Highway” but it seems that may have changed.

Hao for provisioning, for a less-visited atoll with some fun anchorages to explore. The people are welcoming and friendly. The pass has a fierce reputation which scares many people off.

Raroia for amazing fish life, a fabulous community garden, and history (though we don’t need to visit the Kon-Tiki site again. Once is enough).

Tikehau with endless anchorages and fish life (mantas!), a fascinating and successful farm project.

Rangiroa and Makemo for relatively easy provisioning, friendly people. Decent anchorages too. If you are in need of a meal cooked by someone else, these fit the bill.

Kauehi, Katiu, Tahanea all have interesting anchorages. Kauehi can be challenging with a short shelf for anchoring but town is fun, Katiu has active pearl farms to check out (no cost), Tahanea is essentially uninhabited.