Avatoru is the chief town of Rangiroa, a coral atoll in the Tuamotu Archipelago.
It is located in the northwestern part of the atoll, and is home to the atoll's administration buildings, its post office, several churches, and a small airport. The atoll's black pearl industry is centered here as well.
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More a sleepy hamlet than a city, Avatoru is a series of islets connected by concrete bridges. It and neighboring Tiputu are the only populated areas of the Rangiroa atoll, aside from the boat-accessible-only resort across the large lagoon. Avatoru contains the airport, numerous small pensions (guesthouses), and a few resort hotels (only one major resort: Kia Ora), as well as a couple of dive shops and restaraunts.
Tahitian and French are the main languages spoken throughout Rangiroa, including Avatoru.
Avatoru is long and skinny, and has one paved road from end to end. It's fun to ride a bike and look at the lagoon on one side, the ocean on the other. The Rangiroa airport is on Avatoru. It is one room (no walls) and its security system consists of a TAPU sign to keep you from walking on the runway. It's fun to hang out there midday when the place is completely empty. Very refreshing if you're from a Western country that's security-mad nowadays.
The graveyard is small, simple, and interesting if you like that sort of thing. Lots of coral and shells used. Lots of local history.
Money: Bring money with you, as there's no guarantee the ATM will be working. It never was operational the whole three weeks I was there in July 2004.
If you go during June-July-August, remember it's their winter and the sun goes down early. Avatoru has no 'nightlife' other than what the locals are doing in their homes, what's being offered at the one resort (Kia Ora), or what the pension owners may be providing -- no movie theater, no bars or dance clubs, etc. This is NOT like being in Papeete! Don't go to Avatoru expecting anything other than entertaining yourself and meeting some extremely nice people in a simple and beautiful place.
Rangiroa is an atoll, and it's all about coral reefs rather than sandy beaches. Cyclones washed away much of the sand, but the views are still very beautiful and the lagoon colors are simply stunning. You can sit all day under the coconut trees on the coral beaches and feel you are in paradise if you just bring a towel or blanket. The lagoon water is warm and great for swimming.
If you're looking for snorkeling or SCUBA diving, you've come to the right place. Avatoru has two passes that offer drift diving and great snorkeling in the lagoon right off any beach. (Bring water shoes as you'll be walking over coral pieces and rocks.) Locals advise that you can swim in the lagoon with no fear of the many sharks and rays. However, they emphasize that it is very dangerous to swim on the ocean side. (The exception is if you're an experienced SCUBA diver and you're doing a supervised drift dive in the pass.)
For a day trip, Lagon Bleu is spectacular, and you will see schools of baby sharks there. It takes about an hour to get by boat from Avatoru to Lagon Bleu. You can find out which boat owners are taking people by asking the owner of your pension (guesthouse). Lagon Vert is much smaller, but equally pretty. There's a 'fish park' there where you can get up close and personal (swim) with large tame sharks, rays, etc. The owner of Pension Loyna (her name is Loyna) in Avatoru can hook you up with a way to get to the less-visited Lagon Vert.
