Tuamotu

Heading to the north of the Society Islands, the Tuamotu Archipelago barely breaks the surface with a procession of ringlet atolls that Darwin correctly guessed were the tips of old volcanoes. Western Tuamotu has been shown to hold seriously good surf. Don’t discount an atoll just because it is surrounded by others, because the swell seems to find a way in, as proven by the reef passes on the west side of Apataki.

It makes sense that the impossibly remote central and eastern Tuamotu atolls and the far-flung Gambier Islands are blessed with quality surf. Mere mortals will never get this far in some of the most dangerous waters in the Pacific, where big sharks hunt in the passes and the rips take Herculean shoulders just to stay in position, in order to catch waves that will often test even the best riders. Of course avoid Mururoa and Fangataufa atolls in the SE corner, the site for the now infamous nuclear testing program run by the French Government.