Anau
Best for. Snorkellers and divers who want to swim with reef manta rays rather than lie on sand. This is an experience, not a beach day.
Best spot. The cleaning station offshore, between two coral reefs, reached by boat with a guide who knows when the rays gather.
Know this. Do not arrive expecting a beach. Anau is a village and a roadside lagoon access; the magic is in the water, by boat.
Let us be straight from the start, because Anau disappoints anyone who arrives with a towel. This is not a beach in the sunbathing sense. It is a quiet village on the east coast and a roadside slip of shore where the lagoon laps the road, and there is little sand to lie on. People come to Anau for one thing only, and it is a very good thing. Offshore, between two coral reefs, sits the island's reef manta ray cleaning station, one of the most memorable swims in all of French Polynesia.
The mechanics are worth understanding before you go. Manta rays glide in to hover above the coral while small cleaner fish tend their skin and gills, a slow and graceful piece of theatre that can last many minutes if you stay calm and still in the water. The site is reached by boat, and the difference between a magical morning and a missed one is almost entirely the guide. A good skipper knows the tide, the hour and the spot, and will put you in the water where the rays actually are. Drift out on your own and you may simply find empty blue.
So the honest counsel is to treat Anau as an experience to book rather than a beach to visit. Most lagoon tours that include the manta station also stitch together other snorkelling stops, a coral garden and often a picnic, which is the graceful way to spend the day. Sightings are never guaranteed, conditions are typical rather than promised, and the rays keep their own schedule. Go with patience and a guide, and Anau gives you the rarest thing on a famous island, a moment that feels genuinely wild.
There are no beach clubs here
Anau has no beach clubs or lagoonfront restaurants, and we will not invent any. It is a working village and a dive and snorkel site. The nearest beach venues sit at Matira, while the manta station is the domain of lagoon tour operators around the island.
Photo: Tohora Bora Bora Snorkeling Lagoon Tours & Whale Watching via GoogleIf you want to combine the manta station with a lagoon lunch and a sunset, base your beach time at Matira and book the Anau experience as a half day on the water. For a meal on the sand, the lagoonfront venues at Matira Beach are the established choice, and our Bora Bora club directory gathers the island's honest options in one place.
East coast, Bora Bora
Anau lies on the east coast of the main island, reached along the coast road from Vaitape, though most visitors never drive to the village itself. The manta station is offshore, so the practical arrival is by boat as part of a lagoon tour that collects you from your hotel dock.
If you do explore the east coast by car or bicycle, the road runs flat and quiet past the village, with the lagoon close on one side. To swim with the mantas, though, book a guided trip rather than trying to reach the cleaning station on your own.
Photo: Helio Gaspar via GoogleBook a beach club
Tell us your dates and party size and we will help arrange a lagoon tour to the Anau manta station and a table on the sand at Matira. We reply by email.
We are an independent editorial resource. Booking requests are passed to clubs and operators, and some may earn us a commission at no cost to you. Prices, availability and opening status are set by the operator and are to be confirmed at the time of booking.
Common questions about Anau
Is Anau a beach for swimming and sunbathing?
Not really. Anau is a village and a lagoon access point on the east coast rather than a sandy lounging beach. People come here for one reason, the manta ray cleaning station offshore, which is a snorkelling and diving site reached by boat. For a sand and swim day, Matira Beach at the southern tip is the choice.
Can you see manta rays from the shore at Anau?
Occasionally, but it is a matter of luck. The cleaning station sits offshore between two coral reefs, so the reliable way to see the rays is by boat with a guide who knows the timing. From the roadside you may glimpse a shadow in the lagoon, but do not plan a trip around a shore sighting.
When can you see manta rays at Anau?
Reef manta rays visit the Anau cleaning station through much of the year, drawn by cleaner fish that tend their skin and gills. Sightings are never guaranteed and depend on tide, time of day and conditions, which is why a local guide who reads the timing makes the difference. The dry season from May to October brings the clearest water.
Do you need a tour to snorkel at Anau?
A guided tour is strongly recommended. The site is reached by boat, and guides know when and where the mantas gather, so without one you may arrive at the wrong moment and miss them. Lagoon tours that include Anau often add other snorkelling stops and a picnic, and we can route your enquiry to operators.
What else can you see at the Anau site?
Besides the reef manta rays, the two coral reefs at Anau draw turtles, blacktip reef sharks, eagle rays, sting rays and clouds of tropical fish, across a depth that runs from about five to thirty metres. It is one of the richer corners of the Bora Bora lagoon for marine life, and conditions are typical and never guaranteed.
