France
In numbers
1,112km²
Area
1,679
People
29°C
Warmest sea
March
5,768km
To the mainland
When to go to Fakarava
Best for the beach from July to September.
The sea is warmest in March (29 °C) and coolest in August (27 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Atoll in French Polynesia
Fakarava is an atoll in France. It belongs to Palliser Islands. It covers 1,112 km². About 1,679 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 5,768 km away.
Getting there
- Fakarava Airport (FAV)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 29 km in a straight lineCar hire at BES airport (Brest)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- 5,768 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From July to Septemberbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 2 m above the sea. 100 % of it is below 200 m.
- 100 %0–50 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
| Night low (°C) | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 27 |
| Sea (°C) | 28 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 28 | 28 |
| Rain (mm) | 167 | 151 | 112 | 85 | 77 | 62 | 40 | 28 | 38 | 72 | 98 | 173 |
| Wet days | 21 | 20 | 19 | 15 | 12 | 12 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 17 | 21 |
| Sun h/day | 7.9 | 8.0 | 8.5 | 8.2 | 7.6 | 7.4 | 7.8 | 8.6 | 8.9 | 8.7 | 8.9 | 8.0 |
| Wind (km/h) | 21 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 22 | 24 | 21 | 20 | 20 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ±0.0 | +0.3 | +0.8 | +0.8 | +0.7 | +0.4 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | +0.1 | ±0.0 | +0.1 | −0.2 |
| 2021 | −0.4 | +0.3 | +0.3 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | +0.1 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | −0.1 | −0.3 |
| 2022 | −0.6 | −0.7 | −0.4 | −0.4 | −0.3 | −0.3 | −0.3 | −0.2 | −0.4 | −0.2 | −0.5 | −0.6 |
| 2023 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.2 | ±0.0 | −0.1 | −0.1 | +0.1 | +0.3 | ±0.0 |
| 2024 | +0.6 | +0.8 | +1.1 | +0.6 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +0.2 | −0.1 | −0.1 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.3 |
| 2025 | +0.1 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +0.1 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.3 | ±0.0 | −0.4 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q1346999) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | Natural Earth · public domain |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.
beaches
Find your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit 
lakes
Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit 
mountains
Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit 
waterfalls
Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit 
islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.You are here
rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Visit