The book you are reading is correct. I did my discovery scuba in Bora Bora 7 years ago and was amazed and spoiled to start there. I was able to check out a beautiful reef and pet an octopus. After my dive I caught up with my wife snorkeling and feeding manta ray on a sand bar. While she did that I free dove off the side of the sand bar watch the white tip sharks buzz by within a few feet of me. We were on a cruise and every island we stopped at had similar experiences while snorkeling. Your dives will be on reefs to about 60’ no need to go deeper.