Fiji recommendations please!

[cuddlefish]

I'm in the very beginning stages of researching Fiji. Looking for the most spectacular diving (I know there's a lot!), staying at a fabulous resort, and boat rides that are not terribly long. So what is your dream trip to Fiji?! And what month would you go?

Thanks so much! Cuddlefish

 

[cbm32]

What makes a resort fabulous for you??

How long a trip are you looking at? For me a dream trip to Fiji would involve stops at several resorts. More information about just what you are looking for and how much time you will have in Fiji would allow a much more helpful response. Also, do you have objections to shark dives that include feeding the sharks?

 

[Heg]

I'd go in April/ May or October/Nov. I'd do the Nai'a liveaboard (if money was no object). If not, I'd go back to Wananavu Resort. Bligh water is fab diving and Dive Wananavu run a great dive shop. However the boat rides can be up to 50 mins...

---------- Post added September 20th, 2013 at 04:04 PM ----------

Also agree with cbm2 -depends how long you have. You could split your trip betwen two or three areas

 

[ColoDale]

We stayed in the Taveuni area that had great diving around Tavenuni, Qamea and Matangi. We did not see a lot of large stuff but did see sharks. I can't say if it was the time of year or not. There was a lot of fish, coral and many other interesting things to see. The boat ride to Somosomo straights was longer and worth it but I recall most ride times were 5 to 20 min to other sites. At that time I dove in surf shorts and nylon t-shirt and did get a little chilly on a couple of dives but otherwise I was comfortable. Generally I dive like that down to about 76F.

We did 11 days as I can't imagine trying to do it in one week with travel time especially if you are island hopping. If I had a bigger budget I would stay longer.

For accommodations, it depends on what you mean by fabulous resort. We stayed at a higher dollar resort but it was small with good service, isolated, and quiet. At one point there were only 6 guests but did increase. It wasn't a Four Seasons type of resort. If I had to do it over I might consider staying on Taveuni but I am not as familiar with accommodations there.

We went in April and had some rain but also sunny skies.

 

[lamarpaulski]

Namena was great diving (actually amazing is the word) and the resort looked great and reportedly was great...expensive tho. Almost no boat ride...the resort is at the amazing diving...although I dove it from pretty far away -Savu Savu. I heard from local divers the Naia dive boat and Bligh waters were some of the best of Fiji too. Taveuni and Kadavu are also great. Taveuni has some beautiful resorts and great diving but luxury costs in Fiji. Ono island near Kadavu is a pretty special place. I've been in June and October and got a mix of sun and clouds with some rain..always quite comfortable temps in water and air. Plenty of mosquitoes btw. Great people away from big cities. Get away from main cities.

 

[Heg]

I have dived from Ono island but found the diving around Bligh water to be far superior. Haven't dived Namena, but we're off to Savusavu in October, so hoping to get out that way then. Who did you go out there with lamarpaulski?

 

[cuddlefish]

Thanks to all! cbm32....I am not only planning for myself, but also a group of friends with varied tastes and budgets, which makes it difficult as you can imagine. What makes a resort fabulous for me is a beautiful beach and grounds, super cute/stylish bures, good food, and great service. Probably looking at 4 star-ish. Our 5 star friends will have to "settle" and our 3 star friends will have to budget accordingly. But the location has got to be near spectacular diving because some in our group are going to moan about an hour boat ride to sites. The trip would probably be just under 2 weeks. Or we could do one week at a resort and one week on a liveaboard. I have mixed feelings about a shark feeding dive. I'd love to see the "action", but don't really think it's a good, ecologically sound practice. I'm not going to get overly freaky over it, though. I do enjoy seeing sharks in a natural environment.

---------- Post added September 20th, 2013 at 12:19 PM ----------

I guess this should be another thread altogether...but any comparisons between the liveaboards Nai'a and Island Dancer? I always hear great things about Nai'a.

 

[Dive Wananavu Fiji]

Bula Cuddlefish,
Heg gave us a very nice recommendation and we appreciate it. Our dive shop covers diving in the Bligh Water and some of the same dive sites as Nai'a such as Howard's Diner (Instant Replay), Mellow Yellow, Black Magic Mountain, E6 and more. As Heg mentioned we do have a 50 minute boat ride to get out to the area. Our resort is a AAA rated 4-star resort and has some very nice views. You can check out our website listed in our signature which will hopefully help give you an idea about our location and diving.

Comparison between the two liveaboards. Nai'a as you mentioned gets fantastic reviews and as friends of her owners I know the level they demand from their staff. Same level we strive to maintain with our dive staff and experience as well. I don't know what the staff on the Island Dancer are like but if they are like most Fijian staff then they are very friendly and helpful. I would say a big difference are the boats. Nai'a is larger and just looks a little nicer than the Island Dancer. We don't see the Island Dancer very often as they dive different areas than Nai'a.

I hope this helps, if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask. And please say hello to Kona for me I do miss living in Hawaii sometimes, but Fiji is hard to top.

-Chris

 

[cbm32]

Naigani is more 2.5-3 star, and so probably falls off your list.

However we have great beaches and grounds. We dive E-6 and Wakaya Passage, which are two of the sites the Nai'a dives but those two sites are an hour ride as well as being pretty weather dependent. We have a multitude of dive sites that are 12 to 15 minutes from shore that are very very good. Today we dove Circus Circus. An older couple that have 600 dives over the past 35+ years (and just did 12 days diving Taveuni and Namena) said afterwards that it was one of the best dive sites they have ever done. They also stated that they had not expected to ever again see a dive site with the healthy soft corals and multitude and variety of marine life that they saw on this dive.

Our food is very good but not gourmet and the staff is VERY helpful. We are a smaller boutique dive op that caters to the wants/needs of the divers in house at the time.

The Pacific Harbour shark dive is very impressive and, if one doesnt have a particular objection to such things, it is well worth a quick stop in that area to do that once. For me, the other diving in Bega Lagoon is substandard by Fijian standards.

Taveuni and Namena are excellent. Namena can entail some long boat rides unless you stay at Moody's. I am told Moody's is on the higher end of the price scale but, having never stayed there, I am not sure exactly how much that is.

The Bligh waters have some of the best diving in Fiji but, again, for a land based operation you will most be looking at some longer (in the hour range) boat rides. Getting out to the Bligh waters is often a problem weather wise.

The Great Astrolabe reef is reputed to have some GREAT diving but, once again, getting outside the reef to experience it is very hit or miss depending on weather and swell at the time. I spent a week there once and the diving inside the reef was mundane. During that week we got outside the reef one time but it was in spite of the weather so that we could do the manta ray dive. The mantas were spectacular but without them the rest of the dive was average. Getting back on the boat was a pretty singular experience LOL.

As far as liveaboards, I have no personal experience. Friends, people I have dove with that had done the livaboards in the past, and exp-pats living in Fiji pretty much unanimously endorse the Nai'a. I am sure the others do a credible job as well but the Nai'a seems to be just a cut above.

 

[JMorben]

I highly recommend Nakia on Taveuni. Reports on Tripadvisor are accurate. Great small resort, great dive operation and short rides to dive sites. We have been there twice. I also recommend Moody's Namena and Koromakawa on Ono Island. But they only have one guest bure.