CAPTAIN SINBAD
Contributor
Are you serious or is this a typing error? Fiji not as good as the Caribbean? Where in Fiji did you dive? Is there anyone else on the board who has had a similar experience?
Newly certified, where should I go for a solo trip??
- Thread starter ScubaDoo83
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Are you serious or is this a typing error? Fiji not as good as the Caribbean? Where in Fiji did you dive? Is there anyone else on the board who has had a similar experience?
I dived at Papageno Resort and at Wananavu Resort. The former with a group organized by a local dive shop here, and the latter by myself as an extension. At Papageno the boat motors broke down frequently and the O rings on the tanks leaked. The AOW divers went on a separate boat to sites that the organizer told me had extremely rough water. As an OW diver I was not allowed to go with them, though from the descriptions I would not have wanted to; but another OW diver, who did want to go there, told me that the DM told her this was not true at all. I don't know.
At both places, there were no big pelagics, and what fishes and corals there were were not much different than in the Caribbean, except, as I said, I saw soft corals for the first time. That was cool. I am not an ichthyologist. I may have seen species of fishes I had not seen before, and perhaps a fish-counter who keeps a life list and gets excited by seeing a new species would have loved it. I just like pretty fishes, and those in Fiji were no prettier than those in the Caribbean.
It took me half a day to get to L.A., then about 10 1/2 hours for the flight to Nadi, where we had a 5 hour layover, then a short commuter flight to Kadavu, followed by a two-hour very rough boat ride to the resort. Call it maybe 30 hours of travel each way to see little I would not have seen in the Caribbean. Definitely not worth the travel time. (Travel is hard for me because I can neither read nor sleep on the plane. I listen to music and/or audiobooks, which gets old on a ten-hour flight. And it gets harder the older I get.) I have done a fair amount of traveling, but the older I get the less inclined I am to spend hours and hours to get somewhere. The most spectacularly beautiful place I've ever seen in my entire life is practically in my back yard; that's south-eastern British Columbia, Canada. Half a day's drive, no flying. And Belize is three flights, none of them longer than 3 hours.
The people in Fiji were very friendly and the country is beautiful. I was told (I have no independent confirmation) that the lack of anything big was because Fiji has granted fishing permits to big Japanese companies that pretty much take everything. That might just be a legend.
More adventurous people than I might have a very different experience there.
At both places, there were no big pelagics, and what fishes and corals there were were not much different than in the Caribbean, except, as I said, I saw soft corals for the first time. That was cool. I am not an ichthyologist. I may have seen species of fishes I had not seen before, and perhaps a fish-counter who keeps a life list and gets excited by seeing a new species would have loved it. I just like pretty fishes, and those in Fiji were no prettier than those in the Caribbean.
It took me half a day to get to L.A., then about 10 1/2 hours for the flight to Nadi, where we had a 5 hour layover, then a short commuter flight to Kadavu, followed by a two-hour very rough boat ride to the resort. Call it maybe 30 hours of travel each way to see little I would not have seen in the Caribbean. Definitely not worth the travel time. (Travel is hard for me because I can neither read nor sleep on the plane. I listen to music and/or audiobooks, which gets old on a ten-hour flight. And it gets harder the older I get.) I have done a fair amount of traveling, but the older I get the less inclined I am to spend hours and hours to get somewhere. The most spectacularly beautiful place I've ever seen in my entire life is practically in my back yard; that's south-eastern British Columbia, Canada. Half a day's drive, no flying. And Belize is three flights, none of them longer than 3 hours.
The people in Fiji were very friendly and the country is beautiful. I was told (I have no independent confirmation) that the lack of anything big was because Fiji has granted fishing permits to big Japanese companies that pretty much take everything. That might just be a legend.
More adventurous people than I might have a very different experience there.
OP
ScubaDoo83
Contributor
Thanks for your kind words diverjen. Captain Sinbad I was actually thinking something similar as I was cancelling this trip. I really don't want any down time and I want to get in as much diving as possible so I was thinking a live aboard would probably be the best option. I really should just wait for when my dad can also go as we got certified together and work extremely well as a team. I'm just really excited to get out there beyond the Ohio quarrys!
Florida Keys, Grand Cayman, and Maui all offer fun and exciting dives for entry level divers, and will buddy you up and put a DM in the water with the group. Have a great first trip.
DivemasterDennis
DivemasterDennis
I presume by "solo" you mean no traveling companion, not "buddy free". Most resort/boat operations will not let you dive unless you identify someone as your buddy. Even if you go your separate ways underwater.
That said, if the goal is to maximize diving time at the expense of other activities, then a live aboard boat is the best solution. If you are thinking resort, my best recommendation is Sunset House on Grand Cayman. They have a really nice shore diving area that I really like. So you can supplement your boat diving with unlimited shore diving.
If you are going to be doing a lot of diving, get a good computer and take it on every dive. Pay attention to your decompression status. Better, get 2 computers and take them both on every dive. With 2 computers on each dive, the second computer is already up to speed on your deco status if the first computer craps out.
That said, if the goal is to maximize diving time at the expense of other activities, then a live aboard boat is the best solution. If you are thinking resort, my best recommendation is Sunset House on Grand Cayman. They have a really nice shore diving area that I really like. So you can supplement your boat diving with unlimited shore diving.
If you are going to be doing a lot of diving, get a good computer and take it on every dive. Pay attention to your decompression status. Better, get 2 computers and take them both on every dive. With 2 computers on each dive, the second computer is already up to speed on your deco status if the first computer craps out.
Hop on a liveaboard and go. There are all kinds of great places around the world that will open your eyes to adventure! How much time and money are you working with? Fiji as has been mentioned on here is great! Liveaboards in Fiji are great for getting a lot of diving in quickly. The visibility in Fiji is fantastic. Tons of soft coral. I have dove in a fair number of places in Fiji and have to disagree with the above poster. Fiji goes down as some of the best diving I have seen.
The Beqa Shark Dive out of Pacific Harbour was unreal! More big fish and sharks then you will know what to do with. There are great backpacker options all over Fiji that are great on the budget as well. There was a chain of islands I believe they were called the Yasawas which offered trips to all kinds of different islands and resorts where there were mainly young people staying. A lot of these budget resorts didn't have diving available, but snorkeling was always an option and it was fantastic too.
I picked up a huge love for spearfishing on these islands. Can't say enough good things about the area. If you need any more info or have any questions shoot me a PM!
The Beqa Shark Dive out of Pacific Harbour was unreal! More big fish and sharks then you will know what to do with. There are great backpacker options all over Fiji that are great on the budget as well. There was a chain of islands I believe they were called the Yasawas which offered trips to all kinds of different islands and resorts where there were mainly young people staying. A lot of these budget resorts didn't have diving available, but snorkeling was always an option and it was fantastic too.
I picked up a huge love for spearfishing on these islands. Can't say enough good things about the area. If you need any more info or have any questions shoot me a PM!
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