Fiji for beginners?

So, my husband and I were certified last summer and we're planning our first dive vacation for sometime in April or May. We just can't decide where!
The top contenders are Fiji (Garden Island on Taveuni) or Moorea (probably the Bali Hai). We've also been thinking about Roatan (probably Anthony's Key). Any thoughts, suggestions, etc. would be much appreciated!

One of my main concerns is where would be most appropriate for us as novice divers. I'm kind of leaning towards Fiji, but from reading the trip reports, I'm worried about the currents off Taveuni. Would it be too rough for beginning divers, and if so would one of the other spots be better?

We're also hoping to see big fishes -- my husband especially would like to see sharks!

Other than great diving, our second concern is food, because we like to eat well! So any reviews of the food at any of those resorts would be much appreciated too.

Thanks!

Hi Polly!

Moorea is SO beautiful, and the underwater visibility is amazing!!! Waters are very calm. I was there about 8 years ago, so I don't know if the dive sites have held up. I think April/May is when I was there. It's a good time to go. Waters are still pretty warm (end of their summer I think), visibility good, and fairly dry. Lots of white tip sharks. A few lemon sharks.

I loved staying at the Garden Island Resort (almost 2 years ago). Keep in mind that the resort is not fancy and no beach. But the service was great & the staff very warm and friendly!!! (and I don't say that kind of stuff lightly) I thought that it was a great deal, especially since I stayed in one of the dorm rooms. I just wish that we could have done more diving. I asked about it, but I think that the reality was that currents tended to be stronger in the afternoons. Plus none of the other guests were that interested, and you need a minimum number of divers to do the afternoon dives.... I was worried about what I read about the currents also.... You do have to really kick to get down sometimes. But they have a descent line. And once, some of my fellow divers & I somehow got separated from the group. We tried to let the currents carry us to where we thought the others had gone and, thus, where we thought the boat would be. Just a few degrees off in the beginning left us WAAAAAY off. Luckily another boat saw us and picked us up. There was no way we could have swam back to our boats. The currents were really strong. Not to scare you though.... They take good care of you. It all turned out ok, and the boat was looking for us. Moral of the story is to keep a close eye on the DM during the dive, especially when the currents are strong. It's all very manageable. The soft corals were beautiful. Fiji was the first place I'd seen them like that. I think as far as landbased diving in Fiji goes, Taveuni is the place to go. Otherwise consider a liveaboard. Not as many sharks as I remember seeing in Moorea. Food was pretty good. A little more than I wanted to pay, but I was also in budget mode.... The American guests thought it was relatively reasonably priced, but the Australian guests thought that it was expensive.... I thought it was rather expensive relative to what I guessed their costs to be. The chef at the time was Indian and made excellent curry dishes. Oh, and I loved that they had complimentary cookies & hot chocoloate (or their version of it) every afternoon! (I'm kind of spoiled from non-stop eating & diving on my dive vacations on liveaboards).

Don't know about Roatan. But have read lots of raves on this board.

If it's your first dive vacation, I don't think you can make a "bad" choice from your list!

ENJOY!

PugetPolly:

So, my husband and I were certified last summer and we're planning our first dive vacation for sometime in April or May. We just can't decide where!
The top contenders are Fiji (Garden Island on Taveuni) or Moorea (probably the Bali Hai). We've also been thinking about Roatan (probably Anthony's Key). Any thoughts, suggestions, etc. would be much appreciated!

One of my main concerns is where would be most appropriate for us as novice divers. I'm kind of leaning towards Fiji, but from reading the trip reports, I'm worried about the currents off Taveuni. Would it be too rough for beginning divers, and if so would one of the other spots be better?

We're also hoping to see big fishes -- my husband especially would like to see sharks!

Other than great diving, our second concern is food, because we like to eat well! So any reviews of the food at any of those resorts would be much appreciated too.

Thanks!

Click to expand...

Hi Polly,

"Puget" tells me your a left-coaster. As such, Fiji would be just as convenient, if not moreso, than the Caribbean. If so, I'd say "go for it", with the caveat that the currents I experienced off of Taveuni were challenging at times. If you're thoroughly comfortable in the water, then you'll probably be able to deal with them by just relaxing and getting as trim as possible. If you're prone to nervousness, they may be off-putting.

I loved the Garden Island--simple, very practical rooms with loads of storage and work space, absolutely lovely people on staff who refer to you by name from day one, efficient, accomodating dive staff and views to die for. Food plentiful and well prepared, though often not to my personal taste which runs to simple, light, veggie fare. Taveuni is a lovely island and the natural "waterslide" a fun and heartwarming experience if you go on a Sunday when the local folks are making use of this cataract that courses down a steep rock ravine.


If you use the search engine on this board to look for Fiji info, you'll find many other different diving scenarios,some of which involve much less current.

If you're thinking about the Caribbean, Roatan is certainly a possibility. Have dived Gauanaja in the Bay Islands and the diving was very nice. The downside of the Bay Islands is bugs, bugs, bugs! "No-see-ums" are prolific and attack at all times of the day. My ultimate personal dive venue in the Caribbean was St. Vincent, but that would be a long haul for you if you're in the Pacific Northwest. Bonaire has long been considered a newbie's paradise: virtually no current, relatively shallow dives and abundanat marine life, not to mention very easy shore dives. It's certainly worth your consideration as well.

I'm sure you'll be hooked for life once you experience your first real dive vacation! Enjoy....


Best,

Even the best of the Carribean doesn't match up to the better Pacific destinations. Even though I live in S. Florida, my past few dive trips have been to the Pacific. If I lived on the left coast, I probably wouldn't even consider coming to the Carribean.

I can't offer any advice on Moorea as I haven't been there, but we were in Fiji last year. Some of the currents are strong and can be a challenge, particularly if you haven't dove in currents before. But I don't think they are unmanageable. Our son, who was then 11 came with us to Fiji and did just fine. Possibly, he's not a typical 11 year old as he began snorkeling at 3 and diving at 10 and is very comfortable in the water. But he still had only about 40 dives under his belt when we arrived in Fiji and did fine. As long as you're comfortable in the water and stick with the divemasters, you should do okay.

As for spots, we were in Taveuni and on the north coast of Viti Levu. My experience was a little different from Peters in that I did not find the diving in Taveuni to be exceptional. My recommendation would be to dive instead with Crystal Divers on Nananu i Ra. There is a new resort, Bamboo Reef Resort, opening on that island. It is run by the people who own Marlin Bay, so I would imagine that the food is very good and that the accomodations are luxurious. It had not opened when we were there, so I haven't seen it personally. We stayed at Wananavu Resort which was very nice if not quite luxurious by American standards. DocVikingo, a board moderator, may have direct information about the new Bamboo Reef resort.

On Taveuni, we stayed at Taveuni Island Resort. It is one of the most beautiful places I have been. It is high on a cliff overlooking the SomoSomo straits with wonderful views and is very luxurious. The food is superb. The service is wonderful. The people are friendly. But it is far from the dive sites which are at least an hour south. And, as I mentioned, the diving just did not compare to that with Crystal Divers.

In the Carribean, the best diving I have done was at Manta Resort on Glover's Reef in Belize. The reefs were pristine and we saw no other divers who were not with our group. However, it was very rustic. Food was very basic but very good. I understand that it was upgraded sometime after we were there. However, I do not know if it is still open. This was 12 or 13 years ago.

Little Cayman would probably be my second choice in the Carribean followed by Cozumel or Roatan. My friends rave about Turks and Caicos, but I haven't been there.

Reuben

PugetPolly:

So, my husband and I were certified last summer and we're planning our first dive vacation for sometime in April or May. We just can't decide where!
The top contenders are Fiji (Garden Island on Taveuni) or Moorea (probably the Bali Hai). We've also been thinking about Roatan (probably Anthony's Key). Any thoughts, suggestions, etc. would be much appreciated!

One of my main concerns is where would be most appropriate for us as novice divers. I'm kind of leaning towards Fiji, but from reading the trip reports, I'm worried about the currents off Taveuni. Would it be too rough for beginning divers, and if so would one of the other spots be better?

We're also hoping to see big fishes -- my husband especially would like to see sharks!

Other than great diving, our second concern is food, because we like to eat well! So any reviews of the food at any of those resorts would be much appreciated too.

Thanks!

Click to expand...

Fijian diving is advanced current diving. The boats tie up to the reefs, and then you must fight the currents throughout your dives.

If you are a beginner, then something closer to home, like Mexico or Central America, where the boats ride the current with you, would probably be easier and more fun for you.

I went to Fiji, and found there are better dives closer to home. Home being the USA.

There are operators who don't tie up to the reefs. Matangi Island Resort when I was there used a fast jet boat to get up to the better northern dive sites and then did drift dives picking you up at the end. That was one reason we chose them, my wife didn't want to fight the currents at Garden Island. Also the old Fiji Aggressor used a skiff and picked divers up at the end of the dives. I'd assume the current Aggressor boat does the same, but you should find out from someone who knows.

Matangi has intersting snorkeling and scuba off the beach if you want to do afternoon dives. They will also go into area near Garden Island (forgot the name) if enough divers request it but the northern sites were generally better. I did wish they has air conditioning (I like it cool) but it was bearable with fans.

Ralph

Ralph

PugetPolly:

... Fiji (Garden Island on Taveuni) or Moorea (probably the Bali Hai). We've also been thinking about Roatan (probably Anthony's Key). ...
Thanks!

Click to expand...

The boats that run fron Garden Island Resort on Taveuni do in fact tie off to the reefs.

IndigoBlue:

Fijian diving is advanced current diving. The boats tie up to the reefs, and then you must fight the currents throughout your dives.

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It's more like intermediate current diving. There's current. Sometimes it's strong. It's generally not downwellings, upwellings, etc. On most reef sites, there's plenty of lea. I never spent more than a few minutes fighting current. Also, I can't think of anywhere in the Carribean that matched the best of Fiji diving. Of course, I haven't been everywhere. But I'd choose Fiji over Belize, Cayman, Roatan, Cozumel, Bahamas, etc. any day.

IndigoBlue:

The boats that run fron Garden Island Resort on Taveuni do in fact tie off to the reefs.

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Quick "for the record"...AquaTrek, the op at Garden Island never tied off onto a reef during my dives with them. There was always a boat captain on board who drifted during our dives and picked us up after.

Best,

reubencahn:

I can't think of anywhere in the Carribean that matched the best of Fiji diving. Of course, I haven't been everywhere. But I'd choose Fiji over Belize, Cayman, Roatan, Cozumel, Bahamas, etc. any day.

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(Hey Reuben) Couldn't agree more. If you check my public profile, you'll see I've visited a lot of Caribbean islands...none would come close to matching the abundance and variety of fish life and corals I experienced in Fiji..and I didn't get to dive with Crystal Divers (which, by all accounts, provides a thrilling Fijian dive experience)