Kadavu recommendations for Honeymoon

[stasl]

My fiance and I are planning to go to Fiji for our honeymoon at the of Sept/beg. of October. First, thanks for all the great posts. They have been very helpful for planning. We have tentatively decided on going to Taveuni and Kadavu. I'm now trying to pick where we want to stay on each island. While I picked the sites because of the diving, my fiance is a beginning diver, and it is our honeymoon, a romantic ambience and the ability to do things besides diving become more important.

I am pretty comfortable in our choice at Taveuni, given our needs and budget. However, I am having a hard time deciding where I want to stay on Kadavu. I am wary of Dive Kadavu, (Matana) given the posts I've read (though I'd love to hear from more people who had good experiences), and it sounds like they don't guarantee a trip out to the Astrolabe, nor does Papageno. However, both Papageno and Matana have other activities, a beach, and seem appropriate for honeymooners. Conversely, Matava, Jona's etc. have the Astrolabe access I want, but it doesn't sound like a very romantic environment (is it true there's no beach at Matava? I think my fiance would consider that a non-starter).

So, that's the background, and a long way of asking these questions:

1. Does anyone have experience with how often the crew at Matana or the Papageno actually take people to the Astrolabe? If they don't, is there a way to book with another dive company or resort for a day (like Jona's, eg), and how feasible would it be for us to get out there on our own?

2. Does anyone have any insight about the quality of Tiliva Resort, or any other resorts close to the Astrolabe I might not know about, overall and for diving?

Thanks again, and any help you could give would be appreciated!

 

[Shasta_man]

Having been to Taveuni in 2004, I would say I wouldn't recommend it as a honeymoon destination.

It depends on what you're interested in. If diving is your whole thing and you both love it, then Taveuni could be ok, but you say beginner wife, so that would indicate to me, that she won't want to spend the whole trip diving like you're interested in doing. My reasons are: besides diving and a bit of hiking, there is zip to do in Taveuni. Most restaurants are converted homes which are nice but you have very limited selection. The food selection is not the tops in that they have some nice meat and the "local root crop" which means I believe, taro, which makes a potato a 8 on the taste scale. The meat vendor is interesting in that you go there and they have a big open freezer with meat cut into chunks. All just lying in there frozen. No individial wrapping. Just all the meat in there. Brought hygiene questions to mind. Amazingly, they don't have fresh fish as they don't seem to keep fish.

There is the hike to do if the weather is OK, otherwise, it can be flash flood dangerous. Speaking of the weather, they have two kinds: rain and sun. We got torrential, horizontal, difficult to go anywhere, rain for 6 out of 9 days in June. They get a tremendous amount of rain. White outs so much that you can't see the beach from the beach house. Serious rain. Oh yes, and wind which creates the horizontal rain. No sitting on the deck because it's cold and wet.

We watched two newlywed couples sit in the next house for 5 days waiting for good weather to come out.

Diving was difficult during these storms and the strait became pretty rough, with some boats not going out.

So, place to go and dive, OK; my idea of a honeymoon, no.

My reading tells me Kadavu is not the place to honeymoon either due to lack of creature comforts that the wife expects on a honeymoon. The diving also sounded primitive with open boats.

You want an awesome time? Spend half the trip enjoying the land and islands with no worry about diving; spend the other half on a liveaboard. Diving from the liveaboard is super easy. They take good care of you. Your wife would get good attention from someone who is with her all week rather than just today's boat trip. The liveaboard will take you to some awesome diving spots and you'll what you want, while showing the wife some of the best diving.

My fiance and I are planning to go to Fiji for our honeymoon at the of Sept/beg. of October. First, thanks for all the great posts. They have been very helpful for planning. We have tentatively decided on going to Taveuni and Kadavu. I'm now trying to pick where we want to stay on each island. While I picked the sites because of the diving, my fiance is a beginning diver, and it is our honeymoon, a romantic ambience and the ability to do things besides diving become more important.

I am pretty comfortable in our choice at Taveuni, given our needs and budget. However, I am having a hard time deciding where I want to stay on Kadavu. I am wary of Dive Kadavu, (Matana) given the posts I've read (though I'd love to hear from more people who had good experiences), and it sounds like they don't guarantee a trip out to the Astrolabe, nor does Papageno. However, both Papageno and Matana have other activities, a beach, and seem appropriate for honeymooners. Conversely, Matava, Jona's etc. have the Astrolabe access I want, but it doesn't sound like a very romantic environment (is it true there's no beach at Matava? I think my fiance would consider that a non-starter).

So, that's the background, and a long way of asking these questions:

1. Does anyone have experience with how often the crew at Matana or the Papageno actually take people to the Astrolabe? If they don't, is there a way to book with another dive company or resort for a day (like Jona's, eg), and how feasible would it be for us to get out there on our own?

2. Does anyone have any insight about the quality of Tiliva Resort, or any other resorts close to the Astrolabe I might not know about, overall and for diving?

Thanks again, and any help you could give would be appreciated!

 

[RockyHeap]

Well..............we're about to execute a well oiled plan to Fiji ourselves.........

We've been there before, and for our second trip we're going to spend 6 nights on the Coral Coast 1/2 way between Nadi and Suva doing Jungle treks and shore dives, then headed out to Beqa Island to dive Beqa Lagoon for 7 nights.

For us, and after mucho searching, we found these places to give the best bang for the buck for modest but mid priced accomodations.

Hideaway Resort, and the new Kulu Bay on Beqa Island.

Dang I can't wait. We've got 6 nights in each of these places for jungle hiking tours and scuba diving as both places have dive ops right there, whether shore or boat. Kulu Bay looks REALLY nice.


http://www.kulubay.com


http://www.hideawayfiji.com/


Hope this helps.

 

[Deur]

I can't say anything on Taveuni, but have just (as in yesterday) returned from a week in Matava resort on Kadavu (and a second week in Naigaini Island Resort).

Matava was nice. The bures are very basic and starting to get to the point where rustic/original becomes rundown, but if you have nothing high class in mind it is a good place to spend some time. Bures (I think there are 8 of them) are scattered across a hill, with the main bure at the bothom, together with the simpler waterfront bures. The highest ocean view/honeymoon bures are the nicest, as they have very good views of the reef, the coast line and the small island across from the resort and feel even the smallest breeze. Bures are very simple huts, with a double bed and a small bathroom with a shower with hot water. Bures are build from palm leaves, so if you are easily bothered by bugs you might want to choose something else (you can see the small lizzards walking in and out of the bure during the day when you are seating on the deck). Beds have mosquito nets, so mozzies are no problem when sleeping. When we were there there was some talk about taking down and rebuilding all bures, but I don't know when that is expected to happen (might take some time if it is done on Fiji-time)

Breakfast/Lunch/Diner is served at set times in the main bure, so eating is done with all other guests (max. resort can handle is 25 I think, but we had 18 at the most) at two ore three large tables. No real choice in what to eat, although there are a number of dishes, so if you really do not like something, just skip it, and I think if you discuss it they might be able to cater for special requests (we had someone around who could not eat nut products and that was taken care off). We found the food to be good. The main bure is also the place to get your drinks, etc.

There is indeed no beach at Matava itself, but there are a number of nice sandy beaches close to the resort,which can be reached by kayak. Closest is on a small island that lies in front of the resort (aprox. 250m), but there are two others a bit further away. There are a number of kayaks available for use by the guests (no charge). In addition, the bures on the hillside have a "sundeck".

Resort has no electricity (apart from some solar cells), so most lighting is done by oil lamps (all guests get an oil lamp to take to their bure after diner). After diner, most guests continue to have a chat in the main bure, but go to sleep quite early, so don't expect a big (organised :biggrin2: ) nightlife.

Diving is good. Small diveboat with outboard takes the divers to the sites (most sites are between 10 and 20 minutes from resort). Sites are mainly in the passages through the reef and in some instances on the outside of the reef. Most interesting is (large) fish, although coral is good as wel. Dive groups are small, I had 6 divers at most, but that was only 1 dive out of the 10, most other dives were with 4 divers. Dive sites are not dived by other resorts (apart from the manta reef, where Dive Kadavu also takes their guests). Dives are two tank dives, with surface interval in boat or on some deserted beach.

Other activities are fishing, snorkeling, visit to village, etc., but everything main thought is to do what you want/please.

We enjoyed it, but don't get your expectations up too high. If you want anything fancy (accommodation, activities, bar, night live) don't go to Matava, but if you are happy staying in something basic Matava will be okay.

 

[globetrotter]

IMHO perhaps trying to plan a honeymoon around a dive trip isn't the best idea. I'm leaving for my honeymoon in 24 hours (three weeks in French Polynesia) and although it pained me to do so I HAD to make it a honeymoon first and dive trip second (more like third actually). You only get one chance (hopefully) to do a honeymoon right...make sure it's what SHE wants as well.

As for your questions:

I did 10 days with Matana/Dive Kadavu last summer and loved it. Getting there is easy (they pick you up in town). I'm not sure where you read negative posts about the resort, but I found the service to be excellent. Bob & Rena (the owners) were great hosts and the dive crew is top notch. The accommodations are clean but nice, pretty much what you can expect at most "dive oriented" resorts anywhere. The reefs are pristine and the Astrolabe is incredible. The interior is largely old-growth tropical forest and gorgeous to hike through. The beach in front of the resort isn't tidal, so you can swim/snorkel all day long. Because of weather (winds/wave conditions mostly) most resorts on Kadavu cannot guarantee a trip to the Astrolabe. If the weather cooperates the trip is easy. If it's that big a deal to you I wouldn't go to Kadavu.

Another thing to keep in mind is although Kadavu is the third largest of the Fijian islands it's also one of the least developed. No roads (except one right in the one town) and pretty much nothing to do except swim, snorkel, dive, hike and maybe kayak. Also, due to the undeveloped nature of the island "romantic" may not be the best way to describe it; I guess it would depend on your definition. Perhaps one of the more upscale (albeit more expensive) resorts would be a better choice?

Stasl, this is just my two cents. I went through a lot of questions before figuring out my honeymoon as well…good luck, I’m sure you’ll have a great time together!

-globetrotter

My fiance and I are planning to go to Fiji for our honeymoon at the of Sept/beg. of October. First, thanks for all the great posts. They have been very helpful for planning. We have tentatively decided on going to Taveuni and Kadavu. I'm now trying to pick where we want to stay on each island. While I picked the sites because of the diving, my fiance is a beginning diver, and it is our honeymoon, a romantic ambience and the ability to do things besides diving become more important.

I am pretty comfortable in our choice at Taveuni, given our needs and budget. However, I am having a hard time deciding where I want to stay on Kadavu. I am wary of Dive Kadavu, (Matana) given the posts I've read (though I'd love to hear from more people who had good experiences), and it sounds like they don't guarantee a trip out to the Astrolabe, nor does Papageno. However, both Papageno and Matana have other activities, a beach, and seem appropriate for honeymooners. Conversely, Matava, Jona's etc. have the Astrolabe access I want, but it doesn't sound like a very romantic environment (is it true there's no beach at Matava? I think my fiance would consider that a non-starter).

So, that's the background, and a long way of asking these questions:

1. Does anyone have experience with how often the crew at Matana or the Papageno actually take people to the Astrolabe? If they don't, is there a way to book with another dive company or resort for a day (like Jona's, eg), and how feasible would it be for us to get out there on our own?

2. Does anyone have any insight about the quality of Tiliva Resort, or any other resorts close to the Astrolabe I might not know about, overall and for diving?

Thanks again, and any help you could give would be appreciated!

 

[Plongee]

This spring my wife and I made a dive trip to Fiji. We stayed at the relatively new Tiliva Resort on the Island of Kadavu (pronounced kan-da’-vu). The place is an undiscovered gem.

DIVE SITES – Located on the Great Astrolabe Reef, they’re a 10- to 20-minute boat ride from lots of fascinating dive sites. If the sea is rough, as it was for the first 3 days of our visit, there’s plenty of great diving inside the reef with walls, slopes and plateaus extending well below 100 feet. My only tropical diving so far has been Cozumel, Costa Rica and French Polynesia, but the coral here tops them all. I was blown away by the profusion of different colors and shapes. And it’s all vibrantly healthy. There were lots of fish, though we saw only a few really big ones, like a giant grouper and a Napoleon wrasse. There were small white tip reef sharks and some sea turtles. Visibility was 60 feet inside the lagoon and 100+ outside.

DIVING OPERATION – Top notch! Divemaster Filipe was born in the village by the resort and has logged nearly 6,000 dives. He and his son, Michael, are safe and attentive guides for divers at all levels of experience. My wife has 40 dives, I have 180, and our Denver dive shop owner friends have God-knows-how-many. We all enjoyed diving with and admired these divemasters. The two boats are comfortable and fast. They have no heads, but since we weren’t spending much time on them nobody ever complained. The crew were always courteous and attentive, changing our tanks and serving just-opened coconut and other treats during surface intervals on beautiful pristine beaches. The resort has no dock, so divers need hard-sole booties or sandals to wade to and from boats. Their compressor is new and well maintained.

ACCOMODATIONS – Guests stay in comfortable bungalows (bures) screened from one another by tropical vegetation. Their large screened windows admit lovely breezes. The floors are all tile with locally-made area coconut mats. I slept like a baby every night. You can see photos of the resort at http://www.tilivaresortfiji.com/.

FOOD – Dining is excellent. The kitchen staff catered scrupulously to different individual needs. For example one of our party of 14 was strongly allergic to seafood and my wife is lactose intolerant. Meals were always delicious with many Fijian dishes to try during the week. One night they caught fresh snapper and made a traditional Fijian dinner with much of it wrapped in banana leaves and cooked in a covered pit.

NON-DIVING ACTIVITIES – The owners, Kemu and Barbara, whom we fell in love with, arranged delightful activities for us, including a guided walk to (and refreshing swim under) a waterfall, a lesson in making traditional coconut-leaf mats and hats, a field introduction to local medicinal plants and their uses, and participation in a kava ceremony in the village. This last was very beautiful and moving. The villagers danced and sang traditional Fijian songs in surprisingly accomplished harmonies.

HOW TO GET THE MOST OUR OF YOUR VISIT (at the best price!) – I recommend booking your trip through Gobe Divers in Denver. They will include some options that you might not think of yourself, like an overweight baggage allowance for your flight from Nadi (pronounced Nan’-di) to Kadavu, or a day room at a hotel near the airport in Nadi if you have a long layover. They also are friends with the people at Tiliva and can get you a great package. Contact Barbara Lyddon at 303-734-4623 or gobewan@gobedivers.com.

 

[Alan Wiggs]

I just got back from Matana Resort (Dive Kadavu) with a group of 28 and was really a little disappointed - we went there three times back in the early 90's when it was much friendlier and the management were more generous. The rooms are OK - a little rustic - the bathrooms need upgrading and the food lets the resort down a little - powdered milk and cordial in plastic cups isn't in keeping with a resort that promotes itself as the 'premier' resort on the Island.
BUT......one huge plus....Culturally this is the best experience you are likely to get in Fiji.
AND....the diving is superb - regardless of a howling 8 day trade wind we got 20-30 metre vis while the other side of the island was totally washed out. Spoke to someone who'd been to Jona's up at Ono - they hadn't even been able to snorkel as the water was too churned up.
It is a 2 - 2.5 star resort, but in a 5 star location with ine if the prettiest beaches imaginable. I've done trips to Matava; Nagigia Island (surf resort) and Kadavu is the most beautiful island I've ever seen. I think Matana needs new management as it is truly in a world class location and just needs a little more hospitality and investment. The dive guide Joeli is fantastic - the best I haved ever seen in 25 years of dive travel


So that's my honest feeling - not the best for a diving honeymoon, but there is something special about it.

 

[dolphin adventures]

Hi: I just came back from Papageno in June and I would highly recommend it for a honeymoon. They do the Astolab on a regular basis.....Isaac the Divemaster will schedule the Astrolab trips with you when you arrive.....it is not a problem at all. They usually take you across the island by truck - about a 10 minute process, where a boat is waiting to take you to the dive spots. There is also really great diving right in front of the resort....a GREAT wreck dive and a pinnacle site called 3 sisters. The beach is wonderful and the bures are furnished in Pacific Green coconut wood furniture. We have a great contract with this resort and I can give you some great pictures not found on their website as well as a DVD video that we created while we were there. Just email me at: dolphinadventures2004@yahoo.com and I will send you this information.

For Taveuni I would actually suggest Matangi which is on it's own island North of Taveuni. They pick you up by boat from Taveuni. They have a wonderful dive operation and you can dive some incredible sites that only this resort dives. You can also do the White Wall and Rainbow Reef as they do a once a week excursion. The food is amazing, the beach is better than any on Taveuni and it is home to Horseshoe Bay, (feautured in the book 1000 places you should go before you die). This resort really does honeymoons great!! Outdoor showers, fresh flowers in your room, beutiful bures and great trips to Boma waterfalls and a Qamea island village visit. I vist Fiji every year for about 3 months and this is one of my absolute favorites. You could also call me and I can give you some more information: 1-877 U GO DIVE.

Thanks!
Mary Jane

My fiance and I are planning to go to Fiji for our honeymoon at the of Sept/beg. of October. First, thanks for all the great posts. They have been very helpful for planning. We have tentatively decided on going to Taveuni and Kadavu. I'm now trying to pick where we want to stay on each island. While I picked the sites because of the diving, my fiance is a beginning diver, and it is our honeymoon, a romantic ambience and the ability to do things besides diving become more important.

I am pretty comfortable in our choice at Taveuni, given our needs and budget. However, I am having a hard time deciding where I want to stay on Kadavu. I am wary of Dive Kadavu, (Matana) given the posts I've read (though I'd love to hear from more people who had good experiences), and it sounds like they don't guarantee a trip out to the Astrolabe, nor does Papageno. However, both Papageno and Matana have other activities, a beach, and seem appropriate for honeymooners. Conversely, Matava, Jona's etc. have the Astrolabe access I want, but it doesn't sound like a very romantic environment (is it true there's no beach at Matava? I think my fiance would consider that a non-starter).

So, that's the background, and a long way of asking these questions:

1. Does anyone have experience with how often the crew at Matana or the Papageno actually take people to the Astrolabe? If they don't, is there a way to book with another dive company or resort for a day (like Jona's, eg), and how feasible would it be for us to get out there on our own?

2. Does anyone have any insight about the quality of Tiliva Resort, or any other resorts close to the Astrolabe I might not know about, overall and for diving?

Thanks again, and any help you could give would be appreciated!

 

[Alan Wiggs]

My first posting re Matana resort was proably actually a little kind - speaking to other members of my group they were quite disappointed with the resort management. The resort has changed a lot since the 90's when I ran three consecutive trips there. Back then the management were very generous and warm hearted - snorkellers could come out on the dive boats free (space permitting - and there was always room) and we enjoyed huge slabs of cake and home made cookies between dives for morning and afternoon teas. The resort staff were incredibly friendly and followed us around chatting away - always interested.

That has changed - the management are certainly less generous - snorkelling ( a 5-10 minute boat trip around the point) costs $30 fj ( even if you are just taking up an unused seat on the boat. Meals are small - we had people hungry particulalrly between lunch and dinner (a 6 hour gap). I have drawn the attention of the management to these complaints as I have a second group going back. Instead of solving the problem by feeding people well (like every other resort I have ever been to..) their response is to charge people for extras......they can purchase cakes or cookies....or purchase seconds if they are still hungry. This may be an isolated expereince - we were a huge group of 28 (for Matana) and they seemed to be a little short of provisions for us all. We felt they cooked for a group of 20 when they actually had 28 to deal with. They tried to improve the situation, but there were still days when the mini buffet was empty for the last few guests - and nothing else arrived. I've never expereinced that before (and it seems to have been our fault - we were told that some people arrived early and visited the buffet twice! Oh my god! How dare them! There should have been more than enough for all.

This is not what I have been used to - we went to Bokissa Island last year (around the same price for a much higher quality resort) and we stuffed ourselves silly with huge banquets including lobster and sushi. No such luxuries at Matana Resort. They need a fresh approach with new management as this is potentially the best dive resort in fiji. One of my group made the comment "They are tight with everything!". The management were even judgemental about what people wanted to eat - passing comment that we needed to eat healthier! An interesting approach to hospitality!

Culturally the experience is second to none - and the diving is fantastic - we had sharks on all but 2 dives. The resort is quite nice - the rooms are adequate but the bathrooms need renovating. The beach is bliss. So it still has a lot to offer , but you need to bring copious quantities of snacks - as only chocolate bars and chips were available during the long gaps between meals.

People going in small groups or travelling individually may not experience any of this - I think they were not well prepared to offer the necessary hospitality to a group of our size.

 

[bigdizzle]

I agree with Alan_Wiggs.

I visited Dive Kadavu in early 2004 and I have to say the the owners on site were not at all hospitable.

The older owners of the resort seemed quite rude and quite often consuming alcohol. Every little thing cost extra and the food, although nice, was scarce. The diving was magic I must say, if only the place were run better. I also felt that these two treated the Fijians quite badly.

There were two staff member who were exceptional, which were the Dive Instructor (Mark i believe) and the Hands on resort manager (Brad). These two absolutely went out of there way to make our stay perfect, and their information was facinating, especially as they were non-fijians who had not been on the island for long.

I remember saying to my wife that If those two were left in charge of the resort, then It would have been such a smooth operation. I couldnt help but notice that their efforts were hampered by the resident owners.

The diving as I said, was very good however

John

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