Fiji -- Wanavanu or Beqa? Help!

[KUFan452]

My boyfriend and I are headed to Australia and Fiji over Christmas 2009. We're spending a week on Mike Ball's Liveaboard in the GBR, but we also have 2 days to dive in Fiji on the way home. We land in Nadi on Monday evening and leave late on Thursday, so realistically we only have 2 diving days.

Our travel agent suggests that we go to Wanavanu for the Bligh Waters and the Black Magic Moutain, but I have seen some scary reviews and it appears that the dive operations are in transition. It seems Ra Divers are the only ones running? Do they have a new and safer/more equipt boat?

I've heard that the boat only goes to the "good sites" if all divers agree to a 3-tank trip meaning that the diving might be less than fabulous. Also, I hear that no beverages (even soda) are included in the "all-inclusive" and that there is no beach and no shore diving.

We'd consider going to Beqa instead, but are concerned that the extra travel/flight time might cut into our diving time. It seems there are more options in Beqa and that shore diving in lagoon may extend our options for getting last minute early morning dives.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[Woodiver]

I can only comment on Wananavu since I have not been to Beqa and when we were there we were diving with Kai Vita but here are a few comments. By arriving on Monday evening, two days of diving might be pushing it. Wananavu is about a two hour drive from Nadi, in the daylight, so by the time you arrive, it may be too late to arrange for a morning dive and the trips out to the Bligh waters leave in the AM. With Kai Vita, they did require group consensus on the trips out to the Bligh waters for a couple of reasons, it cost more and people had to make arrangements with Wananavu for a box lunch. The nearby sites, although not up to the standards of some of the Bligh waters, are not bad, especially if you’re new to diving, wonderful soft corals and tons of small fish. Mellow Yellow, covered with tons of yellow soft coral, and Breath Taker, a natural feeding vs. staged shark dive, were two great inland sites.
The sites in the Bligh waters are prone to more current and you are diving in open waters with only a small reef that may only be seen at low tide so be prepared for much rougher surface conditions. If you chose to go to Beqa, you will probably be in a more Fijian atmosphere but I would hesitate on going back to Wananavu again. Either way, the Fijian people are some of the most friendly that you will find on earth. I’ve got pictures of the resort and underwater on Flickr under woodiver15. The photo stream has both topside and underwater pictures. The underwater shots are a mix of 75 % inland sites and 25% Bligh waters so this should give you an idea of what to expect if you choose Wananavu.

 

[ClosefocusWA]

Thanks Woodiver! And your pics are gorgeous!

 

[KUFan452]

Woodiver -- Sounds like good advice so thanks! Your pics are very pretty, but I could only see 13 underwater photos and no above ground -- just FYI.

You said you would hestitate to go back to Wananavu, why is that?

 

[divedeb2]

Hi KUFan452,
You could stay Monday in Nadi, and then on Tues go out to Castway Island Resort, 45 minutes by boat, 3 times a day. Do 2 dives Tues afternoon, 3 dives Wed; and maybe early and shallow dive on Thurs before your boat back to Nadi for your flight home. They have over 25 dives sites within 20 minutes of the resort. In addition to that it is a great little resort, really nice bures and great spa! You might need that by then.

what dates are you looking for and I can check availbility for you with them. I'm a friend of the rep's, and can book travel.

Let me know if I can help you, or you can contact me via my email if you'd like droberts@travelwizard.com.

 

[Sas]

Castaway was a lot more expensive than Beqa when I looked into booking at that island so that is something to keep in mind if budget is a concern. Also they said there was no shore diving. Beqa has shore diving, in comparison. I am going on Friday to Beqa so can report back after But basically I picked it because of the shark dives, the unlimited shore diving that is available and that it was a lot cheaper than other options. The downside is though that it is around 2-2.5 hours drive from Nadi airport and then there is a 45min? boat ride there.

 

[KUFan452]

Thanks Saspotato! I think since our time is short that Beqa Lagoon Resort might not work because of the transfer from the airport & the boat ride. Plus, I read somewhere that they don't allow diving on the day of arrival so if we're only diving for two days and can't dive the first day, then we might have to consider the Pearl in Pacific Harbor. Without the boat ride, we can take a car service and arrive at night. I think at the Pearl you get the same Beqa diving sites without losing a day.

Anyone been diving with Aqua-Trek? How are they vs. Beqa Adventure Divers?

 

[vimaldude]

Thanks Saspotato! I think since our time is short that Beqa Lagoon Resort might not work because of the transfer from the airport & the boat ride. Plus, I read somewhere that they don't allow diving on the day of arrival so if we're only diving for two days and can't dive the first day, then we might have to consider the Pearl in Pacific Harbor. Without the boat ride, we can take a car service and arrive at night. I think at the Pearl you get the same Beqa diving sites without losing a day.

Anyone been diving with Aqua-Tek? How are they vs. Beqa Adventure Divers?

I have been to Beqa in 2007 and found it to be excellent. The boat ride from Pacific Harbor to the island is not that long (45 mins). The only reason you can't dive on the day you arrive is because they only do boat diving in the morning and you will be reaching the island too late for morning boats. You can still do shore diving (not the greatest but decent).

Beqa is ideal for people who have non-divers in their group. The place is amazing. they have room for 50 guests. When we were there, they only had 30 guest and it felt like we had the place to ourselves.

Beqa should be done for at least a week as the dive sites are excellent. We rarely had visibility less than 80-100 ft and the corals were very healthy.

We did the shark dives (not to be missed) with both Aquatech and BAD. I found the BAD dives to be a little better as they dive near a reef and we saw more Bull Sharks with them compared to Aquatech.

Send me PM if you want to know more about Beqa.

 

[bbarada]

I would rate the shore diving at Beqa fair to poor. There is little to see. Depending on the tides, it can be poor visibility as well.

 

[Fiji Dive Guy]

You can pre-arrange diving prior to your arrival no matter where you decide to stay, so you don't have to worry about getting in too late. It is close to the same driving time to both Wananavu and Pac Harbour, so not much advantage either way. I'd suggest staying in Pac Harbour (probably at Uprising) instead of on Beqa due to your short time (and maximizing your diving with either Aqua Trek or Beqa Adventure Divers), although I prefer staying on the island. Kai Viti is no longer operational at Wananavu, but Ra Divers has taken over (under Wananavu Dive) with a new boat that handles Vatu-I-Ra very well, but it is still a long boat ride. The closer in diving can be pretty good anyway, but it is stellar out in the channel. No one else other than liveaboards dives there. The shore diving is marginal at Wananavu and Pac Harbour. A bit better (and can actually be pretty good) at Beqa Lagoon, and probably best at Lalati - the one good argument for staying on Beqa. In either case, I would not suggest diving on your last day - you may not off-gas prior to your flight. I'd be happy to answer more questions if you have any - send me a PM...