Fiji -- Wanavanu or Beqa? Help!

[Travelnsj]

Another thought. We were told before arriving that all divers would have to agree to go to Bligh and that it would be a 3 tank day with lunch provided and extra cost for the 3rd tank would be added. The weather was so perfect that all the Bligh dives we did were 2 tank dives and we got back to the resort between 1:30-2 for lunch. So no additional charge. 2 days they did 3 tanks, but we opted out. Seniors need their naps

Thanks for the info....when will they have the dive shop completed? and what were the water temps?

 

[KUFan452]

jbjclj -- Thanks for the update to date intel!!! Very helpful.

 

[parrotheaddiver]

jbjclj.....glad the resort is adding a dive shop...when we were there last summer we stayed there a few days before boarding the Nai'a....we were not impressed with the diveop....are they building down near the cove where the boats dock? The resort was very nice and not crowded at all... more non divers than divers when we were there...

 

[jbjclj]

Dive shop will be at the cove where the boats dock

Temps were 77-78. I wore 3m, my husband wore 5m. Chilly on the 2nd dive some days.

Beverages-Ice Tea is included in AI. We bought liquor at Nadi Duty Free at the bottom of the escalator. They have Happy Hour from 5:30-6:30 and drinks are 1/2 price.

Be sure to talk to activities director Evaloni down at the activities center. He will talk about the ancient history of Fijian Islands. His daughter Vula is a waitress and son Solo is a divemaster.

FYI-A couple we met spent a week at Beqa and loved it.

I was dreading the 10 hour flight, but it wasn't bad, just take an Ambien. We go to Coz 3 times a year and take the red-eye (Lax-CZm) 12:30am-10:00am about 9 hours

Off to dive w/ BlueXTSea and LU for 2 weeks in Nov.

Cheryl

 

[bbarada]

Thanks for the update. We are a large group going to Wananavu next March and was concerned about the dive ops. We hope to get out to the Bligh waters often.

We did Beqa a few years ago, then dove the Bligh waters from a live aboard. No comparison! The Bligh waters have so much more life and color.

 

[OBXDIVEGUY]

Thanks for the update. We are a large group going to Wananavu next March and was concerned about the dive ops. We hope to get out to the Bligh waters often.

We did Beqa a few years ago, then dove the Bligh waters from a live aboard. No comparison! The Bligh waters have so much more life and color.

I'll be there in March too, on my honeymoon. When in March are ya'll there? You can count on our votes to head to the Bligh Waters as often as we can.

 

[Rickg]

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?

Have only been to Wananavu. You can see both above and underwater pictures at the Picasa link in my signature line.

By the way, we love Wananavu Beach Resort. Here is a link to my trip report from Feb 09.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/pacific-islands/274991-fiji-trip-report.html

You'll probably have a great trip no matter where you go.

 

[bbarada]

OBXDIVEGUY: We'll be there from the 13th - 22nd. Have 9 people so far, probably more. We will vote with you to do the Bligh Waters as much as possible.

 

[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!

After much consideration, we've decided to go to Beqa to the Lalati Resort. They were nice enough to accommodate us and agreed to come pick us up from Pacific Harbor in the morning and get us to the resort in time for the morning boat out so we won't lose any precious dive time. That's customer service! Our only delimma now is paying the flight change fees to stay a few extra days!

 

[M_Bipartitus]

Glad to see you've decided KUFan, I had to change flight plans with Air Pacific, but it was not that bad. For the sake of those who are following the thread, or search for it later, I'll add a few comments from my experience.

I was at Wananavu in July and can agree with comments above about confusion about diving with the dive shop off-site. Hopefully this will improve after the new shop is done. My wife and I had no complaints about Wananavu, but we were disappointed by Ra Divers. Were were not able to make it to the Bligh waters since we were on the small boat and the other divers were not interested in the longer trip. We were also disappointed that the dive master encouraged divers to hold onto the coral on one higher current dive. We may have been spoiled by the resort we stayed at our first week in Fiji, but overall we would visit an alternate resort rather than Wananavu/Ra Divers, if we were to return to Fiji.

P.S. The small boat from RA divers is poorly designed. The ride is really wet if you're in the back half of the boat as the plywood hull is poorly shaped. It works, but as I have a number of Naval Architects as friends, I'm a stickler for boat design.