gdenny,
Comparing Fiji to the Caribbean is something like comparing the wild jungle to a petting zoo. I think David Doubilet actually made up that analogy. They are very different. I prefer Indo-Pacific diving because of the colors.
I was contemplating the same decision back in May. In the end, I chose to dive out of Wananavu. My decision was based on a number of sources. Virtually all the reviews in Undercurrent were positive. Eric Cheng from Wetpixel visited a few years ago. On his website, there are photos from Taveuni, Wananavu (Bligh Waters) and Beqa. His page is
www.echeng.com
I went in September which is a very dry time. We didn't have any rain and the seas were calm. Wananavu is in a very isolated area, about 2 1/2 hours from the airport. Imagine a little resort just over the hill from all the sugar cane fields. The scenery is beautiful, but being dry time it didn't look like Hawaii or Tahiti. I'm not sure if Beqa would look the same.
My understanding is that sharks are the big attraction of Beqa. For that, I will probably go next year. For reef diving, the Bligh waters are hard to beat. The area between the two big islands is where the liveaboards go. With the right boats, it's where only a few day operators go. I used Kai Viti Divers. They have two jetboats, each with plenty of room. One of them is the original Crystal Explorer.
I've added a few photos to my Fiji galleries on Pbase:
www.pbase.com/krancer
Rocky, best of luck with Air Pacific. My flight over was fine (get a seat in row 27, the first row of economy). The flight back was delayed and crowded. My hotel in Nadi told me I needed to be at the airport 1 1/2 hours in advance. I knew better and arrived almost 3 hours early. There was already a line almost out of the building. The previous night's flight to LA had been cancelled, so everyone was trying to get on my flight.
