Boat diving costs Fiji

[MMABC]

Hi folks,

I'll be traveling to Tokoriki Island in Fiji this summer. Looks like there are two dive shops on the island, and at first look, it seems their prices are pretty high. Perhaps I'm just misunderstanding how they're stating their prices. I'm contacting both shops directly. I've never been to the South Pacific before, and I was just wondering what prices I should expect in this area for two-tank boat trips. Any comments or discussion would be appreciated, thanks.

 

[Shasta_man]

I believe that place is on the high end of the resort scale. Thus, your price.

I assume you are doing the conversion to USD. 1 FJD ~ .64 USD

Note the taxes included in the prices

 

[H2ODog]

My wife's aunt is a travel agent for Fiji. She has been there many times and also did some dives there but said snorkelling is better than diving. I'll still do some dives when I make it down there but I won't rule out lots of snorkelling if the diving isn't fabulous.

 

[almitywife]

fiji is not on my places to return to list, i found fiji prices were really over inflated because they know they have a captured tourist market

 

[skynscuba]

The prices is see at http://www.tokoriki.com/pdf/dive_prices_2005.pdf are a lot less than the ~970FJ that I paid for 10 dives elsewhere in Fiji (tanks and weights).

 

[MMABC]

So, like I thought. I was misunderstanding the prices. Looks like I'll be diving with Reef Safari, and their prices are not completely unreasonable.

For 2 dives it's $180pp - 10% for having my own equipment, which is about $108US. Their ten dive package deal is $650pp with no discount or about $86US for each 2-tank boat trip. For comparison, I saw an add for Belize for two tank dives at $75US; no multi-dive commitment required.

I don't care much for this multi-dive discount scheme. Their expenses are the same no matter how many dives you make. They're sticking me with up to a 25% mark-up on top of what's already a profitable price if you don't commit to diving for several days with them, and my travel plans may make it difficult to make much of a commitment.

In any event, it is what it is. I may be there for as few as three of four days. After that, I may plan on going back to Viti Levu and doing some other things.

Can you guys make some other suggestions on where to go from there? For the second portion of my trip, I'll be with my son who is a non-diver. So, I'm interested in both diving and tourism type stuff. I'd appreciate any advice you guys can offer.

 

[Shasta_man]

Ah, pardon my math, but 10% off $180 would be $180 - $18 = $162, wouldn't it?

Regardless, don't let this put you off Fiji. The main charm of Fiji are the people. There are also plenty of great diving but your experience would be with the people. Best story I have is of driving out to a resort hotel and people in villages along the way yelling Bula! as we drove by at 30 MPH. Here in CA, people won't say a word to you every day in the hallway, and these guys are yelling hello to complete strangers as they drive by at 30 MPH. I'm living in the wrong place.

There is a range of things to do from visiting forest/jungle habitat to rafting down the rivers. Go to BulaFiji.com

 

[Shasta_man]

One other thing: remember this is an island you're talking about. Everything has to get shipped to the island. You can't directly compare a place like Belize on the mainland to Fiji prices. This doesn't necessarily apply to the dive comparison but is relevant in setting expectations.

 

[MMABC]

Ah, pardon my math, but 10% off $180 would be $180 - $18 = $162, wouldn't it?

In Fiji dollars, yes. In US dollars, based on conversion rates I saw, it's $108 in USD. In any event, like I said, I just misunderstood the the pricing. I'm definitely looking forward to my trip. The diving costs are higher than I expected, but all said and done, it's not going to change the cost of the trip much.

 

[stargazer61]

I think it is important to consider the wider picture when you are comparing prices in these Island nations. I am happy to spend money in locally owned businesses that will be of benefit to the local economy, as opposed to overseas hotel chains. In that context, somewhat inflated prices are not unreasonable when you look at the standard of living.