Fiji in 2024 suggestions needed

[cetacean]

@ColoDale

It was named after Noel Douglas... (the story behind it is entertaining...). He built the Matangi resort (we did some web marketing for them in the early days). Yes - they changed the spelling so that English speakers would pronounce it correctly (the "g" in Fijian is pronouced "ng" for many words, similar to "d" as in Nadi).
They will dive Taveuni because people "demand" to dive the Somosomo from Matangi, most of the resorts on Taveuni don't even advertise the sites farther east. There is also some very good (untouched) diving up in the Ringgold Islands (north of Matangi) but hardly anyone gets up there anymore (that was the primary destination for the Princess when it was in operation).

 

[Tunaman68]

It's been quite some time since we dived Fiji so I can give you general advice on the Taveuni area. We dived the Somosomo straights (3-4 dives) with one at Rainbow Reef on the Vanua Levu side. There can be quite alot of current and some surge depending on the UW landscape. Some were like 3 steps forward and 2 back. At times it was a workout. We stayed on Matangi near Qamea which is on the other side of Taveuni from Paradise. Most of our diving was around Qamea, Matangi and the eastern side of Taveuni. I will say in general that the best diving I have done is in Fiji and the best two walls (Noel's and Yellow). These walls will be a long ride from Paradise on Taveuni even if they are offered.
Since you want no frills (or less frills), then resorts on Taveuni might be better but I haven't checked all resorts/hotels in the area.

Getting to and from Taveuni from Nadi takes awhile. We had a 4 hour mechanical delay going out and an unscheduled stop on Vanua Levu coming back to Nadi. At least they let us off the plane there to stretch and watch the cows on the side of the runway.

April/May is the end of the rainy season and Taveuni is wetter than others. We had good luck with our April trip with quite a bit of sun but it did rain. Much of it was passing rains except for a day or two.

Great info thank you!! Will be in Coz for two weeks in October. Maybe I can buy you a cold refreshment!

 

[stiebs]

@ColoDale

they changed the spelling so that English speakers would pronounce it correctly (the "g" in Fijian is pronouced "ng" for many words, similar to "d" as in Nadi).

Both Q and G are pronounced like 'ng', with the Q being a harder sound with more emphasis on the G (like "mango") and the G being a softer sound like "-ing". Also the B is pronounced with a short preceding "m" sound. So Beqa Lagoon is "m-beng-ga Lagoon"

The D like in the capital, Nadi, is more of an "nd" sound - "Nahn-dee"

 

[Trailboss123]

Here is my trip report from last May 2022, if you haven't seen it yet. Similar timeframe (time of year) you are considering, so it may be helpful: Trip Report - Fiji- May 14-30, 2022