Fiji or Maldives for Honeymoon and Big Fish Encounters?

[miu]

My fiance and I are starting to plan our honeymoon for April 2011. I would be happy to spend most of our time diving, but understandably, he doesn't want the whole trip to be diving. I've heard great things about the diving in Fiji and Maldives, and from what I've read, they are both "romantic" destinations and also have plenty of sharks and mantas, which is what we're mostly interested in seeing on our dives.

Fiji is appealing because of the soft coral, which my fiance hasn't seen yet (he's newly certified and has dived only in the Carribean) and because of the culture and the fact that there are things to do on land, like hiking. Maldives is appealing because the beaches look so beautiful and we could easily have a wonderful time just chilling and laying around on the deck of an over-the-water bungalow.

I think we will probably stay at a romantic, up-scale resort (but not too expensive) for a few days and then do a liveaboard for a week, whichever place we go.

We want to see the big stuff, and I know there are many areas to dive in Fiji. What areas are best for sharks and mantas? I've read there's a good possibility of seeing hammerheads an certain sites in Fiji. If we do a liveaboard there, we definitely will want to go on a trip that takes us to whatever sites will give us a chance at seeing hammerheads.

With the above considerations in mind, does anyone out there who has dived both places recommend one over the other?

Also, any recommendations as to resorts and liveaboards in Fiji and/or Maldives?

 

[glocklt4]

We are heading to Fiji for our honeymoon in 2 weeks. We chose Fiji because it is much easier to get to, cheaper, and I have not been to any area that has soft corals like Fiji does (mostly Caribbean & central america diving). We are fully expecting to see huge mantas, sharks, etc... so I can report back in about 3.5 weeks

 

[kkfok]

I have been to Maldives a couple of times and been to Fiji once. If you are for Manta and Whale shark then Maldives is certainly the place to go. Sighting of Manta and Whale shark are pretty seasonal and you have to pick the right side of an Atoll due to monsoon. I saw Manta even when snorkeling on the House Reef of Maayafushi.
There is also a hammerhead point in North Ari Atoll (Rasdhoo Atoll) of Maldives, just you have to choose the right island resort to stay.

I have seen a hammerhead shark off Wakaya Island of Fiji last year, I stayed in Levuka but I think it is not the place for Honeymoon.
I heard that Moody's Namena Resort is the best place for diving in Fiji, both for pelagics and soft corals.

 

[Luko]

I would be happy to spend most of our time diving, but understandably, he doesn't want the whole trip to be diving.

Maldives smokes Fiji for big fish, on the other hand, there is aboslutely NOTHING to do in the Maldives else than sunbathing and diving. The culture factor is nil, zilch, nada...
Fiji is tops for colors, occasionally sharks (tiger and bulls feeding.. if you want...) and manta on some places (although I missed spotting them in Kadavu, some divers told me manta ops in Taveuni).

I do not know what you call "romantic" : what about French Polynesia?
LOTS of big fish, according to divers much more than the Maldives, sometimes walls of reef sharks, , lots of rays .. and tahitian culture topside too.
Coming from SoCal it's easy for you taking the Air Tahiti Nui flight to Papeete from LAX, then a domestic carrier to some "romantic" island like Fakarava.

 

[miu]

Thanks for the post. Cost is a factor for us, so the fact that Fiji is cheaper is a plus.

Congrats on your marriage and hope you have a wonderful honeymoon and great diving! I would love to hear about your trip when you get back.

 

[miu]

Thanks for the helpful info. Do you know whether April a good time for mantas or whale sharks? I thought I read that you can find mantas in the Maldives pretty much all year.

 

[miu]

Do you know what area or sites in Fiji the tiger sharks have been spotted - have yet to see one and would sooooo love to see one , especially feeding.

French Polynesia was the first place I thought of, but it is so obscenely expensive -not just the diving but also accommodations. It seems to be the most expensive place to dive except maybe Galapagos. Do you perhaps know of moderately priced resorts, dive shops or liveaboards there? Everything I've found is five-star luxury (which would be great, but not possible for us).

Thanks!

 

[OnTheSpot]

Shark encounters out of Pacific Harbour (close to Suva) where you can find great value accomodation.

Diving here will find you resting on the sea bed a little distance away from the experienced guides who distribute chunks of fish to any passers-by - and what a sight! 8 different types of sharks frequent this area and cruise by to rip a piece of fish flesh from the outstretched hands of the guides which will send your heart racing!

Do a couple of days diving with the sharks on Shark Reef - Dive with the sharks of Fiji.

 

[kkfok]

Thanks for the helpful info. Do you know whether April a good time for mantas or whale sharks? I thought I read that you can find mantas in the Maldives pretty much all year.

April is a good time for Whale Sharks, they can be seen quite easily on South Ari Atoll. I saw three on a day trip for whale shark last year on March. Yes, Manta is pretty much all year in Maldives, but you have to select the right side of the Atoll to stay if you stay in an island resort. It is not a problem if you stay in a liveaboard.

 

[ColoDale]

When I was in the Taveuni area (land based diving btw), soft corals were the big attraction and compared to the rest of Fiji, are known for it. That doesn’t mean you won’t see soft corals around Viti Levu. We did see white tip reef sharks but as singles and not in great numbers. Larger fish would be seen in the Somosomo straits and around Yellow wall and Noel’s wall. We were told that occasionally mantas could be seen at these sites but we did not see any. We dived 3 days diving around Yellow and Noel’s wall and one day on the Great White wall, Rainbow passage and Jacks Place. The larger pelagic encounters in the Taveuni area were described as sporadic and depends on season. We did see quite few turtles especially around Qamea island.

I don’t recall reports of hammerheads – schools or solo. It wasn’t mentioned as a draw for diving there. However huge schools of smaller fish occurred quite frequently at most sites especially walls though these were the areas we were told to keep an eye out for sharks or other large pelagics like mantas but we never saw the latter.

It is my understanding that greater numbers of large fish/sharks occur around the main island of Viti Levu. There are planned shark dives (Beqa Lagoon for example). I don’t know about mantas in the area.

If hiking is in the agenda and staying in the Taveuni area, then Bouma National Park with the Tovoro falls is excellent. Taveuni can be a bit wetter than other Fiji locations. It doesn’t rain constantly but is more wet in April but there are wetter months. We had sunny days most of the time though.

My wife and I stayed at Matangi. This is a higher priced place and I have come to the conclusion that I paid for seclusion. I think max occupancy is 13 couples and was not close to full when we were there in the month of April. It’s a fairly small property on a small island (no one else but them). If I went back to Fiji, I would stay on Taveuni (for less $) but it is farther from my two favorites sites (all time) – Yellow and Noel’s walls.

I have not dived the Maldives but it is on the list. We have looked into it but it is easier for us to get to Fiji and even easier for you on the West coast.