Fiji trip advice?

[fiji_diver]

Hmmm
Well, you are right that the Yasawa diving is not fabulous, but still fun and stuff to see.
If you want R&R far from the madding crowds, with a cute island setting, have a look at Naigani Very cool diving with clear waters and excellent hard coral cover. Not the big walls and drifts of Taveuni, but no internal flight required - it is about a 2 hour drive from Pacific Harbour with a resort boat transfer.
The Mantas up in the Yasawas are cool too, although the place can get a bit crowded with several resorts sending small boats to the same spot.
I'm not sure where offers industry discounts, but worth asking.
You can save some $$ going to Taveuni by taking the overnight ferry from Suva. about US$60 each way for a 1st class sleeper bunk. A little bit more for a cabin. (usually sharing with 1 other person). Suva is a bout 45mins from Pacific Harbour by taxi (FJ$70) of tourist bus (FJ$15). Look at staying at Dolphin bay Divers Retreat for a bargain.

I hope that helps a bit.
Let me know if you wanted any help with logistics like booking ferry tickets....

Cheers
Greg

 

[cbm32]

Naigani has some great diving. My wife and I enjoyed the resort there very much.

If you go to the Yasawas you might want to check out Blue Lagoon Beach Resort. They do a shark dive there three times a week that I enjoyed even more than the ones I did with BAD and they have several other dive sites that are really good if you like long swim throughs and such. We were in Fiji for over 9 weeks and did four different resorts. Blue Lagoon Beach Resort was by far the most fun for my non-diver wife and I REALLY enjoyed the diving there. Justin and Mel are the managers and nicer people you will have a hard time finding. If you go tell them Mike, the fat guy they couldnt keep out of the dive boat, said hi