About Me. My sixth and seventh locations in this four-country, two-month dive trip brings me to Volivoli Beach Resort (VV) in Rakiraki and Waidroka Bay Resort (WBR) in Pacific Harbor, Fiji. I’m a solo traveler with 700+ dives, and with the help of Bluewater Dive Travel, this was my second visit to VV and first visit to WBR. This trip started in February in Raja Ampat, Indonesia, followed by Puerto Galera, Philippines, then on to Perth, Australia, then on to Exmouth (Ningaloo), Australia. I wrote trip reports for those stays. Due to character limits, this will be more than one page of posting. I'll sprinkle in some photos and video links on my YouTube channel.
Trip Report - Raja Ampat-Cove Eco-February 2025
Trip Report - Raja Ampat Dive Lodge-March 2025
Trip Report - White Manta Liveaboard-March 10-17, 2025
Trip Report - Puerto Galera, Philippines-March 20-30, 2025
Trip Report - Perth, Australia-March 31-April 6, 2025
My stay at VV were April 12-19 and WBR April 19-24. I’ll combine these two resorts in one review and do some comparisons of each experience. Since I was at VV in April 2024, I knew it would be a good experience. This time, I wanted to add some shark diving in Pacific Harbor. Both the resort packages included full board meals, diving, and airport transfers (with some cost adjustment for the transfer from VV to WBR.)
Getting There. For the domestic portion in economy class, I left Exmouth on a Qantas flight to Perth with a 5-hour layover. I had to claim my bags and take an airport bus to the international terminal to recheck my bags with Virgin Australia. I used loyalty points to fly in business class, laid over in Melbourne, and arrived in Nadi without any issues.
Land Transfers. VV uses Pehicle for their transfers. The pickup at the Nadi airport went smooth. The driver spoke good English and made the usual grocery stop along the way so I could get bottled water, etc. The car was clean and the A/C worked well. This is my second experience with them and I would highly recommend them.
Crusoe Tours did the transfer from VV to WBR and from WBR to Nadi airport. The car was clean with good A/C. The journey from VV to WBR was really long, nearly five hours. Driving through Suva was total traffic gridlock, which added to the travel time. The driver didn’t speak much English, drove really slow, and got lost once we left the Suva area. Instead of pulling over to look at Google Maps, he slowed down to 15 mph and couldn’t drive in a straight line. I eventually asked him to pull off the road to look at his phone.
For the return to the airport, the driver from Crusoe was 35 minutes late. When WBR called the driver, he said there was a lot of traffic. Duh…it’s your job to calculate the drive time based on traffic conditions. I wasn’t happy. I had built in enough time when I got to the airport to spend time in the business class lounge, but a lot of that time was eroded. In addition, this guy was cursing like a pirate at other drivers. It was very unprofessional. I would not recommend using Crusoe Tours for your transfer.
Volivoli Beach Resort. VV is a dive-focused resort, but there are occasionally nondivers that stay there. The landscaping here is beautiful and well manicured. There’s a mangrove forest down the hill as you walk to the dive shop. It sits on a multi-tiered hill, which provides stunning views. The hills are quite steep, so if you’ve got issues with your knees or back, this is something to consider. The least expensive rooms are at the top of the hill.
Waidroka Bay Resort. WB is a diver and surfer resort. During my stay, there were 6 surfers and they had their own boat and guide. The resort sits ocean front on mostly flat ground. I stayed in one of the beach-front cabins, and there are other cabins up a hill, 62 steps. The grounds are well landscaped with beautiful tropical foliage and flowers. It’s a short, flat walk to the dive shop and the pier. There is one main building that has the kitchen, dining room, bar, reservation desk, and office. The bar is not always staffed.
Accommodation. At VV, I stayed in a premium ocean view villa on the second tier on the hill, the same level as the check-in desk and gift shop. From those rooms, you go downhill to the dive shop, restaurant, and ocean front rooms and uphill for the other category of rooms.
The room was very clean and the bed was really comfortable. It’s the only place I stayed on this entire dive trip that I didn’t have to use my blow-up camping mattress to either soften a hard mattress or fill in a soggy mattress. There were two ceiling fans, and the A/C worked perfectly. There are plenty of plugs for charging all the stuff. Bring your Australian adapters. In this spacious accommodation, you’ll be able to stretch out on the L-shaped sofa in the open floor plan living room. It felt like an apartment. The full kitchen had everything but a stovetop; full-size refrigerator, microwave, sink, utensils and dishes. It also had a washer. Last year, I had to buy laundry soap for $2 FJD from the front desk, but they’ve changed it so that the soap is an included amenity. They also provide clothespins, which were absent last year. At both VV and WBR, there are outside drying lines, but with the humidity, everything dries faster inside the air-conditioned room.
The double sink bathroom was also very spacious with adequate storage and countertop space and a good size walk-in shower. Water pressure in the shower was very good and no shortage of hot water. VV is hooked up to the main power grid of the island, so steady power was not an issue.
At WBR, you’re in more of a cabin-style accommodation with open cracks and crevices and doors and windows that don’t line up to create that perfect seal from the environment and insects. I had a good-sized gecko that called my cabin her home, and I think she had a baby because then there were two of them. They are about the only critter I’ll not kill that’s inside my room. The A/C was adequate but not great. In the afternoon heat, the unit was not powerful enough to keep the room under 82F.
There’s a ceiling fan, mini fridge, a rusty and corroded kettle, coffee and tea supplies, and a small bathroom with zero sink/counter space and a walk in shower. The room was short on plugs, so bring a plug extender. The mattress was soggy. The water in the shower was too hot and the cold water never came in the pipes. The toilet seat wouldn't stay up, so I used some duct tape to tape it to the toilet tank. The included hair dryer was not in the room, so I needed to get one from the front desk. The bathroom window did not shut completely, so I needed to jam a towel in the gap that was letting the heat in.
Drinking Water. Neither VV nor WBR provide bottled water. At VV, it is not safe to drink the tap water anywhere on the grounds except from the restaurant and bar. I was told on my last visit that the water from the tap stations around the resort is not safe to drink. You can shower and brush your teeth safely with the tap water in your room.
At WBR, a bottled water station in the central lobby with a 5-gallon jug sitting atop a dispenser is where you can fill your own bottle. There’s a notebook in each room that explains everything about the resort. One entry in the book stated, hey, we have spring water, and you can drink the tap water if you boil it in the provided kettle. I was very surprised to see that advisement, because it’s just not true. There’s a whole process of making unsafe water safe to drink, and it’s not just boiling it and drinking it. And the kettle in my room was old and rusted on the inside, so it was useless anyway.
Wi-Fi. At VV, high-speed wi-fi is available throughout the property, even inside your room, My package came with free wi-fi for two devices, so I don’t know what the fee is if you purchase it on site. My T-Mobile service worked without wi-fi, and it connected to the FJ Vodafone network. At WBR, free Starlink wi-fi is only available in the main lobby building. Even with Starlink, the wi-fi wasn't very strong. My cell service did not work here at all.
The Staff. VV has 140 employees, and WBR has 20. All the VV staff are native Fijians. They have an internship program for dive guides, so there were a few newbies in training on the boat. Fijians are the warmest and friendliest people and always aim to please. The owners, the Darlings, live on the property, and I think that makes a huge difference in the service you receive.
I didn’t get the warm fuzzies with the WBR nondive workers. It felt like they were understaffed and not trained very well, particularly in the restaurant. I had issues with the food and service and minor issues with housekeeping.
Spa Services. VV has an air-conditioned room for massages. I love their massages. WBR offers an outdoor massage in the heat and mosquitoes. I got a massage in my room at no extra charge. The 60-minute massage was actually 50 minutes, and it was just...meh.
To be continued...
Trip Report - Raja Ampat-Cove Eco-February 2025
Trip Report - Raja Ampat Dive Lodge-March 2025
Trip Report - White Manta Liveaboard-March 10-17, 2025
Trip Report - Puerto Galera, Philippines-March 20-30, 2025
Trip Report - Perth, Australia-March 31-April 6, 2025
My stay at VV were April 12-19 and WBR April 19-24. I’ll combine these two resorts in one review and do some comparisons of each experience. Since I was at VV in April 2024, I knew it would be a good experience. This time, I wanted to add some shark diving in Pacific Harbor. Both the resort packages included full board meals, diving, and airport transfers (with some cost adjustment for the transfer from VV to WBR.)
Getting There. For the domestic portion in economy class, I left Exmouth on a Qantas flight to Perth with a 5-hour layover. I had to claim my bags and take an airport bus to the international terminal to recheck my bags with Virgin Australia. I used loyalty points to fly in business class, laid over in Melbourne, and arrived in Nadi without any issues.
Land Transfers. VV uses Pehicle for their transfers. The pickup at the Nadi airport went smooth. The driver spoke good English and made the usual grocery stop along the way so I could get bottled water, etc. The car was clean and the A/C worked well. This is my second experience with them and I would highly recommend them.
Crusoe Tours did the transfer from VV to WBR and from WBR to Nadi airport. The car was clean with good A/C. The journey from VV to WBR was really long, nearly five hours. Driving through Suva was total traffic gridlock, which added to the travel time. The driver didn’t speak much English, drove really slow, and got lost once we left the Suva area. Instead of pulling over to look at Google Maps, he slowed down to 15 mph and couldn’t drive in a straight line. I eventually asked him to pull off the road to look at his phone.
For the return to the airport, the driver from Crusoe was 35 minutes late. When WBR called the driver, he said there was a lot of traffic. Duh…it’s your job to calculate the drive time based on traffic conditions. I wasn’t happy. I had built in enough time when I got to the airport to spend time in the business class lounge, but a lot of that time was eroded. In addition, this guy was cursing like a pirate at other drivers. It was very unprofessional. I would not recommend using Crusoe Tours for your transfer.
Volivoli Beach Resort. VV is a dive-focused resort, but there are occasionally nondivers that stay there. The landscaping here is beautiful and well manicured. There’s a mangrove forest down the hill as you walk to the dive shop. It sits on a multi-tiered hill, which provides stunning views. The hills are quite steep, so if you’ve got issues with your knees or back, this is something to consider. The least expensive rooms are at the top of the hill.
Waidroka Bay Resort. WB is a diver and surfer resort. During my stay, there were 6 surfers and they had their own boat and guide. The resort sits ocean front on mostly flat ground. I stayed in one of the beach-front cabins, and there are other cabins up a hill, 62 steps. The grounds are well landscaped with beautiful tropical foliage and flowers. It’s a short, flat walk to the dive shop and the pier. There is one main building that has the kitchen, dining room, bar, reservation desk, and office. The bar is not always staffed.
Accommodation. At VV, I stayed in a premium ocean view villa on the second tier on the hill, the same level as the check-in desk and gift shop. From those rooms, you go downhill to the dive shop, restaurant, and ocean front rooms and uphill for the other category of rooms.
The room was very clean and the bed was really comfortable. It’s the only place I stayed on this entire dive trip that I didn’t have to use my blow-up camping mattress to either soften a hard mattress or fill in a soggy mattress. There were two ceiling fans, and the A/C worked perfectly. There are plenty of plugs for charging all the stuff. Bring your Australian adapters. In this spacious accommodation, you’ll be able to stretch out on the L-shaped sofa in the open floor plan living room. It felt like an apartment. The full kitchen had everything but a stovetop; full-size refrigerator, microwave, sink, utensils and dishes. It also had a washer. Last year, I had to buy laundry soap for $2 FJD from the front desk, but they’ve changed it so that the soap is an included amenity. They also provide clothespins, which were absent last year. At both VV and WBR, there are outside drying lines, but with the humidity, everything dries faster inside the air-conditioned room.
The double sink bathroom was also very spacious with adequate storage and countertop space and a good size walk-in shower. Water pressure in the shower was very good and no shortage of hot water. VV is hooked up to the main power grid of the island, so steady power was not an issue.
At WBR, you’re in more of a cabin-style accommodation with open cracks and crevices and doors and windows that don’t line up to create that perfect seal from the environment and insects. I had a good-sized gecko that called my cabin her home, and I think she had a baby because then there were two of them. They are about the only critter I’ll not kill that’s inside my room. The A/C was adequate but not great. In the afternoon heat, the unit was not powerful enough to keep the room under 82F.
There’s a ceiling fan, mini fridge, a rusty and corroded kettle, coffee and tea supplies, and a small bathroom with zero sink/counter space and a walk in shower. The room was short on plugs, so bring a plug extender. The mattress was soggy. The water in the shower was too hot and the cold water never came in the pipes. The toilet seat wouldn't stay up, so I used some duct tape to tape it to the toilet tank. The included hair dryer was not in the room, so I needed to get one from the front desk. The bathroom window did not shut completely, so I needed to jam a towel in the gap that was letting the heat in.
Drinking Water. Neither VV nor WBR provide bottled water. At VV, it is not safe to drink the tap water anywhere on the grounds except from the restaurant and bar. I was told on my last visit that the water from the tap stations around the resort is not safe to drink. You can shower and brush your teeth safely with the tap water in your room.
At WBR, a bottled water station in the central lobby with a 5-gallon jug sitting atop a dispenser is where you can fill your own bottle. There’s a notebook in each room that explains everything about the resort. One entry in the book stated, hey, we have spring water, and you can drink the tap water if you boil it in the provided kettle. I was very surprised to see that advisement, because it’s just not true. There’s a whole process of making unsafe water safe to drink, and it’s not just boiling it and drinking it. And the kettle in my room was old and rusted on the inside, so it was useless anyway.
Wi-Fi. At VV, high-speed wi-fi is available throughout the property, even inside your room, My package came with free wi-fi for two devices, so I don’t know what the fee is if you purchase it on site. My T-Mobile service worked without wi-fi, and it connected to the FJ Vodafone network. At WBR, free Starlink wi-fi is only available in the main lobby building. Even with Starlink, the wi-fi wasn't very strong. My cell service did not work here at all.
The Staff. VV has 140 employees, and WBR has 20. All the VV staff are native Fijians. They have an internship program for dive guides, so there were a few newbies in training on the boat. Fijians are the warmest and friendliest people and always aim to please. The owners, the Darlings, live on the property, and I think that makes a huge difference in the service you receive.
I didn’t get the warm fuzzies with the WBR nondive workers. It felt like they were understaffed and not trained very well, particularly in the restaurant. I had issues with the food and service and minor issues with housekeeping.
Spa Services. VV has an air-conditioned room for massages. I love their massages. WBR offers an outdoor massage in the heat and mosquitoes. I got a massage in my room at no extra charge. The 60-minute massage was actually 50 minutes, and it was just...meh.
To be continued...
