First Time to Fiji

[diving4ever]

Seeking insights:

My partner and I are scheduling our first trip to Fiji in November or December of 2018. The trip will be 14-16 days long and we are hoping to stay in only two different areas of the country...three at the most.

We hope to get in 12-20 dives while there...mixing diving and some topside and cultural activities.
My initial plan had been Beqa Lagoon Resort and Namena Island resort. But I understand the latter is closed indefinitely.

What areas and dive ops/resorts would you recommend (Bega, Kadavu, Rakiraki, SavuSavu, Taveuni, etc) for two competent but relatively new divers (150 and 50 dives respectively).

Thanks in advance for your input!

 

[DixieDolphin]

I just got back from Beqa Lagoon (on recommendation from a friend who went in 2012) and, while the resort was beautiful, the people were friendly, and the shark dives were absolutely amazing, I wouldn't recommend the resort. It was poorly run and I had numerous issues, plus I had some safety concerns about the dive operation. It wasn't a terrible trip, mind you, but I would not go back to that particular resort.

Hoping others may chime in with better options, as I'd love to go back to Fiji but just not there.

 

[Lorenzoid]

That's disheartening to hear, Dixie, as my stay at Beqa Lagoon Resort almost 10 years ago was top-notch in every way. Returning to Fiji for a liveaboard next year.

 

[<*)))><]

I've never been to Fiji, but friends highly recommend Fiji aggressor

 

[fiji_diver]

Well there are lots of options. From the details you have listed, I think your main deciding factor will be budget. Location is easier. Here is a suggestion.
Location 1. Taveuni (7 days). This has overall, the best diving options with cultural, non diving activities like hiking and village visits very easy and more genuine than in some locations with higher tourist density. Deciding on a Taveuni resort is largely budget based. Look at Garden Island, Paradise Taveuni, Qamea island or Dolphin Bay Divers Retreat for a spread of options. It's disadvantage is it takes a day to get there or an internal flight. Hint, book those well in advance and get a much better rate. Local ferries go every other day form Suva, not Nadi, but an internal flight from Nadi to Suva is 30 mins, cheap and several time every day. Ferries go in the evening and arrive after lunch the following day.
Fly back to Suva and get the ferry (or plane) to....
Location 2.... Kadavu. (5 days) for the Astrolabe reef. Look at Matana, Matava, Mai Dive, Papageno (not sure about their diving set up). ferry back to Suva.
Location 3 Pacific Harbour 3 days. Stay at the Pearl or Uprising. Dive with Aquatrek or Beqa Adventure divers. Do the shark feeding dive one day and coral dives the next (book in advance). Last day go river rafting with Rivers Fiji down the Navua river - great day out.
Taxi or tourist transfer bus back to Nadi and home. stay at Raffles Gateway if you have to overnight in Nadi.
Also look at Volivoli, Wananavu or Beqa Lagoon Resort for the full on dive experience as these are Fiji's busiest dive operators with great dives, but they are busy which for some, is not what they came to Fiji for.
Of course there are also liveaboard options. Naia (best in class for sure) Siren and Fiji Aggressor (Island Dancer - locally known as Sera-ni-Wai). All around US$600 per day inc dives. So a week on a boat and a week on a resort is also an option.
I hope that gives you some more ideas. If you find your selves in Suva, let me know and I'll buy you a coffee or take you for a dive on Fiji's biggest ship wreck
Greg

 

[JulieM]

We have been to Fiji nine times. I highly recommend Nakia Eco Resort on Taveuni. Their daughter runs Taveuni Ocean Sports. Check the TripAdvisor reviews. They are accurate for both the resort and dive op. If you have any questions, please email me. We actually lived on Taveuni one winter and got in numerous dives.

 

[fiji_diver]

and.... I just checked and Namena is up and running. The resort was badly damaged by Cyclone Winston in 2015 but has been repaired and is fine. They offer Namena dives as a day trip form Savusavu for those not staying at the resort.
Namena Diver Best Diving Savusavu Fiji

 

[dpatakas]

Went to Beqa Lagoon in April of this year with my family, it was very different from seven years ago. The locals where great, but the boat are now in poor shape and very slow. All the tanks leaked and I would not trust any of the dive gear. I will not be going back to Beqa Lagoon, and could not recommend it.

 

[diving4ever]

Thank you @dpatakas and @DixieDolphin for the heads up on Beqa. I'm disappointed but grateful for the heads up. We're not super high maintenance but gear and boats in good working condition is a must.

 

[diving4ever]

@fiji_diver thanks for the great suggestions for an itinerary. Matava was definitely on our short list if we made it to Kadavu this trip! And I'm excited to know Namena is open, the website wasn't indicating that...so great to have local insight!

I appreciate all the suggestions for a liveaboard but that is not in the cards this trip. My partner likes to be able to put his feet on the ground. I'm circling around Namena, Taveuni, and/or Kadavu. Of course, Pacific Harbor is an option as well...just not certain how much we can squeeze in.

I'm curious if there are areas of diving that might prove too advanced for us. We'd like to dive the Somosomo Straight..but it's unclear how challenging that is. It sounds like Namena would give us a lot of dive options....including the marine reserve the straights, and even the hammerhead dive sites. Can I get access to most of that from Taveuni? I can't remember booking a trip where the options were so vast.