How's the diving at Wananavu in Fiji?

[diverrex]

I'm trying to convince my wife that we should go to Fiji for 9 days in November. We have so far only dived in the Caribbean. Wananavu is looking like our first pick based on a number of factors but I'd like to be convinced we would enjoy the diving both out in the Bligh waters and also the closer in sites since I'm not sure I could get my wife out to the Bligh every day for 3 dives. Anyone who has dived at Wananavu care to comment on the quality of fish life and dive sites?

 

[cbm32]

I have not dove that specific area myself, but I do have friends that have. The Bligh waters and the Vitu-I-Rah will be really good diving. Those will be a 45-80 minute boat ride from Wananavu. From what I understand, the dives sites closer in have some interesting topography, with canyons and some nice swim throughs. However, the coral and critters won't be what you will see in other areas of Fiji. My contacts in Fiji indicate that they are not sure that those closer in dives will really appeal to most US divers. Without getting out to the Bligh waters or the Vitu-I-Rah passage you wont be getting the really good Fiji diving. That said, it will probably still be better than the majority of the caribbean diving.

 

[mathauck0814]

Wife and I did our honeymoon there. Spent a month at the resort, dove 18 days for about 40 dives. +1 on the Bligh waters. Some of the best I've ever done in my life. You won't see big creatures, but if you're into soft coral and juvenile reef fish it's some of the healthiest and most abundant ocean I've ever seen.

The house reef is also decent. There's a wrecked car ferry on the west end of the adjacent island and plenty of variety in sites. Current can be rough at time so plan accordingly

The resort is top notch, but they seem to have a fixed menu (e.g., they serve the same meal every single monday, etc) so by the end of our trip we were a little bored with the food. I didn't care much for the beach on the premises, but the beach on the adjacent island is very, very nice.

 

[OnTheSpot]

The Garden Island Resort on Taveuni is very close to Rainbow Reef (15 mins boat journey). Great diving close to shore, if you're not absolutely decided on Wananavu, this will be worth looking in to.

 

[JMorben]

Having been to Wananavu twice, I highly rercommend Nakia on Taveuni. The dive sites are close and the diving much better in my opinion. Check the reviews on Tripadvisor. They are spot on accurate. We have been there twice in the last two years.

 

[Heg]

We dived at Wananavu in May for a week. We had a great time. True- it can be about an hour out to the passage, but the diving is amazing. Stunning soft corals and massive amounts of fish. Plenty of reef sharks too. We did a three- dive day on the days we went out there. The diving further in is not as stunning, but still very pleasant. Great managers in the dive shop (Chris and Vicky ) and knowlegable, friendly local dive guides. We have also dived Astrolabe Reef at Ono island and found the diving at Wananavu far superior.

Food can get a bit repetitive, but it well prepared and there is plenty of it.

We have also dived Astrolabe Reef at Ono island and found the diving at Wananavu far superior.

 

[Dive Wananavu Fiji]

Bula Diverex,
Glad to hear you and your wife are thinking about a trip to Fiji in Novermber and very happy to hear Wananavu is at the top of your list. Our best diving (and some of the best in Fiji) is out to the Vatu-I-Ra Passage (aka Bligh Water) and around a 45 minute boat ride with average ocean conditions and our furthest dive site is E6 at around an 1 1/4 hour boat ride out. If seas are a bit rougher than normal then it can take a bit longer and if they are flat calm we can make the trip in as little as 35 min. Most of our diving is done towards this area because this is what people come to see, lots and lots of soft coral, schooling reef fish and... We do require a minimum of two people to make the trip out to the passage, but it sounds like you have this covered. We can't 'guarantee' we'll dive the Passage on any given day but we try and dive the Bligh as many days as we can and it's only bad weather that will keep us away. As Heg mentioned we can also arrange 3-tank dive days, as the diving is so good most people want to just keep diving. I'm sure you've seen most of this information around but if you do have any specific questions please ask away we're always here to try and help. You can also visit our website where we have a FAQ section. We also try to publish a dive report every day we go out so you can follow and see what dives we've been doing what we've been seeing. We do miss some days if we have a very hectic schedule.

Hope this helps and hope we get to see you out in sunny Fiji.

PS - November is my favorite time to be in and diving Fiji as the winter trade winds die down and the water has warmed back up and the vis is still usually very good.

---------- Post added August 29th, 2013 at 03:15 PM ----------

The resort is top notch, but they seem to have a fixed menu (e.g., they serve the same meal every single monday, etc) so by the end of our trip we were a little bored with the food. I didn't care much for the beach on the premises, but the beach on the adjacent island is very, very nice.

Glad to hear you enjoyed your diving with us. Just an update about the menu as it has changed a bit. We have an All Day menu that doesn't change and is available every day as well as a rotating menu that rotates on a 12 day rotation (Menu for day 1 and day 13 are the same). This is to help accommodate the guests who may be staying longer than 1 week avoid repeating meals.

Hope this helps.

Chris