jean-michel cousteau resort

[ScubaDocER]

My fiancee and I are still trying to settle on a dive vacation place to honeymoon. We are currently looking at Fiji. The jean-michel cousteau resort was recommended to us as a great place to dive and enjoy some island culture and activities when not diving. Anyone had a chance to see or visit this resort? And suggestions if you think there is a more suitable place? We're looking to enjoy the diving of course but also want to experience some of the islands history and culture. Any suggestions or comments would be appreciated.

 

[drbill]

I dove there as Jean-Michel's guest back in 2001 and really enjoyed the four days I spent in Savusavu. Only problem was that it was Easter time and many of the stores in town were closed for the holiday. The diving was great, the staff at the resort was very friendly (as were all the Fijian natives I met in the 10 days I was there). However, I never did acquire a taste for kava!

 

[DennisS]

You might want to take into consideration that Jan, Feb Mar can be rainy. We stayed at the Volcano Hotel on Savusavu, my friend swore her hair was mildewing because it never dried out. We visited the resort one night and it looked really nice.

 

[OnTheSpot]

It is a really nice resort, no doubt about it. And you will get to sample a decent amount of Fijian culture...well Fijian culture as it takes places in a high end resort.

For accommodation and service the place can't be faulted. And of course it has the Cousteau name. There isnt much else to do in the Savusavu area though. Importantly it is not ideally located to access Fiji's best diving. I understand that most of the time the dives they do are local to Savusavu which I found pretty average really.

They can, and sometimes do undertake longer daytrips to the area of Namena which is up there with the best in the South Pacific. Really excellent. However these can involve ass-numbingly long boat rides. And no-one wants a numb ass on honeymoon, right?

So it depends what you want, really. Since it is your honeymoon it may be that luxury accommodation and service, plus some OK nearby diving is kind of what you want. If you were going to Fiji with the priority of diving the best that Fiji has to offer, then I would make other suggestions.

Congratulations by the way!

 

[ScubaDocER]

It is a really nice resort, no doubt about it. And you will get to sample a decent amount of Fijian culture...well Fijian culture as it takes places in a high end resort.

For accommodation and service the place can't be faulted. And of course it has the Cousteau name. There isnt much else to do in the Savusavu area though. Importantly it is not ideally located to access Fiji's best diving. I understand that most of the time the dives they do are local to Savusavu which I found pretty average really.

They can, and sometimes do undertake longer daytrips to the area of Namena which is up there with the best in the South Pacific. Really excellent. However these can involve ass-numbingly long boat rides. And no-one wants a numb ass on honeymoon, right?

So it depends what you want, really. Since it is your honeymoon it may be that luxury accommodation and service, plus some OK nearby diving is kind of what you want. If you were going to Fiji with the priority of diving the best that Fiji has to offer, then I would make other suggestions.

Congratulations by the way!

Thank you very much everyone. I appreciate your honesty as well OnTheSpot. Any opinions on Qamea? Or LikuLiku? A combination of luxury and great diving is what we are looking for. But the diving would take priority over the accommodations if one had to be sacrificed. Where would you recommend?

 

[hammerhead man]

If you want very good diving, and accommodations I would suggest Beqa Lagoon Resort. We went in 2007 and are returning this July. The island is beautiful, the accommodations are great (they even have a honeymoon bure) and the food is terrific. The resort makes two dives in the morning and you are back at the resort by 1:00 for lunch and offer unlimited shore diving. We also did the shark dive and it was fantastic. It is the only dive I've been on where you can see up to 9 different sharks (including a huge tiger that comes in often). They have cultural activities in the afternoon or you can just lounge around at the pool or in your room. I highly recommend an ocean view bure because you have a private yard facing the water, a hammock, and lounge chairs and you won't be disturbed by anyone else. Here is a link to reviews of resort: Beqa Lagoon Resort (Beqa Island, Fiji) - B&B Reviews - TripAdvisor. You will also find that it is much cheaper than what you will pay at Jean Michael's resort (but you won't have the luxury that you will get as well). If you click on my photos link you can see some pics that I took.

Regards,

Bill

 

[bwilcove]

We stayed at Cousteau 2 years ago. Fantastic place and the best vacation we've ever had. As was discussed earlier, the best diving is the 1 hour long boat ride out to Namena which they run every couple of days. It can be a rough ride depending on the seas. You can always check out the resort on Namena itself. Very remote, so absolutely nothing to do, but an incredible place ...
Moody's Namena Fiji

 

[ogtool]

Went over to Fiji April last year for my wedding and we stayed at Wananavu (North East corner) and squeezed in a double dive the day after the wedding with my wife and a few mates..... Dove Breath-Taker and Golden Dreams which was a short boat ride out from the resort itself. Was fantastic diving and the company we went with (Kai Viti Divers) were great - they're located right next to the resort.

Wananavu itself (www[dot]wananavu[dot]com) Fiji Beach Resort Accommodation Fiji Diving Wedding Honeymoon - wananavu Beach Resort[/url]) is absolutely great. There was 38 of us that went over there and everyone had an awesome time. A couple of US divers were staying at the resort at the same time and were showing some photos of their dives - quite a few sharks on top of everything we saw as well.

Great place to stay, great place to dive....

 

[bqualls]

The diving out of Wananavu is some of the best land based diving you will find in Fiji...I wouldn't call it a luxury resort but it is very nice.Kia Viti divers is no longer the dive op there, but that may not be a bad thing.I hear good things about their new op,except that their rental gear maybe isn't the best.....so take your own or check to see if they have purchased new gear recently.They dive the Bligh Waters and the Bligh is serious sensory overload.
You might also look at Matangi Private Island Resort...We stayed there for a week a couple of years ago-- their local dive sites weren't quite as good as the Bligh,but the resort is a very nice luxury boutique resort. They will take you to dive the somo somo straits for a modest surcharge and that diving is bucket list stuff...
I found Kava to be an acquired taste(that I acquired)...so have a high tide for me.

 

[skynscuba]

Consider Matangi Island Resort. We spent 10 days there about 3 years ago. You might
be the only divers on the boat some days. Really more of a honeymooner place. Private 250 acre
island. We hiked, sailed (hobie cat knockoffs), kayaked, boat and shore dived.

I've also been to Beqa Lagoon Resort. Diving is good at both, food better at Matangi (although
still quite good at BLR).