Looking for input re Taveuni

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Stayed for a 8 days at Garden Island in March 2018. Well maintained, very very nice rooms, roomy and photos on website are exactly as it seems. All rooms face the ocean with private patios. Nice pool and hottub. Well appointed restaurant. Shore dive upfront is OK (great for snorkeling), but the boat dives are want you want to do. Fastest boat times - like 15 minutes to Rainbow Reef. They are the closest op to Rainbow Reef. They have two boats, so have a backup. Very nice Surface interval beach on another island with the loneliest, friendly cat. Food was good to great, you get a choice of items, they take your input and suggestion if they have enough notice. Value is very good, with all inclusive. Extremely accommodating, friendly staff. Most days, there were only 2-5 of us on the boat with at least 2 dive masters; couple times there was only me. Big, easy on/off boat. Very laid back atmosphere. Super Chill. Great Dive Staff. They assigned a divemaster to watched over my newbie cousin (so i didn't have to, hee hee). Natural water slide, Ferry, and International Date line are easy walks from the small resort. Tiny village nearby worth exploring.
See pics here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/IcX2ftduqKqpykBt1

What was the dive lodge name??
 
Was at Paradise in April. Very nice staff, great rooms and excellent diving.Cyclone Winston hurt them 2 years ago but they have done a great job of rebuilding. Get the massage package - I think it was $120 for four 1 hour massages. The other places you were looking at are closer to Rainbow Reef and less expensive but Paradise is worth the cost. The only downside is the ride from the airport is 1 hour on the WORST road I have ever encountered. Ge the driver to stop in the town on the way so you can purchase anything you might want especially alcohol as it is pricey at ALL Fijian resorts.The diving off the dock while not spectacular had a lot to offer and like any site some days had more to see than others. Qamea resort puts all the others to shame but you certainly pay for the privilege.
 
I am back from the trip and just wanted to update a couple things. Overall, we had a great trip and enjoyed going to Fiji. The dives at Paradise ARE limited to either 50 minutes including safety stop or whenever the first diver in the group hits 700 PSI, whichever is first. As a result we had a few 30-35 minute dives due to someone blowing through their air fast, and few or no dives went beyond about 45 minutes to allow time for a safety stop. I ended most dives with about 1200-1300 PSI left, my wife typically came up with about 1400-1500 PSI. No one was doing any 70 minute dives or diving their computer. Period. Skill or experience had nothing to do with it. That just did not happen at all. That kind of annoyed me since I had specifically asked about that and was told otherwise and factored that into my decision. We also had to be vigilant about checking tanks before the boat left the dock...2600-2700 PSI fills were common. If a diver with poor air consumption got one of those, we were doomed to a very brief dive. On one dive my wife tried to switch tanks with another diver to get him a tank with a better fill, for that reason.

Boat was divided up into groups based on skill and air consumption, but the numbers often dictated that people with poor air consumption or less skilled had to go with the other group and then both groups ended up back on the boat pretty quick. Things were better before a dive group of about 15 showed up midweek. That group had to dive together so everyone else ended up in a second group regardless of ability. And boat got crowded. To accommodate up to three dives for everyone, they started running the boat out at 6-630 AM and we were getting breakfast around 5:30. Kind of sucked on a vacation.

Contrary to claims on website, divers never had a say in dive sites and on a few dives we clearly went close for logistical reasons, and did not go out to rainbow reef. Luckily we were doing enough dives over enough time we still got to the sites we wanted. Still had a great trip but probably would not go to Paradise again for diving. The grounds were beautiful and the people nice. The food was good and the bures were nice. The trip to the resort is long and bumpy. Not too bad for a couple people but on the way in they put four of us and luggage in one pickup truck. It was a miserable ride.

Oh, and the free wifi in the main building did not work for most people at all. If you need wifi, you need to pay for it, but then it works fairly well around most of the property. And one more thing.... The shared water bottles on the boat were disturbing. They should come up with a bit more sanitary way to provide water to divers.
 
I'm glad to see your trip report. I can't believe they are still shortchanging experienced computer divers no bottom times. And a big EEEWWWW to the shared water bottles. I probably had my own reuseable bottle with me so didn't notice the sharing.

So what was so "great" about this trip??
 
jd950 - Thanks for the follow up quick review. It helps in making our decision for next year.
 
I'm glad to see your trip report. I can't believe they are still shortchanging experienced computer divers no bottom times. And a big EEEWWWW to the shared water bottles. I probably had my own reuseable bottle with me so didn't notice the sharing.

So what was so "great" about this trip??

Well, the island and grounds were beautiful, the people were nice, the food was pretty good and having never been to Fiji before we found the reefs, corals and sealife wonderful. Although I had disappointments with the dive operation, I was diving in Fiji....and that was great. Overall, I hope to remember the dives themselves and not the technical/operational details surrounding them.
 
I'll second Nakia and Taveuni Ocean Sports. I just returned from a 6-day trip there and it was out second visit to Nakia. I recommend the all inclusive package that includes lodging, meals and diving. They have only 4 bures (individual cottages) and all the meals are taken at a central lanai overlooking the Somosomo Strait. Food is excellent and all the fruits and vegetables are grown on the premises. One of the cooks is Indian and her curries are excellent. You'll put in your lunch and dinner orders from the menu at breakfast, so they can spend the rest of the day preparing them. The "rise and shine" breakfast includes bacon, eggs and shredded hash browns.

The dive operation is within walking distance and is excellent. The dive masters are all very experienced and it is about a 20-25 minute boat ride to the rainbow reef. Time your visit so you can dive the White Wall, which is covered with white soft corals. Diving there can usually only be done every two week, due to strong currents. Some combination of the moon and the tides make diving possible only a few days a month. Spectacular dive site with lava tubes down and back up. A google search will turn up the schedule of when it is diveable. They usually segreate the divers based on experience level so you will be diving with others of similar skill, but usually no more than 2-3 others.

All we did for the week was sleep, eat and dive. There is a hiking trail into the forest that begins at the upper end of the property. Wifi is available at the lanai.

You will be met at the airstrip by someone from Nakia and greeted by the owner on arrival. You will not be disappointed.

And we saw the Paradise dive boats out at the white wall. My understanding is Paradise is about a 1.5 hr. drive from the airport and I'm not sure the road past Somosomo is paved. The boat times to the Rainbow Reef appear to be somewhat extreme.
Is there only 2 dives a day available at Nakia? Is it possible to do an afternoon dive or is there a house reef for shore diving?
 
I highly recommend Nakia Eco Resort. They have only three buses and grow their own fruits and vegetables. The food is excellent. They have a dive operation called Taveuni Ocean Sports. Simply the best operator you will ever experience. We have been with them four times. Check TripAdvisor. The reviews are spot on. Reasonably priced for a boutique resort and safe dive operation.
Is there only 2 dives a day available at Nakia? Is it possible to do an afternoon dive or is there a house reef for shore diving?
 
As I recall from our several stays at Nakia, we did two dives each day. Most dives were well over an hour. You will leave around 9 am and get back around 2 pm. They take you to all the great sites based on tides and current. You will also have a nice homemade snack and beverage during at least an hour surface interval. Your first day on the boat, the DM will review the types of coral and fish you will see. They put a lot of work into their presentation. No better place to stay or dive in our opinion. The food is all grown on their property and delicious.
 
this thread just popped up in my email; answering a few old questions, maybe someone doing search will find this info useful.
At Garden Island, I definitely dove my computer; at times one DM stayed with me while the air challenged went up to the boat. Just checked my logs, never had a dive less than 60 min, a couple of shallower ones over 80 min.
Always had a choice on where to go, depending on tides.
> One poster mentioned going to Taveuni and missing the rainbow reef area - that is a tragedy - absolutely go there if conditions permit.
Garden Island dive op always did two, they would do three if you paid for the extra dive. I always went exploring topside in the afternoon after a nap. Snorkeling up front was actually pretty good (watch the tides and tidal flow!) The natural waterslide is not to be missed; the chapel and international dateline are cool photo ops. Wander around the village on top of the hills and get to know the Fijians! I went muck snorkeling near the ferry dock; saw some really cool nudies that made me regret not taking the camera... was looking for rumored sea dragons but didn't find any.
I *will* make it back to Taveuni soon...
 
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