Looking for recommendations for beginners

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Diabeticdivergirl

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Messages
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Location
LA
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Hi everyone,

I’m looking for recommendations on where to go in the South Pacific for some easy beginner diving. My husband and I are planning a trip for this year and I’ve always wanted to dive in the South Pacific. It’ll be a bit of a splurge before we have kids kind of trip, but our budget isn’t necessarily gigantic. I also have the struggle of getting very sea sick and being a type 1 diabetic so diving can be a bit tough for me, but I absolutely love it! My husband is not as big of a fan, he does enjoy it, but not as much as I do so it would be nice to go somewhere with options for other things we can do besides diving. We are also fairly inexperienced with around 20 dives each total, including the ones for certification.

I’m hoping to go somewhere with shore diving if possible and my goal is to see healthy coral more than anything else. I love acropora so it’s a big plus if that’s around! I would also be open to other places than the South Pacific if there better sites for shore diving and healthy coral. I spent a week snorkeling in the GBR based on Lizard Island during college (before the bleaching hit hard and the typhoon destroyed that area of the reef) and that was so spectacular, recreating that now that I’m certified for diving would be amazing. Any suggestions are welcome! Thanks everyone!!
 
I'd look at Fiji. Fascinating place, lots to do on land, good resorts, not nearly as expensive as some other places, and lots of flights thre (so decent fares). Your profile says LA, but I don't know if that means Los Angeles or Louisiana. RT fares from LAX are always pretty good.
Time of year makes a big difference, 'cuz the water is colder but clearer in their winter. Some links:
Scuba diving in Fiji. Where to dive and how much it costs
https://seatemperature.info/fiji-water-temperature.html
Fiji and Tuvalu Diving Guide
 
Thanks for the tip! Fiji has always been on mind being the soft coral capital of the world! Do you know if there is shore diving there? Also, have you been recently, how’s the coral health there?

I’m in Los Angeles so getting somewhere in the South Pacific shouldn’t be too difficult, I’m not too far fro LAX
 
Thanks for the tip! Fiji has always been on mind being the soft coral capital of the world! Do you know if there is shore diving there? Also, have you been recently, how’s the coral health there?

I’m in Los Angeles so getting somewhere in the South Pacific shouldn’t be too difficult, I’m not too far fro LAX
Yeah, lots of soft coral, but fabulous hard coral too. I was there in 2013; no issues. We were on a liveaboard, but many of the sites had day boats at them.
Lots resort, some with shore diving.
Shore diving in Fiji
You would not want to go to Fiji and do only shore dives, however....
Here is an example I grabbed quickly (pretty much unprocessed, definitely not cleaned up!) from my trip pix; site was Namea, South Save-a-Tack, Tetons II.
upload_2020-1-9_22-29-11.png
 
Wow that is amazing!! I remember why we almost went to Fiji for our honeymoon! Watching recent videos, it seems like the coral is still doing ok, that classic bright pink coral with the orange fish that I always see in videos/pictures of Fiji seems to still be there. When you went, did you stay in Taveuni?

We will def do some boat dives, just don’t want to be on a boat everyday.
 
Bula, Fiji is great for beginners. Your choice of resort will be guided bu budget and what other activities you are interested in. The Yasawa and Mamanuca islands are beautiful with good diving, but not the best in Fiji. They are also, well, islands so other than a bit of cultural stuff, you are left with water sports, SUP, kite surfing perhaps, Hobbie sailing and kayaking.
Possibly a better option would be Pacific Harbour staying at Uprising and diving with either Aquatrek or Beqa Adventure Divers. Here you can dive lovely reefs and also have the option of a shark feeding dive (you are not actually doing the feeding btw). Outside of diving you are close to river rafting in the Namosi Valley which is wonderful, zip lining, jet skiing, quad biking and a host of cultural stuff, as well as the usual water sports. As you are on the main land, you have a wide choice of restaurants and are not tied to the resort. You can also do a day trip to the capitol if you really want to.
What it doesn't have is shore diving, but to be honest, most shore dives are very limited in scope.
I hope that gives you some food for thought.
Greg
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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