Planning a trip, need some advice..

[njcfm]

My wife and I are looking to go on our (delayed) honeymoon to the south pacific, we got married in June and due to work/etc haven't been able to go anywhere until late October/early November. Yes this year, I know we are not far away but we are hoping we can find a couple of locations to spend 2 weeks at.

We know we want to go to the south pacific, we know we want to spend a few nights in an over the water bungalow, and we know we want to do lots of diving.

We have done all of our diving in the Caribbean and are looking to experience the pacific..

I have read about Fiji/Tahiti and know how expensive they are, but are the reefs there any good?

Are there any islands or chains of islands that offer both the stereotypical bungalows and extremely diverse healthy reefs?

Are there any "budget" islands that cost less and don't have as many frills as the more well known locations that we should consider?


I have done some research but I'm hoping to get some experienced divers' opinions. Any help is much appreciated!

 

[Deep Water Dan]

I haven't been there yet (planning on going next month), but you might want to check out Pohnpei. Google "The Village".

 

[baitballer]

There are some good package deals to Fiji and the diving is certainly better than the Caribbean. It would be much cheaper than Tahiti and probably most of the Pacific.

 

[Mossman]

The reefs in Tahiti are hard coral and not in the greatest shape due to development, crown of thorns, etc., but the water is clear there and you'll see sharks galore. Rangiroa and the other Tuamotus are a different story, but I don't believe there are any over-water bungalow accommodations on Rangiroa or Fakarava. I could be mistaken.

I've never been to Fiji so can't comment other than to say I've seen photos and video of beautiful soft corals and have heard that some reefs are in good shape, others not so good, so it definitely pays to do your homework before deciding what island to visit. When I do decide to dive Fiji, I'll likely do it via liveaboard, the ultimate "over water bungalow" in my opinion. They're not so conducive to romantic honeymoons, however, unless you're extra social folk.

 

[cbm32]

Headed for Fiji Oct 6th for the first time.

Not sure how you came up with Fiji being expensive. Other than air fare (and there are currently some deals on that out there) it is pretty inexpensive in terms of food and lodging if you know where to look for lodging

 

[njcfm]

Headed for Fiji Oct 6th for the first time.

Not sure how you came up with Fiji being expensive. Other than air fare (and there are currently some deals on that out there) it is pretty inexpensive in terms of food and lodging if you know where to look for lodging

care to share the info on cheap lodging?

the over the water bungalow is only a requirement for a few nights.. diving is more important to me however the wife is 50/50..

so far i spoke to a travel agent and they suggested bora bora and rangiora, 5 nights in each.. which doesn't sound so bad, however it is very expensive.

Thank you for the suggestions, keep em coming

 

[Mossman]

Honestly, I've stayed in the overwater bungalows (Intercontinental Moorea) and while they're nice, I don't believe they're special enough to warrant the steep price. Plus it's usually a long walk from anywhere else in the resort. Personally, I'd prefer a beach location right on the water. I think the Kia Ora in Rangiroa or the Mai Tai Dream in Fakarava, I forget which, had some nice indivudual beach bungalows with a little hot tub in front They looked very nice.

If the price of Tahiti scares you off (it's probably one of the priciest "dive" destinations on earth) and Fiji too, have you considered SE Asia? You can find some amazing over-water or beach rooms at much better prices than Tahiti, especially if you only want the fancy stuff for a few nights. Check out Indonesia and Thailand. I'm thinking a luxury over-water bungalow in Phuket along with a liveaboard to the Similans, or a luxury over-water bungalow in south Bali (I think they have those there at some places - at our last hotel, the Laguna Resort, our junior suite had a balcony with a ladder right down into the "lagoon" pool, but it wasn't over the ocean) combined with excellent diving in the north. You can get a lot of bang for your buck in SE Asia and experience some very interesting culture (not that there's anything wrong with Tahitian or Fijian culture, but in Bali you can see thousand-year-old temples and volcanoes in the same day and an English-speaking guide and driver will take you touring around in a private air-conditioned vehicle for all of $40 a day - that's bang for your buck - and the cost of massages, if you or wife are into that, are phenomenally low priced).

 

[ColoDale]

Over the water bungalows are not typical in Fiji that I know of. They were not present in the Taveuni area but maybe they exist in other parts of Fiji. I have not heard of them though. Tahiti, especially Morea and Bora Bora offer the overwater bungalows.

My diving has been mostly Caribbean but we did go to Fiji (Taveuni area) a few years ago. My wife has been to Hawaii 2-3 times with diving. We looked into Tahiti at the time, mostly Morea and Bora Bora. However we did look into Rangiroa a bit. Our research in Morea and Bora Bora showed that while the diving is decent (subjective term), the costs were significantly higher than Fiji (for everything including diving). Tahiti and budget were not in the same sentence. Note that Bora Bora and Morea are part of the Society Islands and Rangiroa is part of the Tuamotu Islands. Maybe 300 KM from the main island of Tahiti (Society Islands).
In addition, we looked into the Paul Gauguin cruise. We have not ever cruised but this is supposed to be very good. This is not a liveaboard dive trip but is a cruise and difficult to dive alot. Also not cheap but they seem to be running specials now. We didn't do it tho.

It is our understanding that there is better diving in the Society Islands than just Morea and Bora Bora and that the Toumotu Islands offers good diving but is more remote.

So while the overwater bungalows were enticing, we chose Fiji for cost and the diving compared to Morea and Bora Bora. We did eleven days at Matangi which is definitely not budget oriented. In Fiji there are bures which are rounded individual rooms but on land - not over water. There are more budget/less expensive places in Taveuni and more around the other islands which may or may not have bures.

The diving in Fiji was fantastic and from what I gather, better than Morea or Bora Bora. Fiji is mostly known for colorful soft corals but there are spots with hard corals. Other places will have more sharks and larger fish. There are quite a few threads here about Fiji. The diving in Fiji blew away the Caribbean in my opinion. Topside in Fiji, especially Taveuni, was excellent as well.

You could check out the Cook Islands. Not sure about budget oriented on that one.

If the overwater bungalow is your goal for a few days and you have two weeks then maybe do Morea/Bora Bora and then on to Tuomotus in a less romantic setting. Maybe you can run into some Kardashians.

 

[njcfm]

awesome information..

I know a live-aboard is out of the question, my wife tends to get a little sea sick.. she can deal with it for a few hours, but an extended period of time would not go over well.

I'm looking into Fiji.. I'm wondering if there is a way to do 5 days in/around Tahiti and another 5 in Fiji

 

[farsidefan1]

Been to Tahiti, Fiji, and several places in the Caribbean. Although there is some good diving on the outer islands of Tahiti I would go straight to Fiji, do not pass go, do not collect $100 dollars ( In case you are young that is a Monopoly reference). As noted by others I'm not aware of any over ocean rooms other than a couple places in Tahiti (Moorea is nicest in my mind) but I would stay at Paradise in Fiji on Taveuni. We got married there then went on an extended honeymoon on Mike Balls liveaboard the Spoilsport (hey, my wife survived our spoilsport honeymoon, I'm not that guy). Taveuni is cool because you are on the only place where the international dateline crosses land. Some great bird watching (flame dove, indigenous to that island only is spectacular) and waterfall hikes as well. Prices are CHEAP compared to Tahiti. It is about a 9 hour flight from LA.And you might get there yesterday.