Savusavu Resorts and Dive Operators for Namena?

[ACHiPo]

Hi,
We will be joining friends on their catamaran in May, 2025 for a week sailing around Vanua Levu and Taveuni. We will arrive two nights early and stay in the Savusavu area before embarking. After disembarking we will travel to Taveuni for 5 days of more diving and relaxing.

So far we've found the Cousteau and Namale resorts which look nice. Cousteau has dive trips to Namena (thanks to @cetacean for his guidance on how great the diving is at Namena and AC is unnecessary), it looks like it caters to families, which is not a show-stopper, but a consideration. Namale does not "typically" go to Namena because of the distance--not sure if they will--I have an email into them to find out. Namale is adults-only and seems to cater to honeymooners, et al. Again, not a showstopper, but not exactly our vibe.

Koro Sun advertises dive trips to Namena. The resort seems to have good reviews, but the beach is not great.

My wife does not dive, and has limited mobility, so a place that's relatively easy to get around, with a nice beach and/or good snorkeling is a plus.

What other options should we consider?

Thanks in advance!
Evan

 

[ScubaKat_CO]

I have the same question (minus the amazing privilege of joining friends on a catamaran in Fiji you lucky Duck) Following!

 

[ACHiPo]

One more follow-on question--what is diving at Namena like, and what skills are recommended/required? I've seen it described as one of the best dives in the world, and a wall with a max depth of ~100'. I've also seen a report that "dive operators only go there if there are enough qualified divers" which makes me think there may be more to the challenge than a 100' max depth wall? Is it a particularly challenging dive, and if so, why? Are there any dive reports or books/reviews people can recommend (I haven't found any here other than the reports above)?

Thanks in advance.

Edit: I did come across this AI-generated "report"--
The diving depths at Namena Marine Reserve in Fiji range from 25 meters to 30 meters (82 feet to 100 feet):

Two main pinnacles: These pinnacles are separated by 50 meters and are covered in soft corals. The maximum depth for this dive is around 25 meters.

• Magic Mound: This single bommie starts at 24 meters and rises to within 15 feet of the surface. It's covered in hard and soft corals, sea anemones, sea fans, and lionfish.

• Liveaboard diving: The maximum depth for liveaboard diving is 50 meters.
  
  

The Namena Marine Reserve is located between the two main islands of Fiji, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. It's suitable for divers of all levels, from beginners to advanced.

 

[ACHiPo]

One more follow-on question--what is diving at Namena like, and what skills are recommended/required? I've seen it described as one of the best dives in the world, and a wall with a max depth of ~100'. I've also seen a report that "dive operators only go there if there are enough qualified divers" which makes me think there may be more to the challenge than a 100' max depth wall? Is it a particularly challenging dive, and if so, why? Are there any dive reports or books/reviews people can recommend (I haven't found any here other than the reports above)?

Thanks in advance.

Edit: I did come across this AI-generated "report"--
The diving depths at Namena Marine Reserve in Fiji range from 25 meters to 30 meters (82 feet to 100 feet):

Two main pinnacles: These pinnacles are separated by 50 meters and are covered in soft corals. The maximum depth for this dive is around 25 meters.

• Magic Mound: This single bommie starts at 24 meters and rises to within 15 feet of the surface. It's covered in hard and soft corals, sea anemones, sea fans, and lionfish.

• Liveaboard diving: The maximum depth for liveaboard diving is 50 meters.

The Namena Marine Reserve is located between the two main islands of Fiji, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. It's suitable for divers of all levels, from beginners to advanced.

Guess I posted too early...

Continued searching came up with some decent articles on the experience, although I would certainly appreciate any additional insights, regions to definitely hit, etc.

Moodys Namena, Fiji, South Pacific: Undercurrent 04/2002

Koro Sun | namenadivers

reneleger.wixsite.com

Diving in Namena Marine Reserve

Join Dave and Sherry on their cruise around the world on their St. Francis 44 catamaran

svsoggypaws.blogspot.com

OIA: Diving Fiji – Sustainable Travel Lessons From the Deep

Scuba diving has to be one of the greatest adventures of all. There’s nothing like donning a bunch of clunky equipment that allows you to do something you really aren’t supposed to be able to do: breathe underwater. Once you’re down there, you float along weightlessly, utterly immersed in...

www.nationalgeographic.com

 

[cetacean]

Guess I posted too early...

Continued searching came up with some decent articles on the experience, although I would certainly appreciate any additional insights, regions to definitely hit, etc.

Moodys Namena, Fiji, South Pacific: Undercurrent 04/2002

Koro Sun | namenadivers

reneleger.wixsite.com

Diving in Namena Marine Reserve

Join Dave and Sherry on their cruise around the world on their St. Francis 44 catamaran

svsoggypaws.blogspot.com

OIA: Diving Fiji – Sustainable Travel Lessons From the Deep

Scuba diving has to be one of the greatest adventures of all. There’s nothing like donning a bunch of clunky equipment that allows you to do something you really aren’t supposed to be able to do: breathe underwater. Once you’re down there, you float along weightlessly, utterly immersed in...

www.nationalgeographic.com

@ACHiPo

First - as you've likely figured out by now, Namena isn't a dive site, it's an island, in the Koro Sea, to the east of Viti Levu (Fiji's main island), and south of Vanua Levu (Fiji's largest island). The diving on 3 sides of the island is world class (because of where the island sits, along with the resident spinner dolphins, and seasonal visits from several different species of whales).

A contributing factor to the health of the marine environment is that the island is a major nesting site for red footed booby birds (during certain times of the year, baby boobies will occasionally fall into the water and become "food" for several shark species - sad when you see this, but this is nature. For those asking why don't people try to rescue the birds when they fall in - the parents won't go near a baby bird that has been touched by humans).

My favorite dive site at Namena is "Save-a-tack Passage." There are multiple ways to dive this site, including a nice drift along the wall preceeding the plateau area... what makes this site so interesting is the wall with the grey reefies cruising by you, the large schools of fish (jacks and barracuda), and the occasional scalloped hammerhead (water needs to be cool for them to be this shallow). As the wall flattens out to the plateau area, you will find several resident "large" (bordering on giant) grouper. These aren't quite car size, but they are easily larger than any other grouper I've seen, and comparable to the cod at Code Hole on the GBR,

Coming up from the plateau there are a string of bommies covered in colorful soft coral (two with an natural arch formed between them), and reef fish.

I've done this dive ~20 times, and it's always different.