Shark dive off Fiji Beqa Island

[cubalake]

I'll put this question here although perhaps there is a better forum.

Next week we will be at the Lalati Resort on Fiji's Beqa Island. They advertise a supposedly super shark dive. It is expensive, to my way of thinking. I've been on shark dives in the Caribbean.

Has anyone done this shark dive and is it something I don't want to miss?

 

[Submersible T-Rex]

My husband and I stayed there in 2011 and went on their shark dives. To date they are my two favorite dives of all times, and we've been on several other shark dives before and since.

First dive was deeper, around 80' if memory serves. Second was much shallower. There was an opportunity to swim out and pet one of the sharks if you wanted. It was most bull and tiger sharks, but there different reef sharks too.

The resort was very nice, but I have been told they have different management now. The food was fantastic too.

My husbands favorite thing about the diving was that most all the dives ended on reefs with tops between 10-20' deep. Best safety stops we've ever done.

I'd say don't miss the shark dives.

Hope you have a great trip!




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[scubamarketing]

I stayed at a different resort on Beqa, but our shark dive was with a few other operations so they may use one of a few sites for the dives.

I used to work a liveaboard in the Caribbean and we did weekly shark dives, the one in Beqa was still very impressive and worth the extra money.

We had some topside issues due to multiple dive operators, if you run into other boats out there, be adamant about your diver check in after the dive.

Have a great time, Fiji is amazing!

 

[cbm32]

The Bega shark dives more sink, stay, and observe than doing real diving. Both Aqua Trek and Bega Adventure Divers do a good job with the dives and the dives are certainly worth doing, at least in my opinion. Large numbers of several types of reef sharks, Bulls, and from time to time a Tiger. Very expensive but, unless you have a phisophical problem with feeding sharks, very worth doing.

 

[nauga]

I spent a week at Lalati in June and absolutely loved it, for the diving and the resort in general. I did the shark dive on my last dive day - like CBM said, it was mostly watching a feeding while parked on the bottom. The sharks are close and big and it's impressive, but it's hardly natural behavior. I would have regretted it if I hadn't done it but now that it's done I probably wouldn't do it again, especially when you consider all the other sites nearby. We saw whitetips on every other dive (and snorkel) that were more in their element. The trip down the line and the ascent were just as impressive and there's a honkin' big eel under one of the wrecks we dropped on before swimming to the feeding 'arena'.

Nauga,
hovering and hoovering

 

[Island Dude]

8 trips there and loved it every time. The shark dive is one of the best!

 

[Frosty]

cubalake--I think it very much depends what you want out of a shark dive. As others have posted the bega experience really is a drop in get to the bottom hang on and watch. I must say my personal experience was that I got more shark interaction on "normal" dives in Fiji

 

[supergaijin]

There was an opportunity to swim out and pet one of the sharks if you wanted. It was most bull and tiger sharks, but there different reef sharks too.

Why not? ... I mean what's the worst that could happen...?

 

[DivemasterDennis]

Beqa ia beautiful. They feed the sharks on the shark dive, and as an objector to that practice, Deebie and I did not go on the feed the sharks dive. However, if you are into that , everyone who did go reported lots of sharks feeding from the shark pied piper. I prefer to see marine wildlife in a more natural setting, sharks or otherwise.
DivemasterDennis

 

[asha]

My only gripe with the Beqa shark dive was that it was relatively chaotic compared to the reef shark feedings in, e.g., the Caribbean. This may be a function of the sharks (bulls, tigers) being bigger and/or less predictable than the reef sharks. In my experience in the Caribbean, the shark feeders hand-fed the animals and the sharks behaved in a relatively orderly fashion. In Beqa, the feeder simply dumped out a large garbage can of fish bits and the resulting melee made it more challenging to follow the action.

It was the only time I've ever seen those big sharks, though, so it was still definitely worth it for me.