Taveuni, Beqa, Yasawas and Weather

[aloha]

Aloha,

My fiance and I are going to Fiji in June to be married.

We are looking at Taveuni for some diving but primarily the topside features (waterfalls and hiking).

After that we would like to go to Beqa Lagoon so he can do the shark diving with Beqa Adventure Divers.

And if time and dollars allow, we'd like to hop over to Yasawas for beautiful beaches and snorkeling.

Any suggestions on places to stay? We like quiet, unpretentious (but not backpacker), private, romantic, reasonably priced places - not the big, fancy hotels.

In Taveuni considering Lomalagi vacation home or Matei Point. Both look great.

In Beqa the only two places I can find that will be close enough to dive operation are the Lagoon Resort or the Pearl. Neither look like what I'm wanting - but may have no choice on this one.

In Yasawas - no ideas yet.

Most of all - I wonder about weather. Thought June would be well out of the rainy season but have read many reports about LOTS of rain in May, June and July in both Taveuni and Beqa.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Yvonne

 

[RockyHeap]

http://www.kulubayresort.com/

Stayed here a week in June. Awesome weather. Awesome place. Remote yet plush, very intimate and perfect for a honeymoon. June was actually better weather than another trip we did there in March.

Yasawas don't get you the true Fiji Feel, as they're on the dry side of the island and Taveuni takes longer to get to and added airfare.

Beqa lagoon is only a couple hour drive south of Nadi airport, and you get to explore the jungle and wonderfull people on the way.

I also highly recommend this jungle rafting trip. Awesome.

http://www.riversfiji.com/navua.htm

 

[jesgooch]

Hi Yvonne,

We dove out of Beqa Lagoon in October. We stayed at this place called Pacific Safari Club.
It was cheap, 50 fijian dollars a night, the rooms are huge with your own kitchenette so you can cook your own food etc. Which was nice after 9 days in the Yasawas and Mana we were ready to make our own stuff.
Tony is the owner there, an interesting ex-pat from Great Britain. Not the most romantic place but right on the canal where the dive shops are, I believe that the shark divers will pick you up. My bf did that dive and said it was awesome! Also, I would recommend doing their soft coral dive, or with Aqua-trek...

The Ysawas do have some nicer than backpacker resorts, we went through Awesome Adventures and got a bula pass, which allowed us to Island hop for 7 days. They do drop you off at places nicer than the backpacker resorts.

Let me know if you want more info.

Jess

 

[Repetitive Diver]

Hi Yvonne

The main Taveuni diving season is April to October so no problems there. There are some good places to stay in Taveuni which are above backpacker status but not too expensive such as Maravu Plantation Resort and Garden Island resort.

For the shark dives in Viti Levu the combination of a few nights in Lagoon Resort and diving with Beqa Adventure Divers is your best bet - they have the concession for the shark feeds and these dives are awesome.

If you want a combination of diving and topside tours and points of interest then what about the Tui Tai adventure cruises - they combine diving with trips ashore to villages and oplaces of cultural and natural interest. The boat is being refurbished and will be finished by early April 2006 so there will be high quality cabins available.

Also internal flights are very cheapo and easy and essential if you want to see the best Fiji has to offer.

I agree with the Yasawas comment earlier - there are so many places to visit in Fiji it really is worth finding out what's what first.

Good luck

 

[Code Monkey]

We stayed at Beqa Lagoon Resort and they link up with the shark diving people. We didn't take them up on it but you can sign-up for the bull shark dive through them. FWIW, we loved Beqa Lagoon Resort and all of their regular diving. They have unlimited shore diving, to boot!