My wife and I got back from a wonderful vacation and I would like to share some of our experiences.
We flew Air Pacific out of LAX. We left about 1 hour late and arrived as such. Flight was comfortable, food was good for airline food. It took forever for us to get our luggage and by the ime we got to check in for our flight to Taveuni, we were to late and had to wait for the next flight around 2:00.
We were able to leave our luggage at the counter and went off exploring downtown Nadi. We went to the Hindu Temple and there was some sort of ceremony going on which was interesting to watch. It was very hot and humid that day without any breeze. We walked through town, being bombarded with offers to come into shops and buy their wares. This type of approach really turns us off and all we bought was some water. We returned to the airport and had lunch. Air Pacific had given us a meal voucher for our missing flight. Afterwards, we waited a while, boarded the airplane and off to Taveuni. The 1 hour, 40 minute flight was a great way to look at the islands.
We arrived at the Matei airport where our ride was waiting. A 20 minute drive down the coast and we were at Garden Island Resort. We were met by a group singing to us a welcoming song which was very nice. We settled in, had supper, made arrangements for diving the next day and went to bed. A word about the food at GI. There is usually 2 or 3 choices for meals, salads and soups as well. The meals are very well prepared, offering a mix of traditional and Fijian foods. If there is something yo would rather have, you can ask and they will do their best to prepare it. One night I had a desire for a steak, and they came up with a delicious steak dianne. Continental breakfast are provided, however you can ask for things like omelets, french toast etc if you feel the need. We did not have a bad meal. Some we like better than others, but that is to be expected.
The dive sop is right on the grounds. Simply and efficient. We brought our own gear, however it appeared that they had all of the essentials if needed. Tanks were AL80's and always filled to over 3000.
We would meet at the shop about 8am ish (it is island time remember), hope aboard the boat for a 15-20 minute ride to the dive site. Your equipment would be all set up for you except weights unless you requested otherwise. They would also swap out tanks between dives as well. The dive sites would be chosen by prevailing tides, currents and requests. We dove the Rainbow Reef 16 times and only dove one site twice, and that was by request (Fish Factory). We hit the Great White Wall, the Zoo, Annie's Bommie (Annie herself led that dive), Barracuda hole, purple wall and many others. We also did a night dive.
Check the moon phase if you go. 5 days either side of a full moon will create some VERY strong currents on some dives. We found out the hard way. The current can be very hard to predict, as were we tumbling down beside a reef.
The reefs looked to be very healthy. Corals were in full bloom, a wide variety of creatures including sharks, eels, triggers of all sizes, anemones and their fish guests, and tons and tons of fish of every shape and color. There was not a dive in which we were not amazed. Every dive was better than the last, simply because it was the freshest in our memories. Seeing the ribbon eel was awesome until the bronze whaler shark showed. Then the anemone fish that charged me because I came to close to his home was my favorite. While doing a safety stop, 2 shark suckers were swimming around us, trying to decide if we were a worthy host to give them rides was a real treat.
I can go on and on. The Fijian people are amazing. Willing to give the shirt off their backs to help you. A welcoming Bula anywhere you. (Not just at a point of sale...) There are two very different cultures in Fiji. The traditional Fijians, and the transplanted Indian people that make up a very large percentage of the populations. The Indian populations were brought in by the British years ago to work on the sugar plantations as the Island inhabitants were not very interested in doing this. When Fiji was granted independence, the Indians were offered to go back to India or they could stay and be granted citizenship. Most stayed.
There is not a beach in front of the resort, rather rocky because of the currents. Snorkeling is ok for a past time, we did not partake. In the trees in front of the resort is a large colony of fruit bats. They are very fun to watch during the day as the argue with one another over roosting rights and then when they take off for the night flights in search of food. They are clean and of no hazard what so ever. There is a large number of toads that come out at night as well in search of food. And, of course, the ever present anoles eating bugs. I saw only 1 mosquito the entire time and was not bitten by anything.
My wife and I had a wonderful time. The diving was amazing, the people terrific, the resort was warm and gracious. And for the value, it was a steal. For $888 each, we got 7nights, 8 days, 12 dives, a free pizza (homemade), 30 minute massage, all you can eat continental breakfast, all the Kava you want in the evenings being serenaded by a local band (which really was pretty good). A meal plan was available, but we went on our own. With the extra dives, eating well, flights from LAX, we spent about $5000 on this trip. We could have done a little cheaper and certainly could have spent a lot more. So dollar for dollar, it would be hard to match the quality of our vacation.
I would highly recommend this resort and diving opportunity. I would be happy to answer any questions if you are thinking about this.
We flew Air Pacific out of LAX. We left about 1 hour late and arrived as such. Flight was comfortable, food was good for airline food. It took forever for us to get our luggage and by the ime we got to check in for our flight to Taveuni, we were to late and had to wait for the next flight around 2:00.
We were able to leave our luggage at the counter and went off exploring downtown Nadi. We went to the Hindu Temple and there was some sort of ceremony going on which was interesting to watch. It was very hot and humid that day without any breeze. We walked through town, being bombarded with offers to come into shops and buy their wares. This type of approach really turns us off and all we bought was some water. We returned to the airport and had lunch. Air Pacific had given us a meal voucher for our missing flight. Afterwards, we waited a while, boarded the airplane and off to Taveuni. The 1 hour, 40 minute flight was a great way to look at the islands.
We arrived at the Matei airport where our ride was waiting. A 20 minute drive down the coast and we were at Garden Island Resort. We were met by a group singing to us a welcoming song which was very nice. We settled in, had supper, made arrangements for diving the next day and went to bed. A word about the food at GI. There is usually 2 or 3 choices for meals, salads and soups as well. The meals are very well prepared, offering a mix of traditional and Fijian foods. If there is something yo would rather have, you can ask and they will do their best to prepare it. One night I had a desire for a steak, and they came up with a delicious steak dianne. Continental breakfast are provided, however you can ask for things like omelets, french toast etc if you feel the need. We did not have a bad meal. Some we like better than others, but that is to be expected.
The dive sop is right on the grounds. Simply and efficient. We brought our own gear, however it appeared that they had all of the essentials if needed. Tanks were AL80's and always filled to over 3000.
We would meet at the shop about 8am ish (it is island time remember), hope aboard the boat for a 15-20 minute ride to the dive site. Your equipment would be all set up for you except weights unless you requested otherwise. They would also swap out tanks between dives as well. The dive sites would be chosen by prevailing tides, currents and requests. We dove the Rainbow Reef 16 times and only dove one site twice, and that was by request (Fish Factory). We hit the Great White Wall, the Zoo, Annie's Bommie (Annie herself led that dive), Barracuda hole, purple wall and many others. We also did a night dive.
Check the moon phase if you go. 5 days either side of a full moon will create some VERY strong currents on some dives. We found out the hard way. The current can be very hard to predict, as were we tumbling down beside a reef.
The reefs looked to be very healthy. Corals were in full bloom, a wide variety of creatures including sharks, eels, triggers of all sizes, anemones and their fish guests, and tons and tons of fish of every shape and color. There was not a dive in which we were not amazed. Every dive was better than the last, simply because it was the freshest in our memories. Seeing the ribbon eel was awesome until the bronze whaler shark showed. Then the anemone fish that charged me because I came to close to his home was my favorite. While doing a safety stop, 2 shark suckers were swimming around us, trying to decide if we were a worthy host to give them rides was a real treat.
I can go on and on. The Fijian people are amazing. Willing to give the shirt off their backs to help you. A welcoming Bula anywhere you. (Not just at a point of sale...) There are two very different cultures in Fiji. The traditional Fijians, and the transplanted Indian people that make up a very large percentage of the populations. The Indian populations were brought in by the British years ago to work on the sugar plantations as the Island inhabitants were not very interested in doing this. When Fiji was granted independence, the Indians were offered to go back to India or they could stay and be granted citizenship. Most stayed.
There is not a beach in front of the resort, rather rocky because of the currents. Snorkeling is ok for a past time, we did not partake. In the trees in front of the resort is a large colony of fruit bats. They are very fun to watch during the day as the argue with one another over roosting rights and then when they take off for the night flights in search of food. They are clean and of no hazard what so ever. There is a large number of toads that come out at night as well in search of food. And, of course, the ever present anoles eating bugs. I saw only 1 mosquito the entire time and was not bitten by anything.
My wife and I had a wonderful time. The diving was amazing, the people terrific, the resort was warm and gracious. And for the value, it was a steal. For $888 each, we got 7nights, 8 days, 12 dives, a free pizza (homemade), 30 minute massage, all you can eat continental breakfast, all the Kava you want in the evenings being serenaded by a local band (which really was pretty good). A meal plan was available, but we went on our own. With the extra dives, eating well, flights from LAX, we spent about $5000 on this trip. We could have done a little cheaper and certainly could have spent a lot more. So dollar for dollar, it would be hard to match the quality of our vacation.
I would highly recommend this resort and diving opportunity. I would be happy to answer any questions if you are thinking about this.
