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Taveuni: Paradise vs. Taveuni Dive Resort vs. Nakia
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Feney
Registered
I have no firsthand knowledge of Nakia but a tripadvisor review mentioned you have to haul your scuba gear back and forth across a semi-busy road each day of diving. It looks nice but prefer a more concierge type of diving these days.
I stayed at Nakia a couple of years ago. The resort is centrally located and the boat rides to the Rainbow Reef are quick. The dive op is fantastic, but you will be carrying your dive gear and kit (everything!) back and forth from the resort to the dive shop. You will need to go down/up a steep set of stairs and across a busy road. The resort is quiet and chill, and while lovely with pretty grounds and horses, does not have the cultural aspect that Paradise has. There is no bar, no scheduled events like kava, and the general vibe is very quiet. We remarked that it would be a good place for people in recovery to visit, and not have to worry about being around alcohol and kava. The rooms are dated and tired. However, Nakia is closer to other Taveuni attractions such as the waterfalls and hikes. I would not return. I've heard that Taveuni Dive Resort is a good option as it's also closer to other Taveuni attractions, and has more concierge diving service and upbeat vibes.
ACHiPo
Contributor
We decided on Paradise. We arrive the 17th.
afternoonnaps
Registered
bballnut90
Registered
Flying back to the USA tonight after a great 2 weeks in Fiji. Taveuni Dive Resort was our favorite diving and accommodation from the trip.
Pros:
-excellent and quick communication. Everything runs like a well oiled machine there. Carl and team do a fantastic job
-the staff members are warm and learned every customer's name which I found impressive (this is common all over Fiji based on my experience)
-the food was outstanding. Different specials each day along with ala carte options. They get the plates out quickly too. We had our favorite meals here compared to another dive resort and a couple of the big hotels in Denarau. Every meal was great.
-the resort grounds are beautiful. The pool/bar area has a great ocean sunset view and wifi works well there
-you're 15 minutes from Rainbow Reef and the diving is phenomenal. Reminded me a lot of Raja Ampat diving. Incredibly healthy coral, huge schools of smaller fish. We saw some sharks too and people reported seeing mantas there but we weren't so lucky to spot them. It was really nice hopping on a boat and being in the water in 15-20 min instead of driving 30+ minutes each time. They list the dates available for Great White Wall online, but if the current is okay in the afternoon they'll take you out too even on an "off day". We went and it was quite spectacular.
-rooms are spacious and nice. There isn't AC but the fans are powerful, the room is well ventilated and it never felt stuffy/hot. Might be hotter/cooler during other seasons but I thought the weather was near perfect for our trip (high 70s during the day, low 70s/high 60s at night
-they set up tours for you and you pay the drivers directly. We liked the Lavena Coastal Walk though it's a far drive. The waterfalls there were beautiful and empty, we had the place all to ourselves.
Cons:
-no wifi in the rooms and using an esim I didn't have service either. Wifi works very well though by the pool area and is on 24 hours
-decent amount of mosquitoes, you'll find that anywhere in the tropics though
-the house reef reportedly isn't anything to write home about. Would've liked to snorkel too but ended up getting plenty of ocean time diving 3x/day.
The whole experience was outstanding and we loved spending 5 days here. It's a really nice boutique dive shop and I'd 100% stay here again on my next trip to Taveuni.
Pros:
-excellent and quick communication. Everything runs like a well oiled machine there. Carl and team do a fantastic job
-the staff members are warm and learned every customer's name which I found impressive (this is common all over Fiji based on my experience)
-the food was outstanding. Different specials each day along with ala carte options. They get the plates out quickly too. We had our favorite meals here compared to another dive resort and a couple of the big hotels in Denarau. Every meal was great.
-the resort grounds are beautiful. The pool/bar area has a great ocean sunset view and wifi works well there
-you're 15 minutes from Rainbow Reef and the diving is phenomenal. Reminded me a lot of Raja Ampat diving. Incredibly healthy coral, huge schools of smaller fish. We saw some sharks too and people reported seeing mantas there but we weren't so lucky to spot them. It was really nice hopping on a boat and being in the water in 15-20 min instead of driving 30+ minutes each time. They list the dates available for Great White Wall online, but if the current is okay in the afternoon they'll take you out too even on an "off day". We went and it was quite spectacular.
-rooms are spacious and nice. There isn't AC but the fans are powerful, the room is well ventilated and it never felt stuffy/hot. Might be hotter/cooler during other seasons but I thought the weather was near perfect for our trip (high 70s during the day, low 70s/high 60s at night
-they set up tours for you and you pay the drivers directly. We liked the Lavena Coastal Walk though it's a far drive. The waterfalls there were beautiful and empty, we had the place all to ourselves.
Cons:
-no wifi in the rooms and using an esim I didn't have service either. Wifi works very well though by the pool area and is on 24 hours
-decent amount of mosquitoes, you'll find that anywhere in the tropics though
-the house reef reportedly isn't anything to write home about. Would've liked to snorkel too but ended up getting plenty of ocean time diving 3x/day.
The whole experience was outstanding and we loved spending 5 days here. It's a really nice boutique dive shop and I'd 100% stay here again on my next trip to Taveuni.
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