My other thread inspired me to learn about Taveuni. It looks like my paradise! I want to see if I can afford to go within the next 2 weeks and need suggestions on how to make it all happen and with reasonable rates (meaning not the most expensive, and not sleeping in tents). I’d like to dive a lot but also explore the jungles and waterfalls, maybe 10-14 days.
I can't offer any advice about Fiji (I'm sad to say!) but I wanted to mention a few things that you should take into consideration when shopping for a dive vacation in many places around the world. You haven't stated if you will be traveling alone or with a companion, but your budget suggests that you will be traveling as a single diver.
Often when you see prices listed for a resort/LOB/dive package they are per person and based on double occupancy - and there may be a significant upcharge for single occupancy. That's not always true but it is something to confirm when you are pricing various options.
Also, when you are looking at places with bargain prices - anywhere in the tropics - the reason that the price is low may be because they don't have air conditioning. If the description includes info about the ceiling fans and cooling breezes, they probably don't have AC.
Since you live in the tropics perhaps you are used to the heat and you don't need AC (?) but it's a deal-breaker for me - especially when the location has a lot of mosquitos and/or other biting insects.
We once stayed in a charming place without AC on a remote tropical island. There was mosquito netting suspended over the bed - how quaint! It didn't work very well at keeping out the insects but it sure kept out those cooling breezes! After that trip the AC requirement became mandatory for all of our tropical vacations.
Also, when the ads and travel brochures refer to the reefs as "great for macrophotography" that may mean that the site has been overfished and there isn't an abundance of life on the reefs.
And sometimes there are hidden fees and extras, like resort fees, taxes, transfers, service charges, etc. Find out what's included and what's extra and make sure that you are comparing apples to apples.
Be aware that sometimes there are currency conversion fees and make sure that your credit card doesn't charge foreign transaction fees.
And sometimes it can be hard to get to a destination, even if you are traveling from a hub airport and your destination isn't very far away. That can add expense and cut into your vacation and dive time.
For example, when we went to Dominica we were traveling from Chicago to a Caribbean island - not all that far away - but we had to overnight in hotels in Puerto Rico both on the way down and when coming home - because there just aren't many flights to Dominica available!
Another good question to ask is "how long are the boat rides out to the reef?" You can spend a lot of your precious vacation time traveling to and from the reef - and maybe even getting seasick if you are like me!
I don't mean to sound like a Debbie Downer, but we learned these lessons the hard way and I just wanted to give you a heads up - sometimes a bargain isn't really that much of a bargain.
But I don't want to scare anyone away from traveling. We always had a great time when we were learning these lessons, but we have gotten a little more picky about our travel decisions over time - I just wanted to share a few tips!
Good luck!
