Tui Tai Adventure Cruises

[DCDivenut]

Did a search here and on Rodales but I couldn't find anything on them... I am looking at doing Fiji with my girlfriend probably in Dec next year. She is starting to dive but is not as "gung ho" as I am. I was thinking of a week on the Nai'a or the Aggressor followed by a week of a land based resort. The Tui Tai seems like an interesting blend of liveaboard diving (i.e. lots of sites all over the islands) and other activities that she can do when not diving.

The boat looks good but there are not a lot of pictures. I saw that they are doing a refit in '06 but I am still worried that they may try to be too much of everything and not really do anything well.

Any feedback, stories or experiences? Thanks!

 

[Uncle Pug]

Check out my article here and the weblog of my trip to Fiji here.

Days 4 and 5 of the blog inlcude pictures of the Tui Tai portion of the trip.

 

[DCDivenut]

Check out my article here and the weblog of my trip to Fiji here.

Days 4 and 5 of the blog inlcude pictures of the Tui Tai portion of the trip.

Thanks for the info UP. I had read your blog with great interest. What is the condition of the boat as far as amenities? I am pretty easy to please (sheet and a rolled up towel for a pillow work for me) but my GF is a little more demanding

 

[Uncle Pug]

This is not a luxury liner by any means. Is she adventurous? Does she say *Arrrrr...* alot?

Private sleeping rooms (for the most part ~ dorm forward) but the head and showers are communal (men's and women's separate) and are on the deck below the sleeping quarters... adjacent to the galley.

my stateroom:

galley:

entrance to men's head

Arrrrr!!! As I said in my blog: Tui Tai was my favorite part of the trip.

 

[Repetitive Diver]

Hey Divenut

The Tui Tai is not a salubrious boat but it is being refurbished as you say and should be looking pretty good by April 06. They will have four standards of cabin from single dorm type to 'super deluxe' so if you book sufficiently in advance you should be able to get what you want. It is an adventure trip more than a diving liveaboard, although you can dive every day, so it really depends what you are after. They have trips on to land, into villages and all sorts of other things so your days are full (although not full of diving). Most people are very happy with their trip on the Tui Tai - they have 3 day, 4 day and 5 day trips.

The Naia and the Fiji Aggressor are serious liveaboards: 7 day minimum and do lots of diving - not really for non-divers. They are excellent boats and when you consider the longer trips are not that much more expensive than the Tui Tai - so how much time you have is also a factor.

As far as your land based stay is concerned, are you planning to dive at this time too? I would recommend Kadavu for the real Fiji experience and Pacific Harbour for shark feeding dives - awesome.

Hope that helps.

Cheers

 

[DCDivenut]

UP - She only says "Arrr" when I piss her off, which is quite frequently According to their website most of their rooms have private bathrooms, which is probably as a result of their refit (http://www.tuitai.com/onboard_facilities.cfm ), and good news since I don't see her getting into communal head situation

RD - Good suggestions. I would love to do the Aggressor (she likes the look of that boat better, go figure) but I think I need to convince her she will have stuff to do when I am off diving my brains out, which is why I think the Tui Tai might be a good compromise, especially with their "Diver taste of Fiji Package"

I was thinking of of an itinerary as follows, and would love to get your feedback. We will have about 2 weeks.

1. Beqa Lagoon Resort - Based on UP's recommendation and some other research. Do some diving, but also relax a little bit. Does this allow me to do the shark dives in Pacific Harbor you mentioned? They seem to be fairly close. 5 days

2. Tui Tai Cruise - See Northen end of Fiji on Diver's Taste Package. Get to do the hiking, experience the culture as well. 5 days

3. Remote "romantic resort" - I was thinking somewhere in Yasawa or Kadavu. I can;t quite afford 1k per night at Yasawa Island but was thinking something along those lines. Any suggestions? 4 days

Any thoughts/comments/ideas?

 

[Uncle Pug]

Wow... looks like they have done a serious upgrade!

For your #3 I would suggest Namena Island. We didn't stay there but only had lunch and toured the island and the remote bures. This is definitely a cool place! You will feel like you are alone on a tropical island.

 

[dolphin adventures]

Hi: I stayed at Namena Island Resort for 3 nights. Really amazing diving and the island is a great place to explore.....lots of 2,000 year old pottery shards and a ancient rock fence site. A really nice beach and the bures are very unique with great views and supplimentary lighting by gas lamps. But this is a very remote resort....not for everyone.

I also did the Tui Tai and I really enjoyed the experience. I think they do it all well.....great diving, good food, lots of great island stops. My only complaint was the sleeping accommodations but that should be fixed with the re-fit early in 2006.

Mary Jane
www.dolphindestiny.com

 

[Repetitive Diver]

Hey Divenut

When we went to Fiji we were a bit disappointed with the diving in Beqa. It is only our opinion of course but it seemed like El Nino and other factors have reduced the reefs to well below what the promo stuff says. We recommend Lagoon resort in Pacific Harbour, Viti Levu – through them you can do the shark dives which are awesome, and that way there is something for the missus to do on the mainland.

Tui Tai as you say will keep any non-divers amused too, and I think with the refurb it should be very good.

There are a couple of places in Kadavu worth a look. Matana Resort (aka Dive Kadavu) is good and has a nice beach. Matava resort is a real eco-friendly hideaway. Both score pretty well on the romance level. Both are reasonably cheap and in Kadavu you will get the real ‘away from it all’ Fiji feel. The Astrolabe Reef is pretty special too. The flight is very short too.

Hope that helps. You can drop me an email if you need any more info.

 

[DCDivenut]

THanks for the info, I am putting together a hefty file of options!