Wananavu Beach Resort: Looking for Opinions

[Scubagolf]

My wife and I are contemplating a local dive shop sponsored trip to Fiji in the Fall. The first week is at Beqa Lagoon and the second week is at Wananavu Beach Resort. Beqa Lagoon looks terrific and the reviews support this choice. On the other hand, Wananavu Beach Resort looks questionable.

Can anybody offer fairly recent reviews/commentary about Wananavu? Any help will be very much appreciated.

 

[Kevrumbo]

The Bures, Resort Grounds, Food and Staff were all excellent --beach sand was eroding however; the diving fantastic in the Bligh Straits with Kai Viti Divers dive ops (Dec 2006).

Strong currents --recommend outfitting a Peleliu Pack

 

[stu_in_fl]

did a week at Wannanavu last yr (after a week on Kandavu) - it was nice. For diving i'd certainly recommend paying extra and doing the longer range 3-tank dives - they go out to Bligh Waters which is great diving....if you do the more local 2 tank dives it would not be so spectacuar. We dived with Kai Viti on site and there were 6 of us (seemed to be the minimum number to make the 3 tank trip) so we did the 3 tank each day and added a night dive (4th dive) on the last day....shore diving is limited - we did it a few times - very murkey...we were the only ones to do it !
Also, our flight was at 10pm ? on the way out - they let us pay for a day room which was worth it.
Not much else round the resort - pool, bar /restaurant / massage. I thinbk they do some tours and beach BBQ's but we were busy diving so didn't investigate.

 

[bqualls]

Stayed at wananavu last October. Very nice accom., good food, and great diving. I would definately return. They were a little hesitant to take us to the outter reefs(they said rough seas on 3 days and lack of petrol on 1) , but the inner reefs they dove were wonderful. Water was consistently 79F. Friendly dive masters...Water ,milo, and banana bread between dives.This resort is a great value now esp. with the devalued fijian dollar.

 

[hammerhead man]

I have never been the Wananavu and have no direct knowledge; however, I recently read that one scuba board member had some problems with them. Here is a link to their experience: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/pacific-islands/267114-has-happened-you-fiji.html.

Another possibility is Taveuni Island. I have heard that there is great diving there and you can find some very excellent resorts. Here is a link to the resorts: Taveuni Island Hotels: Read Taveuni Island Hotel Reviews and Compare Prices - TripAdvisor.

Regards,

bill

 

[kneptoon]

We spent a week at Wananvu and went out most days to Bligh Waters with Kai Viti divers. It was superb diving at Bligh. By contrast the diving closer to shore was lousy. The resort itself was perfect. However, unless you are diving Bligh Waters it is not worthwhile. As it is a long haul out, and the seas can be rather rough, Kai Viti doesn't always go. Unfortunately it is their call and sometimes it seems more a whim than a decision based on weather. As it is cheaper for them to operate near shore it is always offered as an option. There is really no comparison. I don't know what you can do about. There were 6 of us and we just whined a lot until they took us to Bligh.

 

[Rickg]

My wife and I are contemplating a local dive shop sponsored trip to Fiji in the Fall. The first week is at Beqa Lagoon and the second week is at Wananavu Beach Resort. Beqa Lagoon looks terrific and the reviews support this choice. On the other hand, Wananavu Beach Resort looks questionable.

Can anybody offer fairly recent reviews/commentary about Wananavu? Any help will be very much appreciated.

Scubagolf,

We were there in FEB this year. Here is the link to my trip report.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/pacific-islands/274991-fiji-trip-report.html

 

[parrotheaddiver]

We stayed a Wananavu for a few days last June '08 before we boarded the Nai'a...it was a very nice resort...but I wouldn't call it a "dive resort" our group dived w/Kai Viti divers w/no complaints....I thought the food got boring after a few meals but not being a fish eater I was limited....The Bligh waters are where the best diving is IMO....a bit of a trip out there though....there is also approx 3 hr ride from Nadi to the resort on a big bus but it was fun to see some of the island....the people at the resort and all over the island were awesome....it was a wonderful trip..

 

[Rickg]

Scubagolf,

I'm off to HI tomorrow for 10 days (work, believe it or not) but when I get back I'll try to upload my pic's from the trip to Google and post the link so you have an idea of what to expect.

 

[Papa_Bear]

The Resort and staff are top notch! The Dive operation is very good, but book through the resort the owner of the dive operation, Kiviti Divers is a cheat and lair! I would not do anything through her unless you want to be cheated and ripped off! She is an American, so you can't fault the Fijians! See my thread in this section!