What's the deal with Fiji?

[tendi]

It's on our list so we gotta go! My question is, what is the best way to do it? I'm guessing the answer will be liveaboard but who knows. Are there times to avoid due to weather? Are there any seasons for wildlife? Also, it's possible we may have new-ish divers with us. We just whipped them into shape with a week of shore diving in Bonaire but they are not experienced with current. Is Fiji a good location for them or should we plan a different destination? Thanks in advance!

 

[Lorenzoid]

Gosh, I wish I had given it as much thought. I read through some threads here on SB, where people asked whether a land-based resort or liveaboard is the way to go, decided on a liveaboard, and clicked to book a trip. We didn't have much choice when it came to the season--we had a specific week we wanted to use to go diving somewhere. I'm curious what responses you will receive. I did a land-based Fiji trip about 10 years ago, so this will be my second Fiji trip.

 

[PADI Travel]

Hi tendi,

I’ll try my best to answer your questions about diving in Fiji.

1. We would definitely recommend a liveaboard for Fiji. And that’s not just because we are a liveaboard booking site. The most unique and least dived sites are only reachable by liveaboard.

2. You can dive Fiji year-round, but the best time to go may depend on your preferences. July-December has the best viz but the coldest water. April-October is the busy season, but November, April and May are considered ideal months to dive due to the warm water and the plankton blooms that attract manta rays and whale sharks during the rainy season.

3. Most of the country’s liveaboard routes have no minimum logged dive requirement in Fiji. So, it should be just fine to dive with newish divers on any of the liveaboards in Fiji.

Please let us know if you have any other questions. In the meantime, happy diving!

 

[CaptainCalamari]

Best weather times, May to October, but good weather is all year.

Liveaboard versus land based? Depends where. If you compare liveaboard to the main Island, then liveaboard wins. Throw in one of the offshore islands, then I think the island wins.

If "all" you want to do is dive, then a liveaboard probably wins. If you want to do others activites during your surface interval, then an island will win.

I stayed on Mana Island 2 years ago, and would go back there in a heartbeat. They have a resident dive shop and their own boats. Great dive sites are only a 5-20min boat ride from the island.