Resorts on Taveuni Island, Fiji

Hey all.

My girlfriend/dive buddy are planning a holiday for Jan 09 and want to go diving in fiji.

We had settled on a location to stay which we both were happy with from what we had read on various sites but after a post here about the resort we were looking at, we decided that the place just wasn't what we were after.

That said it's back to the drawing board. More reading, and the focus has turned to Taveuni Island in the north of fiji.

They say that the rainbow reef and somosomo strait are great dive locations which is what we are after. Good Diving.

But back to the accom side of things we also need to stay somewhere.

We are looking for a resort with hopefully a resturant, bar, pool and a bit of shopping. I can do without the shopping though.. shhh..

We are hoping that a few people here have been and stayed on the Island before and could give us a bit of feed back as to how they found it. Like where you stayed? what did you like about it or didn't like with it?

what is there to do there? how was the diving and which areas did you dive?

it's to hard to gauge from a brochure and all they do is tell you how great it is. they dont tell you the real feel of the place and how other people have really found it.

We are really getting down to the crunch time where we are going to have to book something somewhere and still have no clue.

All your posts will be warmly welcomed and appreciated,

Best wishes

Peter & Beck

Hey all.

 

My girlfriend/dive buddy are planning a holiday for Jan 09 and want to go diving in fiji.

We had settled on a location to stay which we both were happy with from what we had read on various sites but after a post here about the resort we were looking at, we decided that the place just wasn't what we were after.

That said it's back to the drawing board. More reading, and the focus has turned to Taveuni Island in the north of fiji.

They say that the rainbow reef and somosomo strait are great dive locations which is what we are after. Good Diving.

But back to the accom side of things we also need to stay somewhere.

We are looking for a resort with hopefully a resturant, bar, pool and a bit of shopping. I can do without the shopping though.. shhh..

 

We are hoping that a few people here have been and stayed on the Island before and could give us a bit of feed back as to how they found it. Like where you stayed? what did you like about it or didn't like with it?

what is there to do there? how was the diving and which areas did you dive?

it's to hard to gauge from a brochure and all they do is tell you how great it is. they dont tell you the real feel of the place and how other people have really found it.

We are really getting down to the crunch time where we are going to have to book something somewhere and still have no clue.

 

All your posts will be warmly welcomed and appreciated,

 

Best wishes

 

Peter & Beck

We were in Taveuni in 2003. We had booked space at Maravu Plantation, a very nice place, but they put us in a bure that seemed about 2 miles from the water and had no others available. We moved across the street to Taveuni Island Resort. This resort is beautiful, sitting on a cliff overlooking the straits. Very romantic. The infinity edge pool also overlooks the straits. Food is excellent. I believe they have a bar as well. No shopping. I don't think anyplace on Taveuni has any. You can always shop in Nadi on your way back home. As far as diving, while the straits are good, we found them disappointing after a week of diving in the Bligh Waters and left to return there. We stayed at Wananavu and dove with Crystal Divers, which no longer exists. However, Kaiviti Divers does the same sites.

I stayed at Garden Island Resort on Taveuni a couple of years ago. Here's a link to a gallery of images from that trip Taveuni-Garden Island

I would describe the resort as kind of Holiday Inn/Motel with nice grounds and pool.....beautiful sunsets. Not bad at all but not five star by any stretch. The food left a lot to be desired and the service in the open air dining room was poor - maybe the wait staff just didn't like me. There is no shopping or night-life other than that provided at the resort.

The diving, while nice, does not compare with the very best of Fiji. For that you need a liveaboard or maybe Wannanavu or Namena. The soft-coral is very lush but that comes with a trade-off, lots of water movement. There is some current on most dives and strong currents at times. There is usually a lee-side of the reef to stay out of the flow but the best soft-coral displays are current facing. On several dives there was no way to get back to the dive-boat and no reef above 25 ft. so I ended up doing a safety stop drifting at 15 ft out into open water. Not a problem but you should be prepared for the possibility.

I would return to Taveuni if I was getting a fabulous deal. But otherwise....no.

Thanks for the info guys. more would be great from others.

Lionfish and others, where do you think the best diving in fiji is?

1:Resort based

2: live aboard based

Taveuni Island Resort is a great place and Taveuni is a beautiful island . Diving is not bad but best diving in whole Fiji must be on board of Nai'a liveaboard.

For resort diving Namena had some of the best dive sites very close , but they only offer 2 dives per days and the accomodations are not as nice as Taveuni Island Resort nor the food . I was there 4 years ago and managed to make 3 dives some days .

The island is very small and secluded , it is as close as you can be to be in a desert island.

Good luck

Best diving in Fiji = Nai'a. The best dive sites are the reefs of Bligh Water and some small islands off the northeast side of Viti Levu: Makogai, Namena and Gau. Here are a few links to land based ops that dive that area.

Kai Viti

Moody's Namena

Ovalau Watersports

I can't personally vouch for any of the operators above but James and Eric dove with Kai Viti a couple of years ago and have recommended them. THE best is Nai'a.

Ok guys

Man! reading.. reading.. reading..

Ok so we are now looking at the "Wananavu Beach Resort" back on the main Island, up in the bligh waters.

Bit of a honeymooners place but they have diving packages with "Kai Viti" divers.

Ive heard a few good things about Kai Viti, hoping they are correct.

So once again... Anyone got a word on Kai Viti Divers. Or the resort.

Staying on the main Island cuts domestic airfares out which is nice.

The resort also has the same package but with "Ra Divers". But havent heard of them mentioned before. The dive Co. just comes each day to pick you up from the resort and drops you back off (if you make it back to the boat. lol. Seams to be a bit of this going on over the world at the moment)

Thanks for the info Lionfish. It pointed us in a nice direction. Cheers.

Peter

Ok guys

 

Man! reading.. reading.. reading..

Ok so we are now looking at the "Wananavu Beach Resort" back on the main Island, up in the bligh waters.

Bit of a honeymooners place but they have diving packages with "Kai Viti" divers.

Ive heard a few good things about Kai Viti, hoping they are correct.

So once again... Anyone got a word on Kai Viti Divers. Or the resort.

Staying on the main Island cuts domestic airfares out which is nice.

The resort also has the same package but with "Ra Divers". But havent heard of them mentioned before. The dive Co. just comes each day to pick you up from the resort and drops you back off (if you make it back to the boat. lol. Seams to be a bit of this going on over the world at the moment)

Thanks for the info Lionfish. It pointed us in a nice direction. Cheers.

 

Peter

Wananavu is nice, not as luxurious as say Taveuni Island Resort, but still very nice. Spend the extra for an ocean view bure or one of the beach bures. The food is good if not fantastic.

Ra divers will not take you to the Bligh Waters. They dive the fringing reefs which are decent but pale in comparison to the sites farther out.

I haven't dived with Kaiviti but have heard good things. I know that they employ many of the people who made Crystal Divers great. The only problem with the diving is that the norm is two tanks per day. Sometimes you can arrange for three but not always. And no real night diving. Afternoons were mostly for snorkeling or relaxing.