Where to stay in Fiji pre boarding on Naia

Hi all,

We'll be taking a cruise onboard the Naia in april but will be in Fiji 4 days prior to getting onboard. Can anyone recommend a hotel or resort to stay in during those days? I've got some recommendations (Like Bamboo Beach) but would like to hear from other divers and photogs.

Thanks!

In the same area as Bamboo Beach is the Wananavu resort. It's just across the channel from Bamboo Beach and is not as "snooty." If you stay there, you can dive with Kai Viti Divers (www.kaiviti.com) whom Eric and I dove with this year. They were GREAT: friendly crew, rinse bucket, fast boat, etc.

Cheers and HTH

James

Is the only diving to be done around Nadi by boat? Is there any resort with a decent 'house reef'?

My impression from hanging around Lautoka which is close to Nadi is that it's pretty lagoonal and/or shallow reef around there. There may be some shore diving, but it's not a popular spot in my experience.

Maybe others with more experience can help.

Cheers

James

After my Naia trip I stayed a few days at First Landing Resort near Lautoka. This was a recommendation of the Naia crew). Aquaqcadabra ( http://www.aquacadabradiving.com )runs a very nice operation from the marina at the one end of the resort. Their dive sites are are all within an hour away and are quite nice - not much current and more hard rather than soft corals. As James said the area is very shallow and thus no shore diving.

Just a triva note: When the harbor/marina was built there at Lautoka, Walt Smith took all of the reef rubble that was dredged out and sent it to the states as "live rock" and sold it for $10 a pound! That's how the live rock market in fiji got started.

Cheers

James

We decided on staying in Wananavu. I can see how Wananavu can be a nice place. Once you look past the construction pits on all sides of your bungalow and close your ears

If anyone is planning a trip to Wananavu soon, id check if its still a major construction zone. We checked out the day we arrived. The main reason for being in Fiji was the Nai'a, so we just went to a nice hotel and relaxed

Cor