Fiji Facts:

Recompression chamber is in Suva.

Airport sells Phone cards, has internet access, is air conditioned, and outside security has a currency exchange, pizzeria, International Café with all types of food, coffee shop (like Starbucks) and gift shops. Once you pass through security into the international departure area, there TONS of shops, duty free & liquor stores

Sun Air - flies Islander BN2A/Twin Otters DHC6 Beech Craft
18 seats - you must be weighed and your luggage is weighed before each flight
No bathroom/in flight service - small planes.

 

As of July 13, 2006, currency conversion was $1.74 FJD to $1.00 USD. (to convert any numbers mentioned below in Fijian multiply by .576 to get the USD Amount)

Weather
Nov - April = Rainy Season, cyclone season , Avg 86 Degrees F Air Temp
May-October = cooler temps, Avg 79 Degrees F Air Temp
Our Water temp for dives varied from 77 Degrees F to 86 Degrees F with most dives between 82-86
The air temp was warm with high humidity. We did have rain at least every other day and some lightning.

AIR PACIFIC

Air Pacific flights are operated with 747 aircraft from LAX to NAN were from 11:30 pm - 5:10 am (+ 1 day - crossing the Intl dateline)
They are located in the Tom Bradley International Terminal (Between Terminal 3-4) it is the same terminal as Air Tahiti Nui and other international carriers. Continental does NOT have a baggage Agreement FYI and you cannot check your baggage through - I found this out the hard way.
I would recommend 3 hour connection if you have time as check-in is a little confusing. Due to the TSA screening - you must stay with your bag while it goes through screening and all of the international carrier's bags are going through the same line. I did check in about 50 minutes before the flight and still was able to make it - but barely!

We were lucky enough to fly Tabua Class (First class) to Fiji and return Pacific Voyager Class (Coach). Tabua Class is in the front cabin downstairs - it has 21 entertainment channels, while coach has 12 channels both on individual screens (but first class is bigger).
The meals in Tabua class had a menu with choices that you could order from while coach class was what was on the cart, like chicken or fish. The seats recline with footrests in Tabua and only the back reclines in Coach.

WANANAVU BEACH RESORT on Viti Levu

Wananavu Beach Resort was our first hotel where we stayed 2 nights. Outside customers and immigration there was someone with a sign with our name and he helped us with our luggage and we got on at 6:00 am for a 2 hour drive to the Wananavu located in Raki Raki. Upon arrival at 8:00 am at the hotel we boarded a 3-tank dive trip to Vatu-I-Ra Passage with the on-site dive operator Kai Viti Divers. This is done only when the weather is right and when guests have requested a 3-tank dive. The 3 tank boat trip included full lunch and snacks, water and hot cocoa between dives. The boat trip was approx 1 ½ hours each way. The diving for Wananavu is done in Bligh Water - the dive boats here were very comfortable. They were large and covered with plenty of room to gear up. They had 2 ladders and a large platform for giant strides. We were on the boat from 8am to 4pm and dove Black Magic Mountain, Mellow Yellow and Pot Luck. We saw white tips, black coral, napoleon wrasse, tons of soft coral & a dragonette. There was a fair amount of particulate matter and the viz fluctuated. We were lucky enough to come back to a " Lovo Feast” with a " meke” (cultural performance) at the hotel. The Buffet was $35 FJD and included tons of local cuisine. The meke started shortly after dinner.

Breakfast buffet at hotel had lots of choices: eggs, coffee, juice, pasteries, etc.
We did a 2-tank local dive trip. We dove Breath Taker & Golden Reef: pinnacle/bommie formations with grey sharks, schools of barracuda, Napoleon wrasse, whitetip sharks - swim throughs, current changing from dive to dive, clownfish, tops of reefs are amazing with life, anthias, small reef fish - you could really spend your whole dive there.

 

In the afternoon, we did an optional tour of the local village including a short hike & waterfall slide and this was not to be missed. The tour was $55 FJD and included transportation - about 45 minutes. We had a kava ceremony and were greeted by locals who paired up with us and they took us through their village and to their waterfall. They have their own rock slide into a small pool after a HOT climb up - this was refreshing! Afterwards - they hiked back thru the village and sold local handicrafts and had hot tea and local treats to sample. It was very educational and enchanting experience - and I would definitely find the time to do this tour.

We had a site inspection when we returned and an early transfer at 6:00 am the next morning.

The hotel itself has 31 " bures”, gardenview bures, 1-bedroom bures, 2-bedroom bures, beachfront bures & a honeymoon bures. The 2-bedroom is large with a BBQ, large patio, lounge chairs, dining area, microwave, stove, fridge, radio, CD player, washer - only 1 bath. The honeymoon bure has a private sundeck, mosquito netting, large patio, oceanfront but tucked into mangroves behind and on one side.
The resort has a small spa with 1 treatment room, and there is a beautiful swimming pool, bar & restaurant. Food portions were priced well and large portions.

NAI' I (Viti Levu)

Our 2 hour transfer from the Wananavu back to the airport passes by Lau-toka which is where the Nai' a liveaboard departs from. The boat takes 24 maximum passengers, diving from 2 inflatable dive skiffs. All the cabins have private bath. They offer Nitrox and next year plan to have fully enclosed rebreathers on board as well. Wine is available with dinner & soft drinks are included.

The Library is stocked with lots of books & videos and the salon offers TV, DVD, VCR - the salon is not air conditioned and has fans. All cabins are air conditioned with individually controlled thermostats and each cabin is a little different.

The boat does have a sail - which is mostly for stability - when they do the Tonga itinerary they often use the sail. The boat is 120-feet long + dive platform
They have a Sat phone & e-mail. They also have a Dark room and E 6 processing - but will not run until at least 10 rolls are available - and since most people are using digital now - it is hardly used. They do offer shark feeding dives where they string fish heads on a rope - but it is only done with a group majority approval. They have 4 compressors on board and generally do 4 dives per day in the winter and 5 dives a day in the summer.
The boat is VERY popular and gets to some great diving that is otherwise not accessible.

GARDEN OF THE SLEEPING GIANT (Viti Levu)

We had time to kill between the 8am Nai' a inspection and our flight at 2:30 to Labasa - so we took a taxi from Labasa to the Garden of the Sleeping Giant. The garden is named for a profile in the mountain of a huge woman and it was owned by Raymond Burr. There is a $12 FJD entrance fee and they have 2000 species of orchids. It is a nice jungle/garden walk with bridges and waterfalls - but it was hot - so recommend bringing water and dressing for hot weather. Fortunately they serve an icy fruit drink when you return to the entrance. It is only about 15 minutes cab ride to the airport from here - so if people have time between flights - it is a nice side trip and way to pass the time.

NUKABATI ISLAND RESORT (near Labasa on Vanua Levu)

We flew from Nadi to Labasa (Via Suva) the flight was about 1 ½ hour.
We were met by a Range Rover transfer for an approximate ½ hour drive to the pier and ½ hour boat trip to Nukabati Island.

Nukabati is a private island resort with just 7 rooms. There are 4 duplex bungalows and 3 Honeymoon Bures. The Honeymoon Bures were enormous with king beds, living area, the outside living area is almost as large as the inside room. The outside deck had a vaulted thatched room, sofa, table, chairs, ottomans & oceanfront. The room rooms inside had ceiling fans, large bathroom with double head shower & double vanity and outside private deck with more tables & chairs and lounge chairs. We were met on the island with the staff greeting us with flowers and singing. Upon arrival in the rooms there was music playing on our CD players and a glass of champagne was brought to us to enjoy the sunset with. All the rooms are oceanfront and private lounge chairs are in front of the bures in the sand.

There is a huge great room with the bar & library and dining area where most meals are served. We did have a BBQ for dinner on the lawn which was a little cooler. There is no air conditioning at the hotel, only ceiling fans. Rooms have a coffeemaker, small fridge & hairdryer. There are volleyball and tennis courts.
The dive shop is on property behind the resort and the dive boat is the same boat we tendered in on. This is one of the only locations from which you can dive The Great Sea Reef, which is touted as being the world' s 3rd largest barrier reef.

We did a 2-tank boat trip which was about ½ hour to the dive site. We dove Fish Market and Barrel of Monkeys. This was some of our best visibility during the whole trip. The viz was probably 100+ feet with walls & sloping reefs of hard coral. Our second dive was shallower and we dove inside the pass and the visibility significantly reduced. Some soft corals, lots of hard corals, oysters, lobster, red bass school. We returned from the dives at approximately 12:30 pm. The hotel has a lookout which we hiked up to and took some nice pictures from. Our return boat transfer back to the pier was at 2:30 pm and we did not want to leave this island - spent about 20 hours total here.
One of the unique offerings at Nukubati which is also featured in magazines and promotions is their private picnic to islands that are only visible during low tide. Their signature photo shows 2 chairs and an umbrella on a sandbar - they will take you out and set you up on a completely isolated beach for a picnic and come back for you whenever you like…

Another unique feature is the opportunity for you to name your own dive site. The dive sites on the Great Sea Reef are still being explored and new ones discovered on a regular basis. There is a map in the great room at the hotel with all the newly named dive sites.

JEAN MICHEL COUSTEAU FIJI ISLANDS RESORT (Savusavu on Vanua Levu)

We traveled approximately 2 hours overland in Vanua Levu after our ½ hour boat trip back to the mainland to the Jean Michel Cousteau Fiji Island Resort in Savusavu. The resort offers 25 bure accommodations and is an extremely environmentally aware dive resort.

Bures 1-20 are all the same just different views. Bure 21-24 are being expanded and a plunge pool is being added - they are split level and a little better for families with daybeds in the lower part, a king bed and partition in the upper part, sleeps 4 comfortably.
(Bure 22 has an outdoor spa as well and they use it for honeymooners). Bure 25 is the Point Villa which has its own private pool.

The Bures we had were gardenview and offered a fridge stocked with complimentary sodas, juice & water. There was also a coffeemaker, tea & hairdryer. Bathrooms were large with double vanity, big shower, and the room had a king bed, a small daybed and a desk area. There is wireless internet access at the bar for $40 FJD for 60 minutes.

The Children' s program at this hotel was one of the most amazing I have seen. They call it their Bula Club - it has its own private area with 3 day beds, waterslides, 2 pools, one for bigger kids and one for smaller kids, beach floats, trampoline, sandpit, bathroom, kitchens, TV, video, swing set, chalkboards, activities, outside dining area, volleyball, babies nap room, basketball. These kids can yell and scream and it is set far back from the resort and enclosed in high gardens. You honestly would not even realize that there were so many kids at the resort if you did not know about it. They divide the kids into groups by age. Age 0-7 is the Lei Lei Bula Club - under 7 they are 1:1 with a nanny, " babysitters” are all Fijians and kids are grouped with one in particular (sort of like a GO at Club Med) - that plays games and cares for them during their stay. Diving families are usually assigned 1 dive master for the week that will dive with the family. There is a Marine Biologist on staff that does tidal walks, fish ID and dives with families as well.

They had a hermit crab race while were where there for 50 FJD and the money is to be used to bring dentists in to offer dental services and operations for the locals.

There is a local Medicine Man and a Medicine walk that can be done around the hotel as well.

There is a daily newspaper that is circulated with the days activities such as sunrise yoga, fish print t-shirt making, Fijian story-telling, village tours and slide presentations.

There are spa treatments available in oceanfront spa huts - they are building a dedicated Spa Bure - but it is not ready yet. We did see plans and it will be spectacular. There is an adult-only infinity pool with daybeds, a dining room with family dining on one side and adult-only dining on the other, bar, dive shop, gift shop, activities center. They do offer the private island picnic as well which must be booked upon arrival. Meals were phenomenal with lots of choices and meals are included (not liquor) usually 2 appetizers choices, 2-3 entrée choices, 3 dessert choices - all plated very nicely with good sized portions.

We did sit next to a couple on their honeymoon without children that said they hardly noticed the kids and were having a great time.

We did a 2-tank dive in the morning - most everything is done as 1-tank dives and they come back into the dock between dives for surface interval. This is good for the families so they can just do a 1-tank if they want or parents can take turns, or they don' t miss out on activities being on the boat ½ of the day.

NAMALE (Savusavu on Vanau Levu)

We drove from the Jean Michel Cousteau Fiji Islands Resort to Namale. It was approximately ½ hour drive. It was OVER THE TOP! This resort is owned by Tony Robbins - the motivational speaker. He has a house on property. It is on 325 acres and has 16 villas. It is all-inclusive, no children allowed. They have 130 employees and a maximum of 32 guests. It has a conference center and transportation around the resort is provided by golf cart. They have a PADI 5-star Gold Palm dive operation. Their units include 14 bures (including gardenview, honeymoon & deluxe honeymoon) and 2 Grand Villas.

The deluxe honeymoon & Grand Villas have private Pools and Jacuzzis. The Grand Villas also have a full kitchen (for the chef to come cook for you) and a billiards table. The honeymoon, deluxe honeymoon & Grand Villas are oceanfront, some with private decks and private beach access.

The hotel has bike riding, horseback riding, full motorized water-sports with wakeboarding, waterskiing, all rooms have 16 Channel Sky TV, CNN, etc on a pull down home theatre size screen in all rooms. The common areas though are what this resort is all about. They have a disc golf course (Frisbee golf) an indoor air conditioned oceanfront basketball court, many outdoor swimming pools & jacuzzis, the " Kava Bowl” including 2 lane bowling alley, virtual golf, pool tables, air hockey, 1000 + CD' s on IMAC, separate workout room with heavybags, stairmaster, free weights. If you are a honeymooner, they make a wooden carved sign (for example Cammie ♥ Billy) that the guests can take home with them that is on their door to their unit.

This is completely all inclusive including liquor.

The Spa has 4 pools, 1 deep cold plunge, 1 hot plunge, 4 double oceanfront treatment rooms, manicure & Pedicure stations, waterfall shower.

The dive shop do has some nice boats with twin 200 HP Merc outboards that can actually make it to Taveuni in 1 hour and 45 minutes so you can dive the Great White Wall without flying to Taveuni.

KORO SUN (Savusavu on Vanau Levu)

Approximately 15 minutes from Namale was the Koro Sun Resort. Very cute & quaint with white picket fences. It is oceanfront, but not beachfront. The resort looks over a large field and the picket fences to the ocean. They have 1 & 2 bedroom or family bures with air conditioning in the bedrooms. The grounds were clean, rooms had mini fridge, recently refurbished. The honeymoon bure is 1000 sq ft with a 360-degree panoramic view. The hotel has 2 pools, one with a water slide and 9 hole golf course. Koro Sun Divers is across the street. The dive boat was actually out so we did not see it. They do have Nitrox, Sherwood Equipment, 2 restaurants, one oceanfront with a sand floor and a volleyball court.
They also have a gym. The hotel was originally known as the Kon Tiki and is approximately 30 years old. It was sold in 1999 and refurbished. It was closed for 1 month in February of 2006 for further refurbishing. The 2 bedroom bures have 1 king & 2 twins, plus couch, 2 chairs, table in the living room and a screened in patio with more tables & chairs. The regular gardenview 1 bedroom Bure has a canopy bed, outdoor shower, CD player, private patio, mini fridge, tea, coffee service.

QAMEA ISLAND RESORT (Taveuni)

We flew in the afternoon from Savusavu to Taveuni (a short 20-minute flight). Upon our arrival there we were met by a rep from Qamea Island Resort who transferred us by van to the black volcanic beach where their boat/tender was waiting to take us to the resort for a site inspection. It was approximately 15 minute bus transfer to the beach and about a 15 minute boat ride to the resort.

The resort has 11 beachfront bures, 1 honeymoon bure & 2 premium villas. The beachfront villas have air conditioning and mini fridge. Rates include meals but not beverages. Guests are given a water bottle and they can re-fill it at the bar for their rooms. They have a spa with 55 different spa treatments available. The resort only allows children 16 years or older unless someone books the whole hotel. There is a 14 day revolving menu with usually 2 entrée choices for lunch & dinner. The choice is usually fish and some other meat. They will take people to Numute Atoll for a day excursion and they do offer afternoon tours including Bouma falls, night and day snorkel trips. There is a dive shop on property and they have 2 dive instructors & 1 dive master. They do have a daily newspaper that is distributed with news. There are phones in the premium villas, but calls must be forwarded from the front desk. The premium villas have a CD player - they are in the process of adding CD players to all rooms. When we were there, they were building 2 new honeymoon bures which will have day beds, spa, waterfall & outdoor showers. They can put max of 3 in a beachfront. The premium villas have a large private swimming pool that is 5-feet deep. The premium villas have an elevated king bed, couch, chairs, tables, wicker chaise, mini bar with coffee and tea, double vanity, indoor & outdoor shower, hardwood floor.
Their gym includes a ½ kilometer track & elliptical machine bike and rowing machine.

They offer weddings at the hotel and have a great setup & location for the weddings. The bride is escorted by a Fijian Warrior and there are tons of flowers and the villagers come and sing - it sounds very romantic.

GARDEN ISLAND RESORT (Taveuni)

We transferred back by boat 15 minutes from Qamea Island to the same beach and then had about a ½ hour transfer to Garden Island Resort. This hotel was originally built (30+ years ago) as a Travel Lodge. It looks just like one, 2 story, with long hallways with covered exterior entrances. The rooms are standard, but large and clean. They have tiled floor, air conditioning, mini fridge, hair dryer, tubs, coffee & tea service, outside balcony or patio with chairs and tables that are all oceanfront. There is no beach at the hotel, they do have a small gift shop, bar & restaurant. They do have a swimming pool and a kiddie pool, a " spa” room that we did not see, but we saw the entrance - it looks like just a treatment room - but the prices were very reasonable.

Aquatrek Dive shop is on property (affiliated with Aquatrek in Beqa). Lunch is ordered at breakfast and dinner is ordered at lunch. There were lots of choices (6 entrées) and the prices were reasonable. We did a 2-tank dive with Aquatrek - our only 2 dives in Taveuni - and were lucky enough to see both The Great White Wall & Rainbows End. We dove both sites at slack tide and had great viz - 100 + feet. We went thru a swim through and came out on the impressive Great White Wall with tons of white soft corals. We saw eels, leaf fish, lionfish, Napolean wrasse. The safety stop is done at the same beach as many of the other local divers, Swiss Fiji Divers, Jewel Bubble divers, Qamea Divers. On our 2nd dive at Rainbow' s End we saw blue ribbon eels, black bibbon eels, flatworms, lionfish, free swimming LARGE seasnakes & Napoleans.

That afternoon we were able to hike to Bouma Falls - a tour offered by the hotel. You can also walk to the International Dateline which runs through Taveuni. You can get your picture taken next to a sign showing that you are in yesterday and today at the same time. It is in the middle of a rugby field right near the hotel - very charming.

There were mostly Americans at Garden Island, the hotel was a great value with excellent diving and great food.

BOUMA FALLS (Taveuni)

From Garden Island, we were able to do a hike to Bouma Falls in the afternoon - which is not to be missed. It took approximately 1 hour drive each way and there are 3 falls total. The first one is just at an easy 15 minute walk. The 2nd set of falls was a hike of about 1 hour each way uphill. There were tons of frogs, some wild parrots - we were lucky that it was overcast so it was not too hot. There is a 3rd set of falls which was another hour or so hike and steeper that we did not have time to get to. The hike to the second set included a rope crossing hand over hand over rocks and water - I would definitely recommend Teva type sandals, bug spray, waterproof camera & clothes that you don' t mind getting muddy or dirty.

YASAWA ISLAND RESORT

We had to transfer early from Taveuni back to Nadi (via Savusavu) and then had an afternoon flight from Nadi to Yasawa. The flight to Yasawa allows VERY limited luggage - 15 -20 lbs. In the Nadi Airport they have " Left Luggage” where you can check your luggage and leave it while you go elsewhere. We brought smaller bags to just bring a few items in and we were told not to bring our dive equipment. The fee to leave your luggage was very reasonable (we checked 2 pcs for 2 days and it was $16.40 FJD)

The airline representative personally came and found us when it was time to depart and at the security screening we were greeted by " Sharon our pilot. There were only 4 of us flying that day to Yasawa - the plane can hold 8 passengers total. The Yasawa Islands is where the Blue Lagoon movies were filmed and we had a spectacularly scenic flight of about 40 minutes over beautiful ocean and islands eventually landing on a grass strip.

We were met with cool washcloths, flower leis and welcome drinks and transferred to the hotel. The lobby is large with the bar, restaurant, gift shop, game-room, and front desk all in one large thatched bure. We were given the Sub Zero unit which is very popular due to the fact it is the last unit on the end of the beach and is very private and large. There are 18 bures total, 6 bure suites, 10 1-bedroom deluxe, 1 2-bedroom and 1 honeymoon.

The bure suites are a duplex type room with an adjoining wall between and the 1-bedroom deluxe and above are all free standing more private units. The honeymoon bure is similar to the 1-bedroom deluxe except it has a large deck with a private infinity pool. Meals are delivered to the honeymoon bure and the manager told us some honeymooners they never even see during their stay.

All rooms have outside lounges or day beds, and mini bar, with coffee, tea, cookies, sodas. All have air conditioning in the bedroom and ceiling fans, indoor and outdoor showers. There is a spa under construction which was to be open in a few weeks. It will have 2 treatment rooms, a yoga/meditation room, 1 warm Jacuzzi/pool and 1 cold infinity pool.

The hotel includes Discover Scuba Diving, Village Tour, Beach tours, Snorkeling, picnics, cave tours, all meals, soft drinks, coffee, tea, water.

The hotel has an infinity pool near the main bure. There is an activities hut on the beach with sailboards and non-motorized water sports and a dive shop on property. The dive shop was stocked with Sherwood equipment in good conditions and Suunto computers, but in bars and meters. The weather was rough - so we were not able to dive around the point as they had hoped, so we dove Lover' s Leap and Cascades. Lover' s Leap was right at the edge of a cliff and had some nice soft & hard corals and good fish life. The visibility was not the best due to the bad weather.

Our last night we were lucky enough to have another lovo feast and meke. The singers for this meke were some of the best we had heard. The hotel also offers weddings with the bride on a " bili bili” wooden boat, taken through the water escorted by 2 warriors with tons of flowers and the same villagers come out and sing. Audience participation was required at the meke to get up and dance. We actually had an earthquake while we were at dinner to kick off our lovo!

The next day we were able to go to the caves before our departure in the afternoon. The Blue Lagoon Caves trip is about 1 hour by boat each way. Our guides pointed out many of the spots they use for beach picnics: Honeymoon Beach, Champagne Beach, Paradise 1, 2 & 3 and 8 months Beach. At the caves, you climb up stairs and then down stairs once you are inside the gates. It is dark and the guides have lights - there is some sunlight in the entrance area so that you can see where you are going. You put on mask, fins and snorkel and swim through the main cave. To get into the next set of caves, you must duck under and hold your breath to get in. We visited at low tide - so really we did not have to duck down - but people going here need to be able to swim. The guides hold the lights and you go in single file through the caves. They are limestone and very acoustical and the water is just crystal clear.

DEPARTURE

We flew that afternoon back to Nadi from Yasawa and had many hours to kill before our international flight that night. We had heard good things about Jacks in town for shopping for souvenirs so we took a cab there. The cab driver waited for us and it was $30 FJD total for a cab from the airport to Jacks and then continuing to Denarau Harbour to a restaurant and back to airport.

Jacks is like a department/souvenir shop, they have a restaurant, art gallery, men' s section, Indian dress section, souvenir/local handicraft section - pretty much one-stop shopping. After that we took a taxi to Cardo' s Restaurant at Denerau Harbour. They had a full liquor bar & were located on a marina where you could watch the day shuttles to the Yasawa and Mamanuca Islands come and go as well as private boats and dive boats. They had quite a selection of appetizers and entrees at reasonable prices.

We got to the airport 2 hours prior and waited in line 1 ½ hour. We got horrible seat assignments - so recommend getting there early! We had no time to shop as the flight was boarding when we made it through check-in. I would recommend getting there 2 ½ or 3 hours prior to your flight time.

The best time to visit Fiji is in our summer/their winter where the water and air temp is cooler and the viz is better (+ out of the cyclone season). We had a good bit of rain and hot air & water temp. Water temp was 84 F.

All in all - 10 flights, 12 dives, 12 days, 2 lovos, 2 mekes, Village Tour, Waterfall Slide, Bouma Falls, Blue Lagoon Caves, Sleeping Giant Botanical Gardens, 1 earthquake - we packed as much in as we could. Fiji is one magical, musical, clean, friendly and stunningly beautiful place!!!