Fiji Scuba Diving

The western coast of Fiji with the Mamanuca and Yasawa islands scattered just offshore has long been the favourite area for travellers. Beautiful white sandy beaches, swaying palm trees, consistent warm sunny weather and cooling evening breezes combined with its convenient location to Nadi International airport make it hard to beat. The vivid turquoise waters are warm all year round and offer fantastic visibility, often exceeding 25m and are abundant with beautiful hard and soft corals teaming with a vast variety of colourful reef fish. Dolphins, sharks, manta rays, turtles and large pelagic fish are frequently encountered. Learner and novice divers are catered for in the calm inner reef waters whilst the more experienced can explore the ocean side barrier reef and numerous passages through it, all within a short boat ride. Take advantage of all this from any of the numerous accommodation options to suite every budget, from backpacker to 5 star resort either mainland or island based. The regions convenient location and reliable weather also make it ideal in-between dives, or for the non divers, with plenty of other activities including: snorkeling, sailing, windsurfing, parasailing, game fishing, water skiing, horse riding, golfing, tennis, day trips etc. It's perfect to do plenty or nothing at all! The Western region is where the original Fijian people landed and it's no surprise they stayed. So if you like warm water, fantastic diving, great beaches and a warm welcome, this is the place for you.

For divers looking to experience the diving in Fiji's Northern region, the airport at Savusavu is the first port of call on the island of Vanua Levu. A quick 20 minutes hopper flight reaches Taveuni with its smaller associated islands to the northeast.

For divers, the rugged maze of islands, straits and atolls, collectively grouped in Fiji's North, represents an amazing diversity of dive experiences. Geographically isolated from the mainland, you'll find resorts of varying sizes, luxury and other specialties. A few adventure cruise expedition vessels and live-aboards also make their home here.

The North has some of Fiji's most dramatic and famous dive locations. Namena Marine Reserve, Savusavu Bay, Koro Island, Somosomo Straits, Motu Levu Reef and the Ringgold Atolls are just a few. Beyond those, the region remains relatively undiscovered. Dive operations in the North offer you the chance to do exploratory dives to discover the next famous dive site!

SOUTH
The southern region covers from mid-way along the Coral Coast on the southern shore of Viti Levu to the eastern extreme of the islands and all the islands to the south. These islands include Vatulele, Beqa, Kadavu and beyond. All offer a host of dive facilities and resorts to suit any conceivable traveling taste and budget. As is the case everywhere in Fiji, it is remarkably easy to take in more than one resort or dive operator during your stay. As always, the dive operators in the great southern region can cater for all levels of diving experiences.

Dive sites are dominated by a barrier reef with the drop-off 1oo to 300 meters offshore. Beqa is a one hour-boat ride from Pacific Harbour. Resort accommodation is available on Beqa Island. This region is world-famous for its "shark dives" including dives with the largest tropical sharks - bulls and tigers. World shark authorities Ron and Val Taylor claim it to be one of the world's best.

The island of Kadavu is a short 45-minute air hop south of Nadi - a hop into a remote and unspoilt world. Untouched here is meant literally - there are no roads despite the size of the island and divers will more often than not be on the only dive boat for miles around. Great Astrolabe Reef is one of Fiji's diving hotspots with pristine hard and soft coral cover, amazing fish diversity and being on the 3edge of the continental shelf, there are abundant pelagics. Though there are many well known named dives on Kadavu much of the Astrolabe is unexplored and visiting divers often have the opportunity to simply drop in and have a look for the first time. Mantas are a signature of Kadavu with divers offered the change to dive with these amazing creatures year round.

Accommodation is typified by intimate remote resorts with professional in house diving and water sports operations. Kadavu remains a very traditional island meaning genuine cultural experiences will be an unforgettable part of every visit.

The Fiji Islands capital of Suva is a short car ride from Pacific Harbour and offers a host of great shopping options and accommodation venues. Nausori Airport, just outside Suva can transfer you to any part of the Fiji Islands, for you to continue your Fiji dive experience.

Certainly the most isolated and difficult region to traverse, the eastern region is made up of the Lomaiviti Group and a remote chain of small islands called the Lau Group. The Lomaiviti Group, "Fiji's Big Fish Capital", are the islands of Namena, Makogai, Koro, Wakaya, Batiki, Nairai, Gau, Ovalau and Moturiki; most of them boasts peaks of deep sea volcanoes rising from 1000 to 3000 metres.

The islands in the Lau Group have historically been closed to outside visitors are they have a profound significance in traditional Fijian culture. Today, parts of the Group are opening up slightly and expeditions and liveaboards have a few trips there. Some of the islands and dive sites in Northern Lau are rising to fame for their pristine reefs and pelagic sightings. Dive sites such as "Never ending Story", "Weilagilala Passage", "Trigger Rock", "Lewis Bank" and "Boehms Rock" are a few of the recent discoveries.