Destination Wedding in Fiji -- Diving

Kip Hodges

Premium Member
Hi RC people--

I figured this was the best place to ask this type of thing...

This May, my finacee and I are going to be traveling to Fiji (even though everyone is trying to get me to pick Hawaii instead to save money - ha) for our wedding-moon. She wants a beach wedding and I want a reef diving experience, so it's a win-win.

We will both be getting our diving certifications to be able to experience it full on. We will also be heading to another wedding in Jamaica next year for a friend's wedding, so it's a situation where it's something that we can use more than once and hopefully pick up as a hobby and continue to have an excuse to go to all sorts of awesome places...

Etiher way, we will be going for a week and want to cap it under $3500/ea for travel and lodging expenses. I was wondering if anyone has a recommendation for us. I know you aren't travel agents, but I'm sure that there are dive spots that can't be passed on. I figure pretty much anywhere is a can't miss, it seems like there's a reef at every resort we look at.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!!
 
If it helps, we were looking at Beqa Lagoon Resort. For a week there, meals, 2 boat dives a day, unlimited shore diving, and roundtrip airfare from LAX it was about 2600$ when I last checked.
 
If you scroll down, it appears that it was only two people out of 35 that reviewed it were negative, not everyone. Also, one of the two didnt even go because they didnt confirm their ticket, and that is one of the 2 negatives. I guess it depends what you are looking for. I am used to staying at research stations for long periods of time, so to me it sounds like paradise. I suppose someone who is used to staying at a 5 star resort in the city may not be impressed, but then again this is Fiji, not Las Vegas.
 
Quite frequently the resort or travel agents log on to travel sites and give A+++ ratings to beef up the resorts image and line their own pockets. I usually look at the worst ratings and the best, just to make sure, thats all.

Although I'm sure if you're used to research stations, this would be like paradise. Have fun and let me know how it goes!! :D
 
BULA!

BULA!

Hmmm.... where to go on a honeymoon on a budget of 3500 for one week per person? It's a difficult question to answer.

Hey Kip (BULA!)

Disclosure: I've been to Fiji 4 times, visiting Kadavu, Beqa, Viti Levu, Vanua Levu, Taveuni, Qamea, and Matangi.

Second: Budget. There are some resorts, like Beqa Lagoon Resort that run airfare/dive/accommodation and board packages that are substantially less than planning it a la carte. Beqa Lagoon Resort gets discounted airfare tickets from a wholesaler and then they discount their diving. If you decide to go a la carte, here's the deal:

The airfare from LAX is going to put you back $1200 a person if you're going to the main island (Viti Levu), but if you're traveling to an outer island, it'll be around $1500 a person. Add another $300 for airfare from St. Louis, so you're now down to $1,800 a person. *I know, this is getting depressing.* Now for the diving costs. You can get diving packages that decrease the cost, but either way the price is going to run you about a $100 to $110 a day for 2 dives a day, assuming our currency doesn't collapse between now Since you're only there a week, count on 6 days of diving ($600). So, the resort you're looking for (not counting alcohol which can cost anywhere from $7 to $15 a drink... lots of tax) is in the price range of $1,200 a person for the week.

Now for the diving critique:
1. The best overall diving experience is Somosomo Strait (between Taveuni and Vanua Levu). Strong currents here (not so much that it rips the mask off your face), but it makes for fun drift diving. Billions of anthias part like the Moses and the Red Sea as you pass through their purple and orange clouds, huge, beautiful soft corals of every color and shape, Napoleon wrasses, etc., etc., etc.
2. The best wall diving for pelaegics is Namenalala (Grand Central).
3. The best overall wall diving experience is Motualevu (off Matangi/Qamea/Laucala). Water clarity here is just crystal. Pyramid butterflyfish dance up and down the walls and schools of barracuda parade yards off the wall.
4. Beqa Lagoon has two good dive sites: Fantasea (unbelievable soft purple corals on a large bommie) and My Favorite Dive (beautiful hard coral dive on the outer edge of the lagoon). No drift dives and no wall dives here.
5. BUT, the best SPS coral diving in Fiji is found, surprisingly, on the Astrolabe Reef off Kadavu. The current doesn't rip here, so there is not a lot of soft coral and the big fish are missing. However, there are some huge manta rays (water clarity not great because of all the plankton).

Sampling of Resorts:
1. My favorite remains Matangi. I just can't say enough about this place - it's surreal. It's a small boutique resort made for the honeymoon market. Matangi runs at $520 a night (for the cheap bures) and they'll have a special in May of stay 7/pay 6. From this resort, you can access both Somosomo Straits and Motualevu. Besides raising more money for your trip, you could break up the week, by staying a few days on Taveuni at a cheaper resort (or quasi camp at Dolphin Bay Resort) and then transfer to Matangi.
2. The Cousteau Resort has the best food, by far, of any resort in Fiji. If you're looking for a culinary experience, a good diving experience, and the beautiful vistas of Savusavu Bay (quintessential South Pacific (flat volcano tops) vistas), this is the place. Prices are comparable to Matangi. The only detractors to this resort are (1) the visibility and reefs around the resort are just O.K. ... unless they take you out to Namenalala and (2) the families (in case you only want to socialize with other adults).
3. Beqa Lagoon Resort. This place provides good value for the experience. Beqa Lagoon is surprisingly murky though, and the dive masters seem to like taking divers to boring shipwrecks. The accommodations are good, not great, as is the food. Lalati (which I have not been to) is more upscale, but you'll still be diving Beqa Lagoon. There is an attraction here which you might be interested in pursuing: Tiger Shark and Bull Shark diving. I did this dive - but no tigers showed up, but lots of bulls did. You could barely see them though through the thousands of jacks that swarmed through the chum.
4. Kadavu. I can't in all honesty recommend the resort I stayed at: Dive Kadavu. Matava Resort is the closest to the Astrolabe, so this might be a consideration. It's cheap and it looks like it. If you want to experience a great SPS reef, with some softies mixed in, go here first for a few days, then upgrade to a nice resort. Your wife will kill you if you do the reverse and she's cast out of paradise. As an aside, when I landed in Kadavu, a Kiwi, who had just spent a week on Kadavu, turned to me and said, "Welcome to nowhere." Truer words were never spoken.

I can't say enough about Fiji. It evokes day dreams when you least expect it. Truly great memories. Hawaii may be a cheaper vacation and the views of Kauai are incredible, but it just can't compare. You want your honeymoon to be a dream: you can't go wrong with Fiji.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14140304#post14140304 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Kip Hodges
Although I'm sure if you're used to research stations, this would be like paradise. Have fun and let me know how it goes!! :D

Compared to some of the places I have stayed, any resort would be paradise. I'm used to bagged water and 2 hours of electricity a day when I travel :P
 
Hi There,

Thought I would add my comments.

I got married on a beach in F-One J-One (Aussie slang for Fiji) a few years ago and have no regrets whatsoever.

We did the deed on Malolo Lai Lai (Plantation Island) which is a great place if you have lots of people/kids coming with you as there is plenty stuff to do other than simply diving. Cheap too compared to where we spent the remaining hoineymoon. I didn't dive there, but there is plenty of reasonable snorkeling to be had that won't cost you a cent extra. Be under no illusions, All of the Island reefs are great, some are just spectacular.

The wedding itself was a pretty simple affair with a ceremony held under some palm trees overlooking the reef flats. We had a choir of about 4 fijians singing for us and a celebrant. Cost was aroiund AUS 1000 (~600 US) and the photographer was around 100 more. The photographer used a very old slr film camera and simply hands you two rolls of ilm at the end of it. We were plesantly suprised with the results though.

The reception meal was set up very nicely on the beach under a hut with lots of flowers and decorations. Our wedding song/Dance was an Elvis classic (We didn't get to choose) sung to us by a bunch of Fijians with guitars in front of the entire Resort Restuarant Crowd. Great Night.

Very Important to remember! Fiji is a 3rd world country and as such does not always have everything available that a more modern place will have. If you or your wife to be are the types that cannot handle things being "not quite perfect" then forget it. The Fijians themselves will bend over backwards to help you but quite often the results were not always what was wanted/asked for. (We had black figurines on our wedding cake which we found amusing for a couple of white newlyweds). We also had one of the cleaners (a poor toothless village woman) make a special effort to sing to us once she heard we were getting married.


I love F1J1 and would go back tomorrow. I will definitely go back there.
 
Last edited:
Listen to scotter and OzGBR as their opinions reflect my experiences. If you want luxury and good (but not superior diving) look at Fiji Forbes Laucala Resort. While you can get big animal action in Fiji, for me it is a color dive with corals beyond belief especially if you are willing to undergo some current diving.
 
Back
Top