Accomodation in Waya island Yasawas

Hi all,

I've been planning my trip to the Yasawas the week after next and have been sifting through the thorn tree and various websites. It sounds like Waya island is a good one to visit but my budget won't extend as far as octopus resort :-( I was wondering if anyone can share their experiences at either Sunset Waya resort or beachside (?) resort? Sunset Waya sounded great in the LP but one website I looked at had a warning about poor customer service and hygiene that put me off..........which one would I be better off staying at? Or are there other better budget resorts to visit? I will be traveling with my boyf, looking to stay in bures and would prefer quieter place than the party islands. A good beach is a must, and decent food would be good too. Any good recommendations of places from ppl who have been out there recently?

BTW I have been living in Suva for a few months and the situation is all totally fine, the checkpoints are the only difference from pre-coup so you would be crazy to put off a trip to Fiji because of it. The oz and nz governments have really over-reacted to the situation.......

Thanks!

Judy

I have some photos of Waya island and Bayside Resort (probably the one you're referring to) on my BLOG.

I was the only person at Bayside during my visit: for 5 days just me, the guy running the place and his wife and young daughter. Of course, family and friends from Yalobi village were always dropping by. Her cooking was above average from my point of view and even took suggestions when I asked for some more traditional Fijian fare.

About beaches: in general they are not good to swim off of because the coral comes right up to the shore in most places on Waya. At low tide there's a lot of sand to walk on. But, there are some decent possibilities.

I wandered down to Sunset on a couple of occasions, because the off-shore snorkelling is easier there than off Bayside. Also, there's a sandbar connecting Waya island to Wayalailai island at low tide. So, the beach is reasonable for swimming off of.

Sunset looked OK to me from the outside. It's really hard to make sense of individual reports about hygiene and customer service. It has so much to do with people's expectations. Some go with a 3-4 star mindset and are put off by the "dumps" that are more than sufficient from the point of view of a backpacker budget.

Also, there is one more resort just outside Yalobi village. This one looks to be the more established 'backpacker' resort -- lazing around all day on hammocks, reading. Sunset was more set up for snorkelling. The Yalobi village resort is about 30 minutes walk from Bayside at low tide (at high tide some parts of the beach trail is under water). There are some better stretches of sand at Yalobi for swimming without worrying about coral. The guy who runs Bayside is the brother of the woman who runs the Yalobi resort.

Thanks for all that information, bayside resort was the one I meant. Anyone else got recommendations for waya island or the rest of the yasawas? Obviously i'm not expecting ritz but would like something decently clean with decently good food......