Looking for advice on Yasawa back-packer resorts

Hi,
I am 23 and will be stopping over in Fiji with a mate of mine for four nights on the way back from travelling round NZ. We are looking for some advice on resorts in the Yasawas as we want to book something before we head out as we have heard things can get fully booked very quickly! We are looking for somewhere with amazing beaches & snorkelling, thats reasonably priced but thats also got some cool night life so was wondering if anyone had been to any and could recommend something that would fit our needs? So far I have been looking at Manta Ray, Oarsmans, Octupus & Beachcomber so if anyone has been to any of these and can shed some light on what they are like then that would be great.
Thanks,
Alastair

I liked Octopus - nice beach, snorkelling off the beach and good beachfront bures. Not sure I would describe the nightlife as cool, but I don't know whether anywhere in Fiji would class as that anyway. They have events like a lovo night, kava ceremony, local bands and backpacker-style activities that can be quite fun if you've had enough to drink. Otherwise it's just drinking and chatting to other travellers.

I've been to Oarsman's. It has the amazing beaches and snorkelling, but as in joolz2's post, at night there is little more to do than drink and chat to other travellers. I guess Beachcomber would have the best "nightlife". Also had a night or 2 on Octopus, and it was fairly quiet there too. The beach at Beachcomber is nice, lots of colourful fish, but the snorkelling is better up the Yasawas.

To go to Oarsmans you pay 220F$ each on the flyer. It takes about 4 hours. If you only have 4 days go to Beachcomber. The snorkeling there is better and there is more nightlife. Beachcomber is 89F$ per day incl. all meals in the dorm. A dorm bed at Oarsmans is 23F$ and the meal plan is between 50 and 60F$. There is another 21F$ for the transfer to the flyer. The beach at Oarsmans is nice, but the snorkeling is not that great. It is very popular and often booked out. Octopus is very nice, with very good snorkeling. It's also very popular and quite expensive. A dorm bed is 30F$ and the meal plan about 50F$. There is 15,5% tax on top of everything at the end, even on top of the school fund for the village. There is a pool and nightly entertainment. I wouldn't call it nightlife. It's more a couples and family place. The flyer up there is about 180F$ return.