Tips for Fiji

Hi all,

I will be spending the month of July in Fiji. how is the weather in general at that time?

I am looking for the best dive sites. From my research it seems like central Fiji has the best dives for what I'm looking for (pelagics, sharks, mantas). Bligh waters looks good and it seems you can now access sites in that area by resort ( ie not on a liveaboard). Kadavu seems to have a couple good spots, as do some spots in the north. would love to hear which ones people prefer, and also recs on inexpensive places to stay to access the good dive sites. also, how is the diving from beachcomber island?

awhere are the backpacker places in the yasawas, and which islands are recommended. i like a little bit of partying, nice beaches. I would also like to spend a few days in a non-party place where some interaction with fijians might be possible. i'd also like to spend a few days staying in a more upscale place (ie with a spa, pool, really nice rooms); any places you know of that are good value?

thanks for all the advice!
crossposting in diving forum as well.

Do everyone here the kind favour of reading old posts before posting vague questions-the same vague ones that are posted over&over&over.

Actually, copperspoon, I spent several hours reading the old posts. Had I found answers to my specific questions, I wouldn't have posted. One thing I did notice in reading old posts is that you rarely if ever add anything constructive to a thread. In fact, the majority of your 2000 past posts are just attacks on the orginal poster. This board is to help people as an information resource drawing on the collective wisdom of past travelers. If you don't have any such wisdom, I would hope you could find somely slightly less pathetic to do than attack people looking for information.

Quote-"I spent several hours reading the old posts."

and again....

"are the backpacker places in the yasawas, and which islands are recommended."

'Several hours reading'-right!

LMAO!!!!

July is Fiji's winter. People living in Fiji don't like the month at all. Often drizzle rain, tradewinds, temperatures can drop in the night below 20C. However people comin from cooler places of the world often like this month because it is not so humid. Also you can see changes in the climate here in Fiji, nothing has been the last months as it enerally is - so maybe you are lucky and find a sunny July.
generally you find more diversity and better diving in the easter and northern parts of Fiji. Yasawas has nice beaches but is often over-rated - you get better value for your money in the less touristy areas of Fiji.
I recently came along a website www.bulafish,com explaining a lot about weather in Fiji and reef structures. Also a lot of useful links.
My signo might also help.

And I think you are a bit harsh with copperspoon, he has been on that forum a long time and has written a lot of posts with good value.

a search for yasawas produces 69 threads, all of which i had read before posting. octopus and oarmans were virtually all that were mentioned, and it does not say which islands specifically those are on. that is what i am looking for: names of specific islands and resorts that people know about that are backpacker places, and the same for other recommended islands in that area (i saw mentions of 2 in previous posts, neither of which was particularly detailed). as for a non-backpacker place to interact with fijians, all one gets is " the northern yasawas." again, i am looking for specific recommendations, not generalizations.

copperspoon, prove me wrong. post links to threads that specifically address any of those info requests in a reasonably satisfactory manner. ditto for my diving request re: inexpensive spots to access good spots in bligh waters. i already had read the thread from the person talking about kadavu, as mentioned in my original post. instead of lyao, i'd recommend an attempt to dislodge your head from said location.

"........names of specific islands and resorts that people know about that are backpacker places, and the same for other recommended islands in that area....... "
Gimme, Gimme, Gimme!

"............instead of lyao, i'd recommend an attempt to dislodge your head from ......... "
Someone seriously in need of a vacation(!)

Start your search for enlightenment here

In this thread Lazslo has posted a link titled Yasawa. Click on it and then double click on Resorts on the Main Menu, you should get to a page that has a map of the Yasawas and a list of backpacker resorts. Click on a resort name and scroll down the resorts list, you will see arrows appear pointing to the island that each resort is on.

silvanocat, thank you very much. outstanding site with exactly what I was hoping for. thank you!

copper, i found that link in my own research but thank you for posting it. and yeah, i do need a vacation. badly.

anyone with info on best way to dive bligh waters inexpensively?

Re your thoughts of kadavu
I just got back from spending the long weekend there - nice enough but the snorkling was not a patch on the the places I have been in the yasawas, and my friends who went diving said the coral was nice enough - though lots of dead coral due to bleaching a couple of years ago, and a lack of fish life compared to other areas. It is expensive and takes ages to get there and while I am glad to add it to the places I have been in Fiji - its not really recommended for value or diving....

bligh water diving??? very big area! what have you heard of it? propably just names like e6 or mount mutiny in vatu ira passage.
those places are only visited by viti watersports or the naia, there is no inexpensive option here. ra divers or reef safari rarely go there they dive the reefs around nana nu ira, stunning soft coralls and macro live there. anyway its only worth to go way out into vatu ira passage it if the conditions are right. and dont expect to show up in fiji and have the perfect condition for every dive site especially in july. weather, winds, and fiji diving is very tidal...
you ask for sharks mantas and pelagics.
a jelly fish drifing with major ocean currents is as pelagic as is most plankton. the best site for mantas in fiji at the moment is manta magic down at kadavu (wakaya is good to). matava resort and dive kadavu now, regulary go there. the rest around kadavu is mainly is hardcoral reef diving with low fish density.
the best shark show is of beqa at the sharkfeed with either beqa adventure or aqua trek. but thats artificial and more of a circus anyway.
the most shark and big fish without feeding and diversity of reefs is of ovalau island around lomaiviti reefs or again the live aboard trip with naja...
its good you ahe difficult to have it all in a week. but you dont realy want to bother with yasawas, if diving is your main interest.

weather in july is ussually windy, the trade winds can be persistent allready and seas can be rough so you may be restrictet in accsess to some dive sites. seas st are ussually around 24 25 celsius bring a 5 mm suit as wind chill after the dive may cool you out to.
it can be sunny but also expect cool fresh evenings with ocassional or persistent spray rains, after all its our winter here.
but i think this year we will have a mild winter, we got hammered last year and the weather pattern in the last weeks and the potential la nina, following the mild el nino in 2006 may point that way.....

i wanted to say its good you have a month its difficult to have it all in a week.
i shoud also add that nagaini island resort divers visit e6 in vatu ira...
so in month i would travel clockwise around viti levu and would spend time diving around nana nu ira, ovalau and beqa.

Hi,

South or north is where you should be heading - skip Yasawas and move away from Nadi. Kadavu has some nice dive spots. We spent two weeks at Matava but the place we liked the most was to dive at Rainbow Reef in Somosomo Strait up in Taveuni. A good, very casual place is Dolphin Bay Divers.

Need some inspiration? Have a look at

Around The World in 365 Days

Time to hit some bubbles!

Best regards

EvAnders

Interesting what #9 says about Kadavu - a friend who has been diving for 30 years went there last year and thought it was some of the best diving he's done. I guess a lot can depend on conditions when you're there, which sites you go to, etc.

What is it with people like copperspoon and other furum busy bodies?

you don't have to read the thread! You certainly don't have to waste your time typing a reply.

Its exactly that attitude that puts people off posting for the first time.

Not everyone on here is a vetran of the thorn tree and sometimes newbies will post their specific requests.

What does it matter to you?

I couldnt care if tihs person had trawled through previous posts for 4 days or just logged on and posted it willy nilly. The fact is she had a question and had as much right as anyone else to ask it.

I see you have listed your "want to see things" as sharks....Pacific Harbour is the best place for this as they do shark diving, only place in Fiji! This time of the year is great.......winter brings out great visibility although water temp maybe abit cooler! Tigers & bulls are in right now......Its fantastic diving & a real adrenaline rush! A must do for divers!
Pacific Harbour also offers a good range in accommodation as it has acouple of backpacker resorts with great facilities, one of them is Tsulu which has all the neccesities inlcuding very friendly & helpful staff! Great place to chill out & relax after a good dive & also accesible! Has a shopping centre & 2 massage shops, fast internet & A great cultural experience with the Arts Village shows & tours. The beach is 3min walk across the road!
I also say skip the Yasawas & Mamanucas! Basic diving if you have been diving for a bit!
Just letting u know.........

If you want to get a glimpse of traditional Fijian culture, I would highly recommend a visit to Navala village. Stay at Bulou's Lodge and tour the village with Tui. You'll be glad you did! Take the local bus from Ba to Navala and then walk up the road 1km to Bulou's.

Details are in the Lonely Planet guidebook.