where in fiji over christmas (diving)

My girlfriend and I will be landing in Nadi on the 22nd Dec in the evening and flying out on the 30th early morning. I am planning on staying near by around our flights.

We have 6 clear days to whatever we want. My problem is there are just so many places to go and im not all that sure what is possible in the time. I have heard they are very relaxed with timing and reliability concerning transport.

Since its over christmas it would be nice to be somewhere chilled out where we would be looked after but we also want to complete our PADI open water dives (we will have done the paper work part here in the UK). Being greedy with the time we have I would also like to have a day somewhere with some rainforest and waterfalls etc.

summarising all this basically it would be great to get opinions for - a nice resort for christmas, somewhere to do complete padi and then hopefully somewhere with nice scenery for a day.

Thanks!

Hey Tens,

I have had a quick stop in Nadi but unfortunately I can only help you with the diving part of your question as this is pretty much all I did while there! If you are wanting to get your PADI Open Water certificate then I would recommend a place called Dive Adrenalin at Port Denarau, which is about a 10-15 minute trip from the airport. There are couple of other dive centre's nearby too that you can get your PADI from, one being Viti Water Sports. If you go to PADI's website they have a dive shop locator which could make things easier for you.

In regards to scenery, I have heard that Natadola beach futher south from Nadi is quite beautiful but I didn't have a chance to see it unfortunately.

Hope this helps!

Bula Tens! Look into Ra Divers and the Volivoli Resort (volivoli.com) They're up by Rakiraki and
Viti Levu's north coast. Cheers.

do you think going to the north of the main island rules out going to any other islands giving the time restrictions? This is what has put me off looking at the main island even though that resort is where i was first drawn to!

Tens, Normally, you could do Ra Divers for certification (Rakiraki is about 2 hours from Nadi)
Just that I'm not sure how many days would be required to complete your certifaication. You
could return to Nadi and take boat transport to the closer Yasawa Islands and in 2 hours be
on Waya or Wayasewa. The Octopus on Waya certifies divers also. This could be a way to
hit a couple places. I would check out lodging availability soon because your schedule means
a Christmas season visit.

Tens, Check out BlueLagoonBeachResort.com. Same prices as Octopus for diving. 4 hours from Nadi
by high-speed catamaran. Absolutely gorgeous beaches. Your girlfriend will love it.

I had checked out blue lagoon and octopus and think i will be going there and doing the diving there along with relaxing over xmas. Blue lagoon is edging it for me based on the amount I have seen it written about. I do need to find out about the remainder of the padi - i think it only lasts 2 days but need to be sure.

I was thinking then staying at blue lagoon for 4 nights and then somewhere else for the last 2 nights which maybe offers some hiking or somewhere more remote/proper fiji.

any suggestions for that?

The Yasawa Island of Waya is great for hiking. The highest point in the Yalobi Hills (1500 feet) allows
you to see the entire Yasawa Island chain. There's 4 Fijian villages on the island and it is lush and green.
At low tide, a sand bar is exposed that allows you to actually walk to the next island over- Wayasewa.
The Octopus Resort is on Waya. You will need to sleep in Nadi the night before your a.m. return flight
and need to keep to the return boat schedule which returns to Nadi in the afternoons. Cheers!

BTW- You can see all these islands on GoogleEarth to help you decide which ones you like most.

'Ditto' on Ra Divers at Volivoli Beach Resort. They offer quality PADI courses at reasonable rates. Great diving, snorkeling, good restaurant and a relaxing environment to read, swim in the pool or catch up with internet.

has anyone been to both Ra Divers and blue lagoon, this will probably be the only time I will ever goto Fiji and its also over xmas so would like it to be nice which is why im swaying towards blue lagoon.

Bula Tens, Since this may be your only visit to Fiji and you are visiting with your girlfriend, you have it
right- get off Viti Levu and go to the Blue Lagoon Beach Resort on Nacula. It is rated #1 of
all 16 rated Yasawa lodgings on Trip Advisor, and the place really should be charging more
for what it is. You could even hit a second island in your six days. You will be seeing what
many say is the most beautiful part of Fiji- the Yasawas. The beaches on Viti Levu are not as
spectacular, although Ra Divers is a very reputable dive center. On a tight budget, Volivoli
works because you can just take a bus to get there, and the resort offers dorms for budget
travellers getting certified. Be sure to look at the Yasawas on GoogleEarth-a picture's worth
a thousand words... Have a great trip!