Yasawas/Taveuni Trip Report

Thanks to everyone on this forum who helped in the planning of our Fiji holiday! We recently returned from a fantastic trip to the Yasawas, Taveuni and a hop across to Vanua Levu. We had great expectations for Octopus Resort and it certainly lives up to its reputation. The bure, beach, grounds, staff and activities are all great. The food is wonderful! We particularly enjoyed the interesting mix of well-traveled people staying at the resort. We participated in many of the activities with highlights being the Manta snorkeling excursion and the hike to the peak. If your budget allows, go for the beach bures, they are brighter and more private than the garden bures. Our 10 year old son loved the movie nights and taking a "discover scuba" class. With all the day and evening activities I thought it might be a bit "Club-Medish" but it was all fun and very laid back...the quiz night was hysterical.
I was initially worried that going to Oarsman Bay on Nacula would be a very similar experience to Octopus. It was totally different and I'm very glad we did both. Where Oarsman lacked some of the polish and lively scene of Octopus it made up for in a genuine Fijian experience. It's a smaller resort (run by the local village) so you really get to know the wonderful staff and other guests. The beach is outstanding and the snorkeling fantastic. My husband celebrated his birthday while at the resort and the kitchen staff baked a huge chocolate cake for him. The food is good but simple and less creative than Octopus. Breakfast could use a littly sprucing up. Oarsman has a "get away from it all" feel and is wonderful if you are an avid snorkeler. Pretty Nacula village is also a great excursion especially if you can time it with Sunday church service.
Someone gave us the good advice to stay in several locations on Taveuni and that is definitely the way to go if you have the time. The roads are slow and bumpy so it takes a long time to get to the many attractions. We spent a few days at Matei Pointe (the Somosomo Bure). It was very comfortable, spacious and good value compared to some of the other places. It's also well located and an easy walk to restaurants and grocery stores. Although it had a kitchen we prefered to eat at the Coconut Grove restaurant and also had a fantastic curry dinner delivered by Mrs. Lal. While Matei itself isn't too exciting and the beaches/snorkeling not great, it makes a very good base for day trips to Bouma Falls and the Lavena Coastal hike - both are superb, especially Lavena!
The drive along the west coast, especially between Waiyevo and Vuna has spectacular scenery. We had a really wonderful time staying at Dolphin Bay Guest House where Simmi, Kamal and their three sons are very gracious hosts. It was very interesting getting a glimpse of what life is like for an Indo-Fijian family. Simmi is a great cook, Kamal took us on a lovely excursion to the South Cape and Blow Hole and our son was kept happily entertained playing soccer with their son Edwin. We loved sharing meals and conversation with this nice family. There are some brilliant snorkeling spots with crystal clear water in walking distance of the house.
I was curious about "Paradise"-the former "Susie's", so we splurged for a night (it's only a few kilometers from Dolphin Bay Guest House). The bure and grounds are beautiful. The King size beds are really comfortable -somewhat lacking in most of the other places. My massage by the ocean was a special treat. The snorkeling is oustanding and we had a great dive on Vuna Reef. The staff are very friendly and aim to please - almost to a fault. The food was good but not great. It's a great spot if you want to include a bit of pampering in your trip - do it while the re-furb rates are still on!
We spent 6 fantastic days at Dolphin Bay Diver Retreat on Vanua Levu just across the strait from Taveuni. Viola and Roland are outstanding hosts - charming and laid back while professional and effecient in the management of their secluded resorts. They run an outstanding scuba operation and are very in-tune with the desires and experience levels of their guests. I hadn't dove for a number of years and I was very impressed with the refresher shore dive that Viola took me through and Roland's attention to making me feel at ease on the boat dives. While the winds didn't cooperate too well to get to some of sites, we had a few really memorable dives including "Fish Factory" and "Annie's Boomies". While the water was a bit churned up by the wind, we still got in some good snorkeling on the house reef and Rainbow Reef . Meals at Dolphin Bay were a delight - best we had on the entire trip! We loved the atmosphere here...a very special place!
A new place worth checking out is "Almost Paradise", about a 10 minute boat ride from Dolphin Bay (hasn't made it into Lonely Planet yet). We didn't stay here but got to know the really friendly Californian owners -Gerri-Sue and Bruce. Almost Paradise has good snorkeling and guests can use the scuba services at Dolphin Bay Divers.
Fiji and the Fijian people are great! We loved the Yasawa-Taveuni combo but I'm sure there are lots of other sweet spots. Would like to make it to Ovalau next time.
Enjoy and happy traveling!

Thanks for the report. I always find it valuable to hear from someone who's been to a few places I've been, but also to a few I haven't. It gives me a good frame of reference.

Wow, what a great trip! Thank you so much for relating your experiences! Just researching our second trip to Fiji, and you've answered many of my questions already. Thanks!

Thank you so much for this report; we're doing basically the same trip in a few months and it's nice to hear the resorts we visited a few years ago are still living up to the standard we remember. You've really put my mind at ease as both sets of our parents are coming this time. Any chance you noticed Daku Resort on Vanua Levu ? I'm looking for recent experiences there.

Hiya,

Sounds like you had an amazing time. Myself and my boyfriend are going in January and we are staying at the Octopus Resort (in the beach bures). We are going to move onto another island but I'm wondering how hard it is to travel bewteen the Islands? We are thinking of Yasawas or Taveuin. How hard is it to get from The Octopus Resort to either Yasawas or Taveuni and how much did it cost?

Thanks in advance.