Dive Review of Paradise Taveuni in
Fiji and Tuvalu/Taveuni

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Paradise Taveuni: "A Gorgeous Resort", Apr, 2022, by Gary & Robin Schiendelman, PA, US ( Top Contributor 31 reports with 46 Helpful votes). Report 11920 has 7 Helpful votes.
Photos Submitted with this Report Click on an image to see an enlarged version and captions
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	After spending a week at Volivoli Beach Resort (see previous report) we returned to Nadi and took a Fiji Airways flight to Taveuni for an additional 10 days at Paradise Taveuni Resort. Note there are additional luggage restrictions for this flight. Upon arrival, we were greeted by a driver and taken to the resort. The drive was about an hour or so and a good portion of the road is unpaved. Upon arrival, we were greeted by Terri (one of the owners) and given an orientation, a foot massage and fresh fruit and juice. A lovely welcome! The resort grounds are one of the most beautiful we’ve seen. Perfectly landscaped and maintained. The buildings are all designed to blend in and the whole vibe of the place is peaceful and beautiful. There are plenty of areas to relax on the grounds. The rooms are in 2 rows, one behind the other. The front row includes the restaurant and dive shop, the honeymoon villa, 2 individual bures and, on either end, the Oceanfront Vales (sets of 3). The vales are advertised as being more “private” since you don’t have as many people walking past your porch. One set of these vales is next to the dive shop. In addition to clanging tanks, the compressor is very loud! We were at the other end, which was private. However, we were in the middle room (Coral) which had an adjoining door (to Reef) and we were able to hear EVERYTHING in the room next door. The room itself is nice but we would opt for a bure if we went back. Tables are set up outdoors for lunch or dinner (weather permitting) or you can be seated in the restaurant. Waitstaff were all pleasant and accommodating. There were a couple of new employees who were having some challenges but they were pleasant and trying hard so it was easy to overlook any minor mistakes. The food was outstanding. It was varied, interesting and well presented. In addition to local dishes, there were many Indian specialties. There was a menu that varied each night, a nightly special and things like broiled or grilled fish always available. Each week, there is a roast night, Indian night and Fijian lovo night. Seating on these nights was at a long table which made it a fun way to meet other guests. There is also a surprising amount of fresh salads and veggies in addition to fruits. Probably some of the best food we’ve ever had at a dive resort. It was hard not to over eat! Rainbow Reef is the big draw in this area of Fiji and it is beautiful! About a 30 minute boat ride, there are a number of sites including the Great White Wall. This site is subject to currents so only diveable on certain days/times. Our timing was pretty good as we were able to dive the site on 3 different days during our stay. We saw a couple of turtles and sharks and some large fish in the blue but it was mostly about the coral and reef fish. Some of the coral formations were just stunning, and of course, the soft corals. The colors and quantity are unlike anywhere else we’ve been. Lots of nudi’s but few eels, lobster, etc and no cephalopods. We saw spinner dolphins and pilot whales on the way to the dive sites on many days. The shore dive here was pretty good. We did it twice as a night dive (you are required to have a guide). They don’t offer night boat dives. We saw pilot whales and dolphins many times on the way to Rainbow Reef. Paradise is the only operator to dive the Vuna Reef which is only about 10 minutes away. It was nice but not as good as Rainbow Reef. We dove there only one day. One unusual aspect of this operation is that they do all 3 daily dives in the morning. They load your gear, you get on the boat at 7 am. It’s about a 30 minute ride to Rainbow Reef and you do 3 dives with about 40-45 minutes SI between, then return to the resort for lunch. They do give excellent snacks on the boat! If you are going to Vuna Reef, you do 2 dives, then return to the resort and go back out for the 3rd dive, all before lunch. Their website advertises a custom built 45’ dive boat but it wasn’t there. We heard from another guest that it was in dry dock but we can’t confirm that. The dive boat we were on was not great at all. It is small and narrow and the ladder was horrible. Eventually, everyone just handed up their gear before exiting. To enter the water, you needed to step over a lip at the back of the boat with your fins on and no handhold. It proved to be challenging if the water was rough. More than one person did a face plant instead of a giant stride. Everyone stayed together as a group with a guide in front and a sweep behind. Pace was very slow and perfect for us. When someone was low on air, the sweep went up with them. Otherwise, the safety stop started between 47 and 50 minutes and we were all out of the water in an hour. Our Captain, Mike was terrific and when we were diving Rainbow Reef, the dive guide, Poppa was one of the best we’ve encountered. She lives on an island next to the reef so we picked her up once we were there. She had intimate knowledge of the dive sites, the currents & conditions. Her briefings were exact and accurate. We did encounter moderate to strong currents on some sites. Our “sweep” was usually Jack, a young man undergoing his DM training. Pleasant, hard working and with a real attention to his guests, he is already an asset to Paradise. All of the other dive shop employees seemed very good as well. Allen, the other owner, oversees this part of the operation. Allen recently hired a manager for the dive shop and he seems to be going through some growing pains so sometimes things seemed a bit disorganized. There are a number of non diving activities offered by the resort including hiking trips to some of the local waterfalls, local school visits, and an island tour. They also have a spa at the resort. If you are traveling with a non diver, there would be a lot for them to do while you’re spending the morning underwater. Despite the shortcomings of the dive boat and the unusual schedule, we would recommend Paradise Taveuni. The owners and staff work really hard to ensure all of their guests are well taken care of. The diving is really good. The food and the ambiance of the resort are outstanding. It does feel like Paradise! The Fiji Cares website does a great job of listing the Covid requirements for entering the country (vaxxed, tested, insured). Paradise can do the Covid test required for re-entry into the US if you are returning home directly from their resort.
Websites	[same]
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Indonesia, PNG, Solomon Isl, Red Sea, Maldives, South Africa, Mozambique, Cocos Isl, Galapagos, Socorro, Palau, Var Caribbean locations, New Jersey, Florida, No Carolina, Philippines, Fiji
Closest Airport	TVU	Getting There	PHL-LAX-NAN-TVU
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy, rainy, cloudy	Seas	calm, choppy, surge, currents
Water Temp	81-83°F / 27-28°C	Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility	60-100 Ft/ 18-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	Time and depth. Stay with guide
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	Small rinse bucket on boat. Full camera room on land with everything you need.

Report currently has 7 Helpful votes

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Dive Review of Paradise Taveuni in Fiji and Tuvalu/Taveuni

Paradise Taveuni: "A Gorgeous Resort", Apr, 2022,

Photos Submitted with this Report

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Paradise Taveuni in
Fiji and Tuvalu/Taveuni