Dive Review of Reef Safari/Wananavu Beach Resort in
Fiji and Tuvalu/Wananavu

Other Fiji and Tuvalu reports
Subscriber Content Preview
Active subscribers go here

Reef Safari/Wananavu Beach Resort, Nov, 2011, by John Bayless, CA, US ( 1 report). Report 6381.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	We recently returned from a week of diving in early November at the Wananavu Beach Resort on the north coast of Viti Levu in Fiji. We chose Wananavu in November based on recommendations by Mike Arellano at Scuba Travel Ventures who has an uncanny ability to lead us to just what we want at the best time of year for diving. The resort is an interesting two and a half hour ride by resort van from Nadi airport and is located far from any significant towns. It consists of 34 very nice bures built on the side of a hill looking out on the surrounding islands. The grounds are lush with many palm trees and there is a nice tidal beach. The staff of the resort is very friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable. The Reef Safari dive operation is expertly managed by Jeremy and Kristen David. A couple we were traveling with completed their open water certification at the resort with Kristen as the instructor; I have never seen a more thorough and attentive instructor. In general, the dive staff was quite friendly and capable, and the DMs were very good at pointing out many of the critters that we might have otherwise missed. Also, they take care of everyone’s gear from the time you arrive until you leave. The diving is some of the best we’ve encountered in Fiji with wonderful densely packed soft/hard coral reefs that are in excellent condition. The access to the Vuta-I-Ra Passage is what attracted our interest. Some of the most interesting reefs in this area are about an hour boat ride east from the resort. Although we were limited to 2 days in this area because of rough seas what we saw was outstanding. We understand that the liveaboard Nai’a spends two days of a one week trip in the area that is accessible from the resort. Although we saw few large fish or sharks, others at the resort had swum with whales and dolphins on each of two days just before we arrived. On the first day of diving, or when sea state prevents access to the Vuta-I-Ra Passage, the dive boats go to the Sailstone Reef about 30 minutes NW of the resort. This is wonderful, with very impressive reef formations, many swim throughs, and lots of interesting life forms including Spanish dancers, califlower soft coral, leaf scorpion fish, and blue dragon nudibranchs. The dive boats leave at 8:30 am and return at about 2 pm after two dives. The restaurant is always ready for returning divers. The boats also go out in the afternoon and at night as needed. The resort is well set up for beach snorkeling and scuba diving which can be very nice although the visibility is not as good as on the outlying reefs. The restaurant has a wonderful view and serves many fine dishes to the accompaniment of local musicians. There are some interesting things to do when not diving such as a village tour, a hike to a mountain water slide, and kayaking. With everything considered, we would definitely go back to Wananavu.
Websites	Reef Safari Wananavu Beach Resort
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Palau, Pohnpei, GBR, Bali, Rangiroa, Fiji, Caribbean, Bahamas, California
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm, choppy
Water Temp	79-81°F / 26-27°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	80-120 Ft/ 24-37 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Start up at 500 psi.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	no
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	The boat facilities include an area to store equipment and a large tub of fresh water. The operators are good about handing camera gear to you once you are in the water. The shore facilities a good with a large, well-lighted bench to work on and some tools. Reef Safari took delivery of their new boat on the day that we left. From what we heard this will provide better facilities for UWP.

Leave a comment (Subscribers only -- 200 words max)
Subscribers can comment here

Subscribers can post comments, ask the reviewer questions, as well as getting immediate and complete access to ALL 487 dive reviews of Fiji and Tuvalu and all other dive destinations. Complete access to all issues and Chapbooks is also included.

All Fiji and Tuvalu Dive Reviews and Reports
Diving Guide to Fiji and Tuvalu
Diving Reviews for All Dive Destinations

Featured Links from Our Sponsors
Interested in becoming a sponsor?

Reef & Rainforest, Let our experience be your guide -- Reef and Rainforest

Reef & Rainforest is an agency for travelers that scuba dive. Experience Astrolabe Reef, soft coral, friendly people, kava ceremonies, tropical islands. Let us plan your adventure to Fiji.

Want to assemble your own collection of Fiji and Tuvalu reports in one place?
Use the Mini Chapbook Facility to create your personalized collection.

Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

Undercurrent Home

Page computed and displayed in 0.15 seconds

Get more dive info like these and other important scuba updates sent monthly to your email. And a FREE Recent Issue of Undercurrent
Get a free monthly email and a sample issue!

Dive Review of Reef Safari/Wananavu Beach Resort in Fiji and Tuvalu/Wananavu

Reef Safari/Wananavu Beach Resort, Nov, 2011,

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 Reef Safari/Wananavu Beach Resort in
Fiji and Tuvalu/Wananavu