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Dive Review of Beqa Lagoon Resort in
Fiji and Tuvalu/Beqa Lagoon

Beqa Lagoon Resort: "Incredible Resort", Oct, 2014,

by Kristin Leighton, WY, US ( 1 report with 1 Helpful vote). Report 7976 has 1 Helpful vote.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 4 stars Food 5 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity 5 stars
Dive Operation 4 stars Shore Diving 3 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 4 stars
Beginners 3 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments We went on this trip with a group from our dive shop, High Plains SCUBA in Ft. Collins, CO. We were more than a little nervous as this was the farthest we had traveled to any diving! It was a long day and a half getting there, but it was definitely worth it!! We were greeted by the resort employees on the beach with a welcome
(Bula) song and they made us feel welcome the whole time we were there! Everyone is also given a complimentary foot massage after your arrival, which was heavenly!! Just what we needed after a long day of traveling We had our own bure with a small pool in the front and a beautiful ocean view! It felt very private as there were walls of bushes between us and the other bures. The only thing we could complain about in the bure was the water pressure in the shower! Our room was kept spotless by an unseen employee who always left flowers and turned down our bed in the evening. We dined in an open air dining/common room that looked out over the ocean. We learned real quick to have some bug spray on hand, although I found out a couple of days in that there was some provided at the entrance to the room. At breakfast, which was always plentiful with eggs, pancakes or French toast and plenty of fruit, toast and coffe, we ordered our lunch and dinner. There were always at least two selections for lunch and three for dinner, including a vegetarian version of one meat dish. One selection was always fish, which they cooked in a variety of ways. I have to say that the meals were always great and the desserts were to die for!! The staff at Beqa made our stay there feel like we were home!! They knew us by name and were there to help us with anything that came up! One of the things I really liked about being on Beqa was that we were able to learn about the culture of the island and its people. We took several hiking trips to differnt places including the village where the chief lives (we even got our picture with him!), the schools where the kids sang and performed for us (and we had to sing a song for them!) and a beautiful waterfall where we could drink the water!!! Along the way to these places our guide, Teka, showed us how the people work together to provide for each other. It was so humbling to see how little they had but how happy they were! As a group, we brought a lot of school supplies to give to the kids and made donations for a trip they had planned. And since we couldn't tip the employees, we donated to the Christmas fund they have for them and I also brought nail polish for the lady who cleaned our room and t-shirts for some of the other employees. FYI: If you are going to visit any of the villages or schools, the women must have their knees and shoulders covered and the men can't wear hats in the village.
Now to the diving! The dive operation is still a little rustic, but the manager of the resort, Graeme, is doing a fantastic job of updating everything. I don't think he could have picked a better group of Divemasters and boat captains. We enjoyed all of them so much!! They were so considerate and helpful. When they realized that we had some novice divers with us they made sure they kept an eye on them at all times, sometimes to the point of being their dive buddy. They also were very adept at finding the little creatures and showed us some things that were truly amazing--such as the Magic Coral and the Adhesive anemone!! If you want to know what those are, you need to go to Fiji!! My favorite things to watch we're the different anemone fish in their anemones. I had no idea there were so many different types of both! I was also thrilled to see the juvenile Blue Ribbon eel! My only disappointment was that the visibility was not great. It was cloudy and rainy most of the time we were there, so it really affected the vis and the surface of the water. We had a few people suffer some seasickness on the first dive day, but after that they made sure they had Dramamine and Seabands. The dive sites we went to were quite a ways away from the resort, but most of them were beautiful and I got some great pictures. My least favorite dive was the shark dive! The visibility was so bad and there were so many other divers there, it was hard to see anything! I believe this is why Graeme and his dive team are in the midst of setting up another site for their own shark dive. It was to open the day after we left and they were already having a 17 foot Tiger shark sighting! All in all, I have to say it was a great time, I just wish the visibility had been better, but I guess it is pretty much the luck of the draw with that! We only did one shore dive as our check out dive. It was ok, but you have to wait for high tide.
My overall rating of this dive resort is excellent. I'm sure the diving is incredible when the weather is calmer and the visibility is better. This is a place that I wholeheartedly recommend and I would absolutely go back to if I had the chance!! And if you are looking for a place that has more to do than just dive, this is it!
Websites Beqa Lagoon Resort   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 251-500 dives
Where else diving Hawaii, Bonaire, Belize, Turks and Caicos, Key West
Closest Airport Nadi Getting There L.a. to Nadi, 2 hour bus ride to Pacific Harbour and an hour boat ride to Beqa Island. I thought it was not too bad. We went Fiji Air and had a wonderful experience with them! I wish our airlines in the US were as pleasant and thoughtful!!!

Dive Conditions

Weather rainy, cloudy Seas choppy, currents
Water Temp 78-80°F / 26-27°C Wetsuit Thickness 5
Water Visibility 40-60 Ft/ 12-18 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions The only thing that was really enforced was to stay with your group when the current was strong. Once the Divemasters determined our ability in the water, they were ok with us doing our own thing. But they were also very careful with some newer divers and stayed very close to them.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks 1 or 2 Mantas None
Dolphins 1 or 2 Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 5 stars Tropical Fish 5 stars
Small Critters 5 stars Large Fish 4 stars
Large Pelagics N/A

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

Subject Matter 4 stars Boat Facilities 3 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 4 stars Shore Facilities 4 stars
UW Photo Comments You need to bring batteries because they don't have any, in fact, we left some with them! They provide a water bucket on the boats and a dedicated rinse tank on shore. I bought plug adapters which worked very well in our bure, but some people used plug ins provided in the office, which was always open to us. I felt like the Divemasters on the boats treated my camera as if it was their own.
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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.

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