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

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Lalati Resort, Mar, 2006, by Renata Gasperi, CA, USA ( Sr. Reviewer 7 reports with 2 Helpful votes). Report 2406.
No photos available at this time
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 $$	N/A
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Scenic direct flight from Taveuni to Suva on a tiny plane, then a one-hour drive to Pacific Harbor and a bumpy 40-minute boat ride to the resort, a veritable oasis in the wilderness. We received a warm welcome from the owners, Clint and Jayne Carlson, and their charming staff from Lalati village, and quickly settled into a very relaxing routine. The resort is beautiful, with lush well-tended gardens bursting with exotic flowers, a great new dock, and lovely views of forested hills and the lagoon. The bures overlooking the bay are spacious, comfortable and nicely decorated - flowers everywhere! No air conditioning, but the overhead fans and good cross ventilation kept us quite cool. Electricity is 110 volts, so you will need an adaptor if your are not from the US. First-class cuisine, thanks to talented chef Beato, and a good selection of wines, mostly from Australia. Meals are served in a imposing open pavillion overlooking the garden and bay. Frequent entertainment by local musicians and the resort staff, plus the famous Beqa firewalkers, kava ceremonies, and lovo lovo where the food is cooked in a pit full of hot stones covered with banana leaves. There are no roads, only footpaths linking the villages. We went on a moderately strenuous hike to the top of the hill above the resort and were rewarded by spectacular views of bays and lagoon - our guide, a feisty old guy, had to clear the path through the rain forest with a machete, which certainly added to the experience, then climbed a palm tree and dropped a few young coconuts so we could quench our thirst. The best snorkeling is right in front of the resort or around the point across the bay - there is always somebody available to give you a lift by boat if you wish, or you can kayak over. A 5-minute boat ride will take you to a pretty small island (Storm Island) with a nice beach and a palm tree grove with a thatched-roof shelter. Well equipped, full service dive shop. Our only effort was the giant stride into the water! Comfortable covered boat, but no rinse bucket for cameras. Most dive sites are 10 to 20 minutes from the resort. Divemasters Seru and Joe have a real talent for spotting the tiniest critters and make sure you have great photo opportunities. Some of the shallower bommies show extensive coral damage caused by a combination of surge from passing cyclones and the ubiquitous water warming phenomenon, but most of the dive sites boast a wonderful variety of soft and hard corals, anemones, colorful fans crowned by crinoids, and clouds of brilliantly colored fish. Lots of lionfish, bright blue ribbon eel (often two to a crevice as it was mating season), ghost pipefish, nudibranchs of all sizes and colors, black and white banded sea snakes. We encountered some current, but it only added to the fun. A few swim throughs, some of them festooned with soft coral, very few turtles and white tip sharks. Our favorite sites were Glory Hole, Best of the Best, Nudibranch City, and Soft Coral Plateau where we saw schools of yellow-tail barracudas and jacks swirling around us.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	101-250 dives
Where else diving	Micronesia (Palau, Truk, Yap), Solomons, Tuamotus (Rangiroa, Manihi), Moorea/Bora Bora, Indonesia (Komodo etc.), Seychelles, Aldabra, Australia (Heron Island), Cozumel, US Virgin Islands
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm, currents
Water Temp	82-85°F / 28-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	0
Water Visibility	60-100 Ft/ 18-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	?
Enforced diving restrictions	[Unspecified]
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	None
Dolphins	Schools	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	[None]

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

Lalati Resort, Mar, 2006,

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 Lalati Resort in
Fiji and Tuvalu/Beqa Lagoon