Dive Review of
Nai'a in
Tonga/Ha'apai group

Truk, Palau, PNG, Australia, Cozumel, Florida, Bahamas, California

Dive Conditions

[None]  

Overall Rating

The Nai'a is a terrific boat, with a really friendly, capable, professional
crew. The Tonga trips are all about whales, really, so the reef diving was
somewhat incidental. We were on a special charter to develop a whale
website for the Imaging Foundation, so we placed even more emphasis than
usual on whales. Some of the divers were a bit disappointed that we didn't
do more diving, but the crew tried to accommodate, within the parameters of
our expedition.
Swimming (snorkeling) with the humpback whales is wonderful. One encounter
lasted over an hour, and the photographers got some great pictures. Other
encounters were briefer and less satisfying to those taking pictures, but
still quite breathtaking for those of us in the water. Just the one long
encounter was worth the whole trip.
As for the diving, we didn't get to their best sites, but some of the reefs
we visited were really very good, healthy, and with abundant, diverse fish
life. Other sites were merely OK. Nothing difficult or challenging, but it
was rather colder than most people expected. Some of the crew wear
drysuits, and I might be inclined to do likewise if I were going to dive
extensively. Light suits were fine for the snorkeling and a couple of dives
per day.
The Nai'a crew is wonderful and friendly. The food would be great for the
five-dive-a-day Fiji schedule, but seemed a bit excessive for the amount of
diving we were doing. We felt overfed.
I will definitely favor the Nai'a for future Fiji diving, and would
recommend the boat as a way to visit the whales in Tonga. 

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