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Dive Review of Ra Divers/Volivoli Resort in
Fiji and Tuvalu/RakiRaki

Ra Divers/Volivoli Resort: "VoliVoli - Upscale resort that offers diving", May, 2017,

by Dennis A McCrea, WA, US (Sr. Reviewer Sr. Reviewer 7 reports with 6 Helpful votes). Report 9582.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 5 stars Food 5 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity 4 stars
Dive Operation 3 stars Shore Diving 1 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 5 stars
Beginners 3 stars
Advanced 3 stars
Comments This was the second resort we visited on this trip. This resort was also destroyed during February of 2016 by Cyclone/Typhoon Winston. It hasn’t been completely rebuilt, but it is mostly completed. Be prepared for a long road journey, because you arrive at the main airport in Nadi and it’s a 2 ½ hour drive to get to the resort.

This place has been rebuilt as a “Resort that offers Diving”. It is also home base for the Fiji Siren Live Aboard. The 10 Vales/rooms are what I would consider 5 star accommodations. Solar water heating on each Vale provides plenty of water for showers. The restaurant has a large menu selection and specials for lunch and dinner every day. Multiple bars are located throughout the resort and drink specials every day at happy hour.

There is a dive shop at the beach level which is just a short walk from the rooms. They have 4 small compressors that are “daisy chained” together to provide air fills. They also have a Nitrox membrane system for providing Nitrox. Plenty of dive gear for rental including full 5/3 wetsuits.

THE GOOD – Dive guides give decent briefings about the sites and what to expect (current, swim throughs, depths, etc). If you dive multiple days, you leave your BC and Regs on the boat and they set up for you the next day. You take your fins, mask, and wetsuit and rinse in the freshwater tubs provided. Fresh water and fruit provided between dives, and a tub filled with water for your cameras.

THE BAD – Your gear doesn't get rinsed every day. Depending on the tide, you may have to walk out on a sandbar to get on or off the boat. Bring plenty of Deet for the sand fleas/no-see-ums, and bring Benadryl tablets and lotion as there is none for sale in Fiji. The coral in the “Bligh Waters” surrounding the resort took a harder hit than Rainbow Reef in Taveuni. Shore diving is a waste unless you just want to get wet. Visibility here was not as good as Rainbow Reef.

We did experience a bad air fill on our first day of diving and had to abort the second dive. One of the owners – Steve Darling - was alerted and immediately had all the tanks drained and pressure washed. A compressor tech came out and discovered that one of the one way drain valves had failed, and since they were all connected, the water and oil drain “waste” was being pumped back into the filters. Parts were ordered, and tanks were borrowed from another dive resort for the remainder of our trip.

We met several people that had been here in previous years and they were disappointed that it had lost its “local charm”. They commented “it is an amazing place to stay because of the accommodations, but it feels too upscale for a dive resort”. If you want a really nice place to stay and go diving, this is one of the best.
Websites Ra Divers   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience Over 1000 dives
Where else diving Caymans, Bahamas, Dominica, Belize, Bonaire, Roatan, Cozumel, Hawaii, Philippines, California, Florida, Washington, Virgin Island
Closest Airport NAN Getting There From the US you fly from LAX or HNL. Fiji Airways is a government protected airline and has a monopoly on most flights. Beware of baggage fees. You're allowed 1 bag 50lbs and each additional bag is $150

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas calm, choppy
Water Temp 78-82°F / 26-28°C Wetsuit Thickness 5
Water Visibility 15-50 Ft/ 5-15 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile no
Enforced diving restrictions 80 ft for 50 minutes
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks 1 or 2 Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles None Whales None
Corals 3 stars Tropical Fish 3 stars
Small Critters 1 stars Large Fish N/A
Large Pelagics N/A

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

Subject Matter 3 stars Boat Facilities 2 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 2 stars Shore Facilities 2 stars
UW Photo Comments Photography might have been better if the vis was better. A lot of silt in the water made for diving in a "snow storm" at times.
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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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