Fiji is an archipelago of more than 300 islands and 500 islets. It is located in the South Pacific, between the Solomon Islands and the Kingdom of Tonga, 1100 miles north of New Zealand.
The largest of the islands is Viti Levu, where its capital Suva is located, and the Nadi International Airport.
Other important islands are Vanua Levu, Taveuni, Kadavu and Rotuma. In general all the islands are mountainous and covered with tropical forest and dense virgin forest.
The coconut trees, the pandanos whose leaves are used to make baskets, the bamboo and the reeds, are part of the tropical landscape of the archipelago. The national flower of Fiji is the tagimaucia. Orchids and vanilla are also abundant.
The highest point of the country is the Monte Tomanivi at 4344 feet high located on the main island of Viti Levu, where the main rivers are also: the Rewa, the Navua and the Sigatoka.
Diving in Fiji is considered among the 10 best diving destinations in the world, and its diving can be described as spectacular and where it is possible to dive throughout the year.
Diving Type Available: From Hotel, Resort or Life on Board.
The coral reefs that surround the Fiji Islands are teeming with marine life, also being the third largest coral reef in the world.
Fiji is considered the “Soft Coral Capital of the World”. The coral formations with their bright colors, attract blankets and sharks, as well as a great variety of marine life, including large schools of small tropical fish.
The diving points vary from lagoons and shallow reefs, suitable for all levels, to steep walls upholstered with large red, orange and yellow gorgonians, tunnels, caves, mountains, pinnacles and large pelagic for the most experienced.
In addition, shark diving enthusiasts can find at Pacific Harbor, the starting point of the Shark Reef dives, excellent dives with gray reef sharks, silver, white, black and nurse tips, as well as bull sharks, lemons and tigers.
Most of the dives are drift dives with moderate to strong currents, so an advanced level of diving is required.
Scuba dive Fiji is an ideal place for lovers of underwater photography.
Top 10 Scuba dives in Fiji
1. Beqa
The Beqa area is not an immersion point, but an area encompassing a dozen different immersion points. In these reefs you can find a good representation of the fauna of the entire archipelago, from sharks to reef fish and a long list of invertebrates, corals, gorgonians, crustaceans and, as they could not miss, a good sample of nudibranmquios. The dives, in their profile, are also diverse, since you can alternate oceanic walls with flat reefs and some modern wrecks.
2. E- 6
A large underwater submarine that rises from abyssal depths, barely a couple of feet from the surface. It is located in an open area, relatively close to another low (Hi-8). Its vertical walls concentrate a great diversity of soft and hard corals, as well as different species of gorgonians.
The most attractive and known is the passage that runs through a large section of the wall, as if a large part of it was detached from the base, leaving a narrow horseshoe-shaped corridor between this large block and the main structure of the reef. The narrow fissure widens at the bottom, and in the evening there are incredible backlights.
Inside the passage there is not a lot of fish, but as soon as you go outside you will continue enjoying a continuous parade of reef fish, including white tip sharks, and sometimes some pelagic ones like barracudas, jacks or tuna.
3. Jim’s Alley
Located east of the Isle of Gau, this spot is ideal as the first contact with Fiji diving. It is formed by three large coral pinnacles, of cylindrical shape that begin about 16 feet from the surface and descend to 60 feet. It emphasizes the amount of soft corals, sponges and gorgónias that cover the walls of the low ones. In the highest part we find hard corals like deer antler and brain. In the sandy corridors between the shallows there are numerous tropical fish, and occasionally you can see rays and leopard sharks that rest on the bottom. But the “Avenida” is a small slope that runs parallel to the bommies, full of ball coral, where hundreds of soldier fish, squirrel fish, surgeons, crossbows, yellow lutjánidos, butterflies and a number of wolves are concentrated.
4. Kanses
Two pinnacles of considerable size, very close to each other, which rises up almost to the surface. It is a place for both day and night diving, since it is 65 feet deep. The vertical walls of these calcareous cylinders are literally upholstered with gorgonians and soft corals, orange, purple, red, white and purple, and among them sponges, hydroids, and all kinds of other invertebrates.
The fish have taken the top part of the bommies, and the concentration is incredible. The corridor between the two pinnacles channels the current, sometimes somewhat strong, which encourages the proliferation of gorgonians, alcyonators and other soft corals. It is near this point where there is a small arch, known as “Window of Dreams”, a must-see for photographers, given the large number of gorgonians and corals that decorate it. From this place, for those who want it, it is possible to make an interesting journey to Save a Tack.
5. Koro
This location is very varied, since it has a few deep bottoms covered with hard corals, cylindrical pinnacles full of soft corals and a wall that is lost in the depths, where gorgonians and sponges abound. In shallow areas, reef fish, such as lionfish, parrotfish, and crocodile fish, stand out. Surgeons, maidens, crossbows, etc.
In the pinnacles the smaller fish are protected between the arms of the corals or the tentacles of the anemones. On the wall, especially if there is strong current, barracudas, carangids and some gray sharks.
6. Namena
The coral reef of Namena Island, considered a marine reserve, is very far from the coast and bridle excellent opportunities for diving, with a good sample of pelagic (barracudas, sea eagles, blankets and carangids) and reef sharks. Equally abundant is the small fauna of the reef, being able to see from one side to the other, antias, yellow maidens, slender lizards, groupers, trumpets, surgeons, crossbows, etc.
In areas of hard corals, special attention should be paid to ocelot nudibranchs, white nudibranchs and curious flatworms. The reserve of Namena is not a point of immersion, but a large area, where we will find places like: Black Forest, Save A-Tack, Chimeny’s, Rob’s Fins, Kanses, Ned’s Head or Keenans.
7. Ned’s Head
The immersion takes place in a relatively wide underwater submarine that culminates at 79 feet depth, forming a small platform on which two bommies or pinnacles settle that almost reach the surface. Despite being separated by more than 130 feet, the good visibility of the area will allow you to comfortably carry out this wide route, enjoying along the way the large number of very varied fish that are concentrated in this place. Note the white reef sharks, turtles , stripes of blue dots, carangids and barracudas, schools of batfish, groups of surgeons, endless parades of riflemen and parrots of different varieties.
8. Nigali Pass
This step, in the form of a cut on the reef, is very conditioned by the tide schedule, if you dive at the peak of the descent or rise, the current is very strong. The ideal is to dive close to this schedule, since the concentration of life will be greater.
You can see barracudas, rays, turtles and numerous carangidae (mainly of the horse eye type), although perhaps the most attractive are the gray sharks, which are concentrated at the end of the pass, at a fork, where the bottom loses depth and the current it accelerates.
9. Pacific Harbor – Shark Reef – Bistro
This dive spot, also known as Bistro, is located between the south coast of Pacifc Harbor and the nearby island of Beqa and is listed as a marine shark reserve. Its bottom does not offer color, since it is a slope, hard corals in not very good condition, with a visibility that usually approaches 65 feet.
The dive is concentrated exclusively on the sharks, although the big groupers, the hundreds of red snappers and many other fish are a parallel spectacle. It is possible to see gray reef sharks, white tips, silver tips, nurse and black tips, but the most appreciated are the bull shark, the lemon and the tiger.
A stunning dive of feeding without a cage is a very good opportunity to swim with these great animals. This dive spot is not made during cruises, so it is a perfect complement to add a few days of hotel stay, alternating these dives with the Beqa reefs.
10. Wakaya Pass – Blue Ribbon
The immersion starts at a depth of 33 feet, but after crossing “the pass”, you access an impressive wall. The most interesting is the deep, between 100 and 130feet, it is possible to see barracudas, sea eagles, oceanic rays and some white-tipped shark or hammerhead.
In the hollows of the wall, in shallower areas, ribbon moraines, small crustaceans and lionfish abound. Among the large and numerous gorgonians are the trumpet fish, accompanied by spider crabs. There are also numerous anemones with their clown fish.
