Fiji

Fiji is comprised of an archipelago of over 330 islands and 500 islets. The island country is located in Melanesia, a subregion of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean.
Many of Fiji’s islands were formed by volcanic activity that began over 150 million years ago. Much of Fiji’s population lives on Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, the country’s two major islands. Fiji’s capital, Suva, is located on the main island of Viti Levu.
Its natural beauty makes Fiji a major tourist destination and a big destination for scuba diving vacations.
It is also a popular filming location for Hollywood movies. With its stunning backdrop, Fiji has been the star of such notable films as Cast Away, Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid, and Blue Lagoon.

Scuba Diving in Fiji

With over 400 coral species, Fiji is known as the soft coral capital of the world. It is also well-known for having some of the best shark diving in the world. Fiji scuba diving offers divers their choice of exploring lagoons, reefs, passageways created by currents, atolls, the ocean and marine parks. With its hundreds of islands, diverse topography and vibrant marine life, Fiji offers some of the best scuba diving in the world.
Dive travel to the area features more than 1,200 types of fish species and hundreds of different types of sponges and corals. Attracted to the vividly colorful soft corals are lionfish, nudibranchs, Maori wrasse, flatworms, fusiliers and sweetlips. Fiji’s waters are also visited by tuna, Spanish mackerel, trevallies, chub mackerel, silver biddy, grouper, goldspot herring, octopus, snapper, rock cod, mullets, emperors, big mouth mackerel and schools of little priest fish.
The prime month to spot humpback whales is August, while October is ideal for turtle sightings.

In Fiji’s lagoons, sardines, whitebait and juvenile fish are abundant. But the colorful coral reefs that surround all of its islands and atolls are what make Fiji among the best scuba diving in the world. These reefs attract a wide variety of marine species.

During the warmer months, Fiji’s reefs are abundant with balolo sea worms, bigeye scad, lead scorpions, lionfish, crustaceans, wrasses, surgeonfish, spiny rock lobsters, crabs, rabbitfish, jellyfish, cuttlefish, titan triggerfish, little spinefoot, salps, Damsels, parrotfish and siphonophores.

Numerous soft coral reefs are just one of the highlights of Fiji diving. Stunning waterfalls, dramatic mountains and sandy atolls add to the diving experience. The outer islands offer the best spots for Fiji scuba diving, including Ono-i-Lau, the most outlying island. It is actually a group of islands within a barrier reef system that is part of the Fijian archipelago of Lau Islands. Ono-i-Lau consists of four volcanic islands, Doi, Ndavura, Onolevu and Lovoni, three coral limestone islets, Mana, Yanuya and Niuta, and one sand cay, Udui.
When scuba diving Fiji, Viti Levu, the largest island in Fiji’s archipelago, offers some awesome dive spots. Highlights include Blight Waters, Beqa and Kadavu.  Shark diving is popular on Makongi Island in the Koro Sea. The pristine dive areas are also ideal for spotting numerous manta rays. Wakaya Island, also in the Koro Sea, is known for its diverse topography and marine life. Divers will find both macro and big fish here.
Namena Marine Reserve is a must dive area. This large reef system offers numerous drop-offs and pinnacles and a great variety of species.

Fiji diving reveals extensive marine biodiversity and unspoiled reefs. One particular highlight is the twilight fangblenny, a fish species found only in Fiji’s waters. Liveaboard diving in Fiji offers the best chance of finding such native species. When divers live aboard, they have the best access and most diving opportunities.
Great Astrolabe Reef, which surrounds Kadavu Island, is often a destination for liveaboards in Fiji. The fourth largest barrier reef in the world is revered among divers around the globe and is considered the jewel of diving Fiji. On the outer reef’s slopes, there’s a beautiful array of colorful hard coral. The steep drop-offs are covered in vibrant soft coral.

Scuba diving vacations to this area also include numerous reefs and passages, walls and drifts, caves, submerged pinnacles, dive throughs and canyons. The Belfry, located on the outer Great Astrolabe Reef, is an undersea mount known for schools of batfish and barracudas. With all the reef has to offer, many divers stay several days on a Fiji liveaboard to explore its many dive sites. Both pelagic and macro life visit the waters of Fiji. The bumphead parrotfish do so to spawn.Common sightings include a variety of sharks and manta rays, five of the world’s seven species of sea turtles, blue ribbon eels, migrating blue whales and humpback whales, leaf scorpionfish and schools of colorful fish.

When scuba diving Fiji, divers are also likely to spot pygmy seahorses, ghost pipefish, shrimp and crab varieties, whitetip and blacktip reef sharks, grey reef sharks, hammerhead sharks, schools of jackfish and so much more. A Fiji liveaboard experience ensures divers don’t miss a thing, from big fish to macro critters to remote pristine reefs and stunning corals. Making diving Fiji even more exciting are the varying currents. Diving conditions range from calm waters to strong currents. The water’s movement allows for some thrilling drift diving, particularly at the islands of Makongi, Gau and Wakaya.
Other typical visits made by liveaboards in Fiji include Beqa Lagoon and its steep walls covered in gorgonian sea fans and black coral trees, Ono with its plentiful diving sites and Tavueni for its breathtaking soft corals.
With liveaboard diving in Fiji, divers live aboard and visit one or many dive sites a day. Additional sites worth checking out are The Supermarket, the Nigali Passage, Annie’s Bommie, Namena Lala, Bligh Water and Naiqoro Passage.

When to Go

Fiji has a tropical climate, so dive travel can be booked year-round. The island country has two seasons. The warm season runs from November to April and the cold season is from May to October. During the warm season, the average temperature is 30 degrees C or 86° F. The dry season is from May to October. The average temperature is 24° C (75° F).
Water temperatures range from 23° C to 30 ° C (73° F to 86° F). Water visibility ranges from 70 to 130 feet, with the best visibility between July and December.

Getting There

Several airlines offer flights to Fiji from numerous international destinations. Fiji’s main island, Viti Levu, has two international airports: Nausori International Airport on the eastern side and Nadi International Airport on the western side. Fiji liveaboards typically depart from the capital city of Suva, which is 30 minutes from Nausori International Airport.
From Nadi International Airport, domestic flights to Suva are available. Alternatively, the driving distance from the airport to Suva is about 71 miles. Interisland ferries and bus routes also provide access to other Fiji islands.

Visas and Passports

A visa is not required to enter Fiji as long as visitors are from a visa exempt country. These visitors are given a visitor permit for immigration clearance upon their arrival. This permit is good for up to four months. To obtain a visitor permit, the following documentation is required:
•A completed immigration arrival card;
•A valid passport with an expiration date at least six months beyond the intended stay in Fiji;
•A return ticket home or to your next travel destination;
•A confirmed address of where you are staying in Fiji, such as a hotel or liveaboard;
•Payment of the applicable fees.

Visitors not from a visa exempt country must obtain a visa from the Fiji High Commission or Embassy in their region before their trip.

Time Zone

The time zone in all of Fiji in GMT+12.

Currency

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Electricity

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Language

Fiji has three official languages: Fijian, Fiji Hindi and English. However, most Fijians speak English.