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Dive Review of Aqua Trek/Garden Island Resort in
Fiji and Tuvalu/Taveuni

Aqua Trek/Garden Island Resort, Feb, 2003,

by Karen Gordon, AK, USA (Reviewer Reviewer 5 reports). Report 1390.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 4 stars Food 5 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving 2 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 3 stars
Advanced 5 stars
Comments Royalty could hardly have been treated better than the staff at Garden Island Resort was with our group. Always the staff was most cheerful and helpful no matter the request or question. They even learned our names, and we learned theirs.

The food was excellent and there was plenty of it. The attentive and friendly restaurant staff fed us until we thought we would pop, delicious food. They even prepared a special dessert for one of our group who got certified at Garden Island Resort. The meal plan comes with the dive/hotel package, and is a great deal.

Rooms, while simple, with comfortable beds, are wonderfully air conditioned, and proved a great thermal respite from the heat. Every room has a beautiful view of Somosomo Straits and Vanua Levu in the distance.

The dive operation was wonderful as well, one of those special places where your gear is rinsed and hung to dry every day. One divemaster is still there who was there ten years ago when I last visited Taveuni. The quality of the reefs has diminished since last I visited, but I wouldn't let that stand in the way of a visit here. There is still plenty to see and the divemasters are locals and wonderfully informative, pointing out the exceptional critters to us.

There can be strong currents at the Great White Wall, so be sure you are able to handle them before taking this lovely site on. If you are the least bit squeamish about this site, just ask one of the divemasters if you can dive with them. They are more than helpful. We dove this site twice on our visit, and once the current was consistently horizontal, and the next time it was a strong down-current. Our group consisted of almost all divemasters and instructors except for our one newly-certified diver. Luckily he was with a divemaster at the time, and was well looked out for.

The only negative aspect of our time diving with Aqua Trek was that we weren't allowed to go to the beach during our surface interval. We parked the boat at a lovely beach, and were allowed to snorkle, but we were told we couldn't go ashore to sit on the beach or explore. Having such a beautiful anchorage without being to get off the boat and "touch" it was a pretty difficult and somewhat frustrating tease.

In addition to the diving, there are so many other opportunities to visit the local village stores, a waterslide, waterfalls, and a wonderful village visit complete with kava ceremony in the traditional style. Not to miss is the church service at the local mission a few miles away. The singing and music is exquisite and quite heavenly. I'd go back to Garden Island Resort even if I wasn't a diver, but because I am, this is a great choice for a Fiji dive vacation.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 251-500 dives
Where else diving Australia, Samoa, Yap, Palau, Kosrae, Chuuk, Pohnpei, Rota, Papua New Guinea, Honduras, Belize, Cozumel, Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos, and more
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas calm
Water Temp 82-84°F / 28-29°C Wetsuit Thickness 0
Water Visibility 60-90 Ft/ 18-27 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions Normal PADI standards.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks 1 or 2 Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles 1 or 2 Whales None
Corals 3 stars Tropical Fish 4 stars
Small Critters 3 stars Large Fish 3 stars
Large Pelagics 2 stars

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

Subject Matter N/A Boat Facilities N/A
Overall rating for UWP's N/A Shore Facilities 5 stars
UW Photo Comments [None]
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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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