No photos available at this time
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Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5
(best):
|
Accommodations |
 |
Food |
 |
Service and Attitude |
 |
Environmental Sensitivity |
N/A |
Dive Operation |
 |
Shore Diving |
 |
Snorkeling |
N/A |
Overall Rating |
Value for $$ |
N/A |
Beginners |
 |
Advanced |
 |
Comments |
Garden Island resort is located on the Island of Taveuni. It is the closest dive operation to Rainbow Reef which is one of the best dive areas in Fiji. The resort originally was a Travel Lodge so when I booked my stay there I thought that the place might be a bit tacky. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the accommodations had incorporated a fair amount of Fijian ambiance to counter the American style building. Granted, the rooms looked like they could have been from any typical motel, but the restaurant/bar area had a nice tropical feel. The restaurant food was unbelievably good. Breakfast is buffet or cook to order, and an excellent menu is provided for lunch and dinner. I highly recommend going with the food plan when making reservations. A rather good house band plays every night in the bar area which is a pleasant way to spend some time after dinner. There is no beach at this resort and that’s a good thing. The shoreline area is notorious for shark attacks. Fortunately that isn’t a problem in the diving area in Somosomo Strait. The diving is typically in current, although, on this trip, I did the Great White Wall twice – both times at the same time of day – the first time in a strong current and two days later in no current at all! The dive operation was OK. The boats were fine, the briefings were adequate, but the guides were not as good as I have seen at other resorts in Fiji. Somosomo Strait has strong currents so I would have expected the guides to be more attentive to watching divers. On a number of dives the current was significantly stronger near the surface but became quite manageable at the bottom. Because of this a descent/ascent line was used for entry and exit. The guides don’t seem to mind swimming into strong currents, but a lot of divers don’t go diving for the exercise! |
Reporter and Travel |
Dive Experience |
251-500 dives |
Where else diving |
Palau, Truk, Hawaii, Costa Rica, Cozumel, Grand Cayman |
Closest Airport |
|
Getting There |
|
Dive Conditions |
Weather |
cloudy |
Seas |
calm |
Water Temp |
77-79°F / 25-26°C |
Wetsuit Thickness |
3 |
Water Visibility |
60-80 Ft/ 18-24 M
|
Dive Policy |
Dive own profile |
yes |
Enforced diving restrictions |
[Unspecified]
|
Liveaboard? |
no |
Nitrox Available? |
N/A |
What I Saw |
Sharks |
1 or 2 |
Mantas |
None |
Dolphins |
None |
Whale Sharks |
None |
Turtles |
None |
Whales |
None |
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
|
Corals |
 |
Tropical Fish |
 |
Small Critters |
 |
Large Fish |
 |
Large Pelagics |
 |
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5
(best):
|
Subject Matter |
N/A |
Boat Facilities |
N/A |
Overall rating for UWP's |
N/A |
Shore Facilities |
N/A |
UW Photo Comments |
[None] |