Dive Review of Marlin Bay Resort in
Fiji and Tuvalu/Beqa Lagoon

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Marlin Bay Resort, Jul, 2004, by Barry Zigas, DC, United States ( Sr. Reviewer 7 reports with 2 Helpful votes). Report 1113.
No photos available at this time
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	Marlin Bay has recently changed hands and will soon be known as Beqa Lagoon Resort. New owners are about to invest several millions in expanded facilities, chiefly a much larger swimming pool and expanded bar area. The good: one of the rare vacation destinations that lives up to the hype and poster views. Gorgeous location on Beqa Lagoon. Beautiful grounds, luxury bures (Fiji for cabins)with marble baths, lovely 4-poster king beds, hammocks, chaise lounges in front. Both ocean view and views overlooking a koi pond. Appetizer and 2 main course choices for dinner, menu changes daily with fish every dinner and chicken and other "turf" options rotating. All prepared with flair from fresh ingedients. Desserts to die for. No other eating options on island. No TV anywhere at resort. Phone and internet connection only at office. Excellent service, warm and friendly local staff who go out of their way to make you feel at home. Daily 2-tank dives leave 8 am, all equipment handled by staff after arrival. Divers only look after wetsuits and cameras. Night dives 2x weekly if at least 4 divers sign up. Shark dive Fridays for extra $FJ140. Many dive sites to choose from. Most days included 10-12 divers per boat; additional boat added if more. Snorkelers welcome on boats. 60 minute surface intervals. Very plentiful smaller tropicals. Good stands of healthy hard and soft corals. Divemasters will point out critters and unusual fish, will help photographers find stuff if asked. Spare but good briefings. Light supervision, but all divers checked in on depth and time after every dive. Dives 40-60 minutes. Many lionfish, stonefish, several leaffish, white tipped reef sharks on about half the dives cruising by. Unlimited shore diving available, but no one availed during our visit. Afternoon local outings with Fijian staff are free, engaging and fun. Kayaks available all day for touring the lagoon, as is snorkeling equipment for nondivers. Full and half day fishing trips available for extra charge. Decent massages in rooms available for charge. Lovely entertainment by local acoustic bands most nights. No programs for children. The less good: Boat trips to dives generally took at least 40 minutes, one day more than one hour. Conditions for 2 of 4 days were chilly for the season, breezy to windy, intermittent rain. Boats are well equipped, but rocky in chop. Vis less than expected, partly because of weather-related churn, but still better than 40 feet most days. Many sites had moderate to strong current, staff sometimes tried multiple sites before finding diveable location. Surprised by amounts of dead coral. Many fewer schooling fish, large fish, pelagics than on Great Barrier Reef. Very rich in smaller tropicals. Heads up to all: it's a 2-hour drive from Nadi Int'l airport, followed by a 40 minute boat ride to island. Transfer included, drivers helpful and courteous, but it's a long additional trip after a long flight. OTOH, once you're there you're definitely not in Kansas anymore! Overall, the resort was wonderful, the diving somewhat lower voltage than I hoped, but still among the best I've done. Highly recommended.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	101-250 dives
Where else diving	Mexico, Turkey, New Zealand, Australia, Grand Cayman, Turks and Caicos, Curacao, California, Florida
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy, rainy	Seas	calm, choppy, currents
Water Temp	70-72°F / 21-22°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	40-100 Ft/ 12-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Notify divemaster at 1000 psi. No dives deeper than 100 ft. 5 minute safety stops.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	None
Dolphins	Schools	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	Rinse bucket on board. No dry table on dive deck, but space in cabin if needed. Cameras handed to divers after entry, handed up on exit. No photo processing available at resort, no video or computer viewing facility. I used a digital and it was very easy. Others had film cameras and video and seemed comfortable. Resort has 240V outlets in rooms for recharging.

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Dive Review of Marlin Bay Resort in Fiji and Tuvalu/Beqa Lagoon

Marlin Bay Resort, Jul, 2004,

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

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

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

Dive Review of Marlin Bay Resort in
Fiji and Tuvalu/Beqa Lagoon