Dive Review of Marlin Bay Resort in
Fiji and Tuvalu

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Marlin Bay Resort, Aug, 2002, by Sean Bruner, AZ, USA ( Contributor 16 reports with 2 Helpful votes). Report 102.
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	We booked the trip through a local dive shop, which did an extremely poor job of describing what we needed to bring. I only brought a 3 mm wetsuit and was cold throughout the week (consequently using a lot of air). My wife at least was smart enough to bring her hood. Luckily, someone lent me her hood. The dive guide from the shop (chubby) said, "Well, I'm not cold and I only wear a 3." Apparently, some of the people at the shop knew in advance, because someone had emailed the shop that the week before the divers were cold, but most of the travelers weren't told (this is the shop's fifth trip to this resort, so they should know by now). It rained the first three days and everyone was freezing. I had foolishly only brought a sweatshirt. All the personnel at the resort were wearing really nice knee length windbreakers with hoods, advertising the resort on the back, but the gift shop was out of them when I tried to buy one. The first two days of diving, the dive shop owner picked wrecks to dive where the water was very choppy and the currents both underwater and at the surface were very strong. It was totally unsuited for a first dive. After two days, the weather cleared, but the water never did. The rain limited visibility for the rest of the trip. The corals, however, especially the soft corals, were impressive. The boat rides were long (the resort is on Beqa Island), minimum one hour to the reef. The guys on the boat and the local divemasters were top knotch. The resort has a policy of no tipping which is strictly enforced. They ask you to contribute to a Christmas fund for the employees, but are murky on how the money actually gets distributed. The resort is beautiful and the rooms are quite pretty, but you are virtually a prisoner there, since walking to any of the nine villages on the island (no cars!) is prohibited unless it is during the contrived school visit or church service. The villagers put on a tourist "fire walking" and singing show. They are very good singers and the authenticity of their cultural heritage is impressive. Overall, the experience was positive, but the weather did dampen it. Of course, the resort is not responsible for the weather and I imagine the diving is excellent during better weather with better vis. The food was so-so, especially the breakfasts. Lunches were the best meals. Desserts were great and way too big. Fiji is a very big location (over 300 islands) and next trip I would like to see more of it instead of just this one little portion.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	101-250 dives
Where else diving	Palau, Galapagos, Bonaire, Roatan, Cozumel, Sea of Cortez, Hawaii, Jamaica
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	rainy	Seas	choppy
Water Temp	76-78°F / 24-26°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	25-50 Ft/ 8-15 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	110 ft max
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 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	There was no E6 processing, no photo tables on boats, separate rinse tank but everyone was cleaning masks and sometimes other things in it, and the gift shop sold some film and batteries but at way inflated prices.

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Dive Review of Marlin Bay Resort in Fiji and Tuvalu

Marlin Bay Resort, Aug, 2002,

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