Dive Review of Ra Divers/Volivoli in
Fiji and Tuvalu

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Ra Divers/Volivoli: "Beautiful coral; professional excellence", Jul, 2022, by Sarah Stein Greenberg, CA, US ( 1 report). Report 12026.
Photos Submitted with this Report Click on an image to see an enlarged version and captions
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	My first time diving in Fiji, and the brilliant soft coral colors surrounded by dazzling schools of anthias and damselfish in the Bligh waters did not disappoint. On dives with strong current we were in the midst of large schools of a very diverse range of reef fish, and typically had a white tip reef shark or two curiously nosing around for part of the dives. The days that the weather was calm enough to go out to the straight were great diving with stunning walls of color and huge pinnacles with the some of the densest hard coral cover I've seen (comparable to West Papua and parts of Komodo). Got a lot of wide-angle time in. We had a humpback breach a few times about a hundred and fifty feet from the boat on our final day. On the Maytag site in particular the currents were strong - in retrospect I should have listened to my gut and left the camera on the boat for that one, as it was an all-out, exhausting swim to try to follow the dive plan. The closer-in, more sheltered sites we dived when the sea was choppier were more hit or miss -- some sites had enormous and gorgeous gorgonians encrusting swim throughs, and with better vis and light there would have been some stunning topography shots. The vis wasn't great for us and there weren't a ton of fish on most of those sites, so those weren't my favorites. Did one shore dive and our intrepid guides managed to find seahorses, a janolus, and a few squat shrimp... despite the fact that the vis was about one foot. Ra Divers is expertly managed, and our captain Sethi was a fantastic leader and storyteller. Was there with a group of 12 and we mostly had a boat to ourselves, and a consistent (and wonderful) team of dive guides over the course of a week which enabled us to form great relationships and get into an easy routine. The boat is not huge but it's so well designed (storage, tank slots, seating) that there is enough space for everyone and everything. My only negative comment is that a few of the trainee guides we dived with (never replacing a fully trained guide, but in addition to) were surprisingly grabby with the coral -- seemingly having not gotten to the part of their course where they were taught not to touch anything. I saw one break off a very large piece of staghorn coral after exerting quite a bit of pressure. The Volivoli resort is really wonderful - extremely professional, capable, and warm staff at every level of the team. The rooms are very large (even the most basic ones) and designed to last. The food is great, abundant, and the occasional group activities (buffet on the beach, meke ceremony) are lovely. I had an outstanding massage at the tiny spa. My friends did an afternoon trip to a village and a natural waterslide, which they really enjoyed. Though hilly, the grounds are beautifully landscaped, and I saw some really neat birds when not underwater (like the Fiji parrotfinch). Overall, yes, this is a rave review. No hesitations about recommending Volivoli.
Websites	Ra Divers Volivoli
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Galapagos, Socorro, Belize, Bonaire, Honduras, Grand Cayman, Grand Turk, Indonesia, Philippines, Mozambique, Tanzania, Mexico, etc.
Closest Airport	Nadi	Getting There	direct flight from SFO
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm, choppy, currents
Water Temp	80-°F / 27-°C	Wetsuit Thickness	5
Water Visibility	30-70 Ft/ 9-21 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	?
Enforced diving restrictions	roughly 60 min dive limit
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	None
Dolphins	1 or 2	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	None	Whales	1 or 2
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	Bright, clean, wonderfully designed new camera room. Each photographer has their own space with compressed air, outlets, and a shelf below for dry stuff. Bring adapters and power strip if you have a lot to plug in. No rinse tank or shelf on the boat for cameras, but the crew was extremely careful about creating a designated space for all the large rigs on our boat and handling them beautifully during entry and exit.

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Dive Review of Ra Divers/Volivoli in Fiji and Tuvalu

Ra Divers/Volivoli: "Beautiful coral; professional excellence", Jul, 2022,

Photos Submitted with this Report

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 Ra Divers/Volivoli in
Fiji and Tuvalu