Dive Review of Ra Divers at Volivoli/Volivoli Beach Resort in
Fiji and Tuvalu/Fiji north coast

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Ra Divers at Volivoli/Volivoli Beach Resort: "Fiji had stormy weather, but lots to see underwater", Oct, 2018, by Sue J Estey, CA, US ( Reviewer 5 reports with 7 Helpful votes). Report 10764 has 3 Helpful votes.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	We flew into Nadi and a van was there to drive us to Volivoli Beach Resort. The drive took three hours, including a stop to purchase snacks, food, and mixers for drinks. The scenery along the road included volcanic ridges, mangrove shallows, small towns, a narrow-gauge railroad to transport sugar cane, and school kids in uniforms. As we arrived at the resort, the heavy rain began. They greeted us with refreshing drinks, paperwork, a beach towel each, and showed us to our lodgings. Our cabin was spacious and had a great view westward across the water. The bed was comfortable, the shower was hot, a long L-shaped couch came in handy. We did not make much use of the kitchen, thanks to the resort’s full meal plan. When I spent some time reading on a lounge chair on our open porch, I spotted a couple of mosquitoes enjoying a blood meal. The mosquitoes were silent, so we were usually oblivious until our many welts began to itch. The resort is located on a steep hill surrounded by shallow water and has no dock. The boats are moored offshore and brought in to the sandy shore for loading. Each boat goes out for the duration – two or three dives. The crew handled the cylinders, assembled them with BC and regulator, and helped those of us who needed assistance getting gear to the dive entry point. Due to the continuing stormy weather, visibility underwater was mediocre, 30 to 50 feet. A crew member or two would lead us around big coral heads and it seemed wise to keep track of him to avoid getting lost in the murky water. Despite rough wind-raised seas, there was no surge down below. The aquatic life was rich. Hard corals appeared healthy and there was a wide variety of soft corals. There were plenty of reef fish and we saw white-tipped reef sharks several times. I saw one sea turtle and a couple of octopi. What to wear underwater? I wore my 5mm full wetsuit and neoprene cap, and I was glad to have it. We saw divers in shorty wetsuits and in 7mm wetsuits. At the end of a dive day, we left our BC, regulator, and fins on the boat. We removed our wetsuits back at the dive operation. Several shower heads provided a quick rinse. Three concrete rinse basins were provided for gear: one for cameras, one for other non-body-contact stuff, and one with soap in it for wetsuits and booties. There were racks and hangers for our suits and booties. The dive operation crew took them all indoors for the night and brought them out again in the morning. Tip: before the trip, label all gear with your name! Sometimes our group had one of the bigger boats to ourselves, and it felt spacious. Then another group arrived and we were packed in like sardines. I usually take a camera with me underwater but on this trip, I never did. The boats did not have any designated camera space beyond a small bucket of water, violently sloshing as the boat rolled. One of us nestled her camera and strobes under the bench, along with fins and cylinders. Volivoli Beach Resort is so isolated that the resort’s restaurant and bar are the only convenient options for meals. The kitchen does a good job, offering a varied menu and daily specials. The mud crab for dinner one night was an amazingly messy but tasty entrée. Once a week, a Fijian group performs with song and dance, and the resort’s dinner is served in the beach-side bar: a buffet of Fijian dishes. The dining room staff and the dive crew learned our names very quickly, and that helped us feel at home. Sort of. Finally, toward the end of our two weeks, we had a few days with some sunshine. It was a pleasure to see some of the underwater world with sun. And it felt odd to walk to meals without wearing my rain jacket. On a dive trip, we always wonder about tipping protocol and expectations. Volivoli has a small box in the dining room with two slots – one for the dive operation and one for the resort staff. The box is for the Christmas fund. On our last day, we stuffed most of the paper money we had into the box. Time to go home - we boarded the van and headed out. Because we left late in the afternoon for our late-night flight, much of the drive was in the dark, and it began raining again. We were all glad we were not doing the driving: in Fiji, traffic drives on the left side of the road; there are people walking, people riding horses; we saw the truck ahead of us hit a cow and knock her off the road; the round-abouts looked perilous. We were very grateful that our driver got us to the airport safely. Bottom Line: The people were great; there was lots to see underwater; we had poor weather for diving.
Websites	Ra Divers at Volivoli Volivoli Beach Resort
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	California coast, eastern Indonesia, Fiji, Micronesia, Florida coast, caves and springs, Baja California, Curacao, Easter Island, Bonaire, Cozumel...
Closest Airport	Nadi, Fiji	Getting There	Non-stop flight on Fiji Airways from San Francisco!
Dive Conditions
Weather	windy, rainy, cloudy	Seas	calm, currents
Water Temp	75-80°F / 24-27°C	Wetsuit Thickness	5
Water Visibility	30-50 Ft/ 9-15 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	?
Enforced diving restrictions	Asked to be back to boat within one hour
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	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	N/A
UW Photo Comments	Setup for UWP was minimal: a bucket on the dive boat and a rinse tank on shore. Our cabin was fine for charging batteries and putting together camera gear.

Report currently has 3 Helpful votes

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Dive Review of Ra Divers at Volivoli/Volivoli Beach Resort in Fiji and Tuvalu/Fiji north coast

Ra Divers at Volivoli/Volivoli Beach Resort: "Fiji had stormy weather, but lots to see underwater", Oct, 2018,

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 at Volivoli/Volivoli Beach Resort in
Fiji and Tuvalu/Fiji north coast