Matava Eco Resort Fiji Reviews & Specials - Bluewater Dive Travel

Matava Eco Resort

4.5833333333333
(3 REVIEWS)

 

Destination: Fiji

PO Box 63, Kadavu Island, Fiji | Full-board + 2 dives from $254/pppn

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Matava Eco Resort Quick Pitch 

Matava is an eco-resort situated on one of the few remaining undeveloped islands in Fiji. Enjoy the peacefulness on an island with no roads, no noise, and no stress.

 

Quick Information 

  • No of Rooms: 10
  • Dive Center: On-site
  • Amenities: Pool, free kayak use, guided activities (fee), WiFi (fee), spa, gift shop
  • WiFi: Yes, surcharge
  • Nearest International Airport: Nadi International Airport
  • Airport shuttle: Yes, free
 

 

How to Get There

The resort is Located on Kadavu Island. Fiji Airways operates a daily 40-minute flight from Nadi to Kadavu. The boat ride from Kadavu airport to the resort takes about 45 minutes.  

 

Dive Overview

Matava is in a privileged location within view of the Astrolabe Reef and with access to all 5 passages.

 

 

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Accommodations

Types of Rooms, Amenities and Photos

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Matava Eco Resort Accommodation Overview

There is nothing quite like a slumber in your amazing private Oceanview or Honeymoon bure bed. Just a few feet away, picture windows open to a view of the Pacific Ocean and the gentle rumble of surf upon the barrier reef, while all around you is natural rainforest with unique tropical Fijian wildlife. The bures are comfortably spacious ranging from 400ft square (Oceanview) to 750ft square ( Honeymoon) and each is positioned for maximum privacy.

 

Honeymoon Bure

  • Matava Eco Resort
  • The Premium Honeymoon Bures are scattered widely on the hill behind Matava to ensure complete privacy and stunning vistas. They have large airy louvre windows, King Size timber beds and private sun decks. All these new design bures have private en-suite bathrooms and expansive private sun decks. Solar power provides night lighting for night time reading and comfort. Hot water is supplied to all the bures by the eco-friendly Solar Hot Water system.

 

Oceanview Bure

  • Matava Eco Resort
  • The Oceanview Bures are scattered on a slight hill beside Matava to ensure privacy and easy access to the main bure complex and facilities. They have large airy louver windows, Queen size timber beds and en-suite bathrooms. Fully insect screened windows open onto your private sun deck with views out across the lagoon. Solar power provides hot water as well as lighting. Bures range from one Queen sized bed to larger family sized bures that have a Queen and one or two single beds.

 

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Resort Facilities

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Matava Eco Resort Matava Eco Resort

Matava Eco Resort Matava Eco Resort

 

Matava Eco Resort Features

  • Bar
  • Restaurant
  • Paid WiFi
  • Sundecks
  • Spa
  • Organic farm

 

Matava Eco Resort Food & Drinks

Matava dedicates its kitchen to producing outstanding and inspiring meals from locally organically grown ingredients, picked for use that day. Each day you’re treated with a variety of distinctive and delicious handcrafted gourmet meals that reflect local produce and seasonal delicacies. Every day fresh food and produce is brought from the organic garden and the kitchen goes to work making sauces and meals from scratch, hand rolling pasta, presenting only the best cuts of meat and the freshest of seafood.

 

Matava Eco Resort Matava Eco Resort

 

Matava Eco Resort Activities

  • Diving
  • Snorkeling
  • Water Sport & Game Fishing
  • Trekking
  • GT Popping & Deepwater Jigging
  • Birdwatching
  • Kayaking
  • Surfing
  • Yoga

 

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Package & Rates

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RATES & AVAILABILITY

For rates, availability, and to book, drop us an email at bookings@bluewaterdivetravel.com or call us at 310-915-6677 and we will gladly help you plan your dream dive vacation! 

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Dive Information

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The Great Astrolabe Reef

The Great Astrolabe Reef is the world’s fourth largest barrier reef and is Fiji’s largest living organism. It extends along the entire southern side of Kadavu and stretches for over 120km. It is rated as one of the world’s premier diving locations offering a great diversity and spectacle in coral structures and marine life.

The reef adopted its name in 1827 following French explorer Dumont d’Urville‘s collision with the reef in his vessel “The Astrolabe”.

We dive the reef extensively and escort you through the wonders of this hidden paradise. We cater for all levels of diver from beginner to experienced and take you to sites varying in depths, currents and visibility ranging from 20 – 100 m! You can expect a kaleidoscope of colorful corals and wonderful marine life – we can assure you that you won’t be disappointed.

 

Amazing Manta Reef

Our Signature Dive Site – Manta Reef is a site where our guests can dive and sometimes snorkel with Manta Rays all year round. The reef is a feeding station but occasionally mantas stop for a clean above the reef. We have a resident population as well as occasional pelagic manta visits.

The site is a submerged reef outside of the Great Astrolabe Barrier Reef and is about a 40-minute boat ride from the Resort.

The top of the reef is around 15m and the reef itself is covered in healthy hard and soft corals. Divers can explore a fun swim-through, large patches of clownfish and pristine hard corals and fans.

Expect to see giant mantas with up to 20ft wingspans as well as schooling fusiliers, surgeonfish, Indian Mackerel, Narrow barred mackerel, Dogtooth tuna as well as occasional sightings of pelagic species such as Pacific Sailfish and the occasional Great Hammerhead Shark.

Our divers and snorkelers head out after breakfast and do two dives on the reef with a one-hour surface interval spent anchored up nearby in calm waters inside the barrier reef. The boat the returns to the Resort for lunch. We dive and snorkel Manta Reef at least once a week.

 

 

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Dive Center Information

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Matava Eco Resort Matava Eco Resort

 

Matava Eco Resort Dive Center Overview

Mad Fish Dive Centre is Matava’s on-site PADI 5 Star Dive Centre. Mad Fish dives The Great Astrolabe Barrier Reef extensively and cater for all levels of diver from beginner to experienced. Mad Fish Dive Centre will take you to sites varying in depths, currents and visibility ranging from 20 – 100m where you can expect a kaleidoscope of colorful corals and wonderful marine life.

The crew at Mad Fish Dive Centre are a dedicated team of professionals who look forward to guiding you through some of the best dive sites in the world. As the only dive operation located directly on the world famous The Great Astrolabe Barrier Reef, Mad Fish will zip you within minutes to the abundant coral dive sites of the 4th largest barrier reef in the world.

Combined with simple access to The Manta Dive, Fiji’s only year-round manta dive site, Mad Fish Dive Centre truly offers divers easy and comfortable access to some of the best diving Fiji can offer.

With a fully stocked dive center and access to some of the best scuba diving in the world on the Great Astrolabe Barrier Reef, Mad Fish Dive Centre is the prime diving operation on Kadavu Island.

 

Dive Center Features

  • 1 x Brand new Coltri Sub Compressor
  • 1 x Hatz diesel/DAVIES 15 cfm back-up compressor
  • 95 x 80cuft CATALINA AL scuba cylinders
  • Diver changing and storage area with space dedicated to each guest
  • Shore diving in Fiji
  • Large freshwater tanks for dive gear and camera soak tanks
  • Gear drying racks
  • Separate diver training room

 

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Other Information

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Practical Information

  • Electricity: 240 V
  • Time zone: UTC+12
  • Languages: Fijian & English
  • Accept Credit Cards?: Yes, Visa and MasterCard
 

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Got Questions? Ready to Book?

Call us today at 310-915-6677 or email us bookings@bluewaterdivetravel.com

And let us book your dream vacation!

 

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Underwater Gallery

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Matava Eco Resort Matava Eco Resort

Matava Eco Resort Matava Eco Resort

Matava Eco Resort Matava Eco Resort

 

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Reviews (3)

  • Top Reviewer
Huntington Beach, CA
United States
5
4
4
5

Matava is like a hidden gem. The staff walks out to greet you and you immediately feel incredibly welcome. Wading through shallow water on the path to and from the boats is part of the experience, but they help carry everything, and we are divers after all. Luxury is not an option, but a very good, comfortable atmosphere where you truly experience an island of Fiji is part of every day at Matava. The local school children arrived by boat one evening to share their songs and dances while the adults conducted a traditional Kava ceremony. It did not feel staged like others we had seen but a true celebration. The people at Matava made the islanders so welcome, they stayed singing, playing guitars, and enjoying Kava late into the night. This is definitely an eco resort and they do an amazing job with their own garden and well thought out conservation. Accommodating a gluten free diet was no problem for them and never felt like an imposition. This is not the place to go if you need to be constantly connected by internet or phones, but a place to be blissfully off the grid. The rooms are basic, but meet all your needs, especially after a day of diving. Wide decks look out to the water and the beds have graceful mosquito nets along with functional showers. Bugs were not a problem during our stay though we did see many land crabs in shells and coconut halves on the hike up to our room, Diving the great astrolabe reef from here was only a short ride on spacious comfortable boats with divemasters who live on the island and commute by kayak. The dives were in areas of abundant hard coral rather than soft, though both are there. The hard corals were large with lots fish big and small among them. The passes had more colorful soft coral which opened up in the change of the tides. We were able to see Mantas with the short excursion out to an area where I understand that is common there. The conditions inside the barrier reef walls were calm, though you could see the waves (surfable I understand) on the outer edge. Currents were variable in the passes, but negotiable. One area had the whole top of a reef section covered in a garden of anemones and clown fish. I could have stayed there all day watching and taking photos. Besides the many anemones and their buddies, I was thrilled to see many giant clams and the brightly colored sweetlips, I had only seen others photos of before. This is a location ideal for couples or friends who like a quiet pace and beautiful diving. The people were my favorite in my Fiji travels.

Visited on 05/2013 - Submitted on 01/29/2014
  • Top Reviewer
Huntington Beach, CA
United States
5
5
5
5

FIJI – MATAVA ECO RESORT, Kadavu

I have to say that I wasn’t quite sure what to expect on my first visit to Fiji. Described as an eco-resort, Matava’s staff had been very fast, informative and helpful in arranging the visit but even with web information about Fiji, Kadavu and Matava, I still wasn’t sure what to expect except for some pretty exciting diving.

The island of Kadavu lies a short distance south of Fiji’s main island, Veti Levu. After a quick flight from the international airport at Nandi we landed at Kadavu and were greeted by friendly Matava staff members who gathered our gear and got us down to the local wharf where we boarded one of the Matava boats for the half-hour run to the resort. The resort can only be accessed by water or by foot trails. But the fact you are not in a recreational, urban resort does not mean there is a lack of amenities. As we were to see.

Warmly greeted at Matava’s landing by George and Mr. Maggie, the staff quickly carried our baggage up to the Honeymoon bure. The bures or cottages are built traditional Fijian style. Matava’s are large, simple and airy with solar lighting and hot water, attached deck with magnificent views of the lagoon waters and Great Astrolabe reef and each placed for privacy. If you are looking for AC, TV, room service and fancy, you might be a lot happier at a different resort. However if you appreciate nature close at hand and serious efforts made to reduce a carbon footprint impact with lush foliage at every turn and beautiful diving at your door step, Matava will fit you like a Lycra skin.

The food at Matava was amazing! The call to breakfast and dinner was by the pounding of the lali – the traditional Fijian slit-drum. If you ask and have a modicum of rhythm, you may have the opportunity to drum the resort to dinner. The food is nearly all grown or produced at the resort. Fresh greens, vegetables and fruit are standard with every meal and the cooks created mouth-watering meals in traditional Fijian style as well as international dishes and it was impossible to choose one meal over another; they were all delicious. Also, the soups that were served with lunch everyday were absolutely the best I have ever tasted anywhere!

While we were there we were treated to several kava ceremonies and an impromptu sing along with participants from two of the nearby villages. The kava ceremonies were a very quickly acquired taste, and the singing of the locals was just beautiful. We really had the feeling that we were among life-long friends at these warm, wonderful events.

As for the diving, again Matava far exceeded my expectations – and I had high expectations. The 75-mile long Great Astrolabe Reef embraces such diverse terrain and sea life it is difficult to know where to begin. Sharks, mantas, barracuda, wrasse, jack, corals, soft and hard, Tridacna clams, court-sized areas blanketed with huge colorful anemones along with their guardian Clown fish – sufficed to say the diving is magnificent. Visibility ranged from 40 to 100 feet and water temp was quite comfortable in a 3mm suit.

Would we go again? In a heartbeat! The work and effort made by owners Richard Akhtar and Adrian Watt on this eco-treasure is plain to see and wonderful to experience. They and their staff’s pride in their service to guests and the resort itself make a visit to Matava a truly marvelous experience. It is an experience that will call you back again and again.
Patrick Smith

Visited on 05/2013 - Submitted on 02/26/2014
4
4
4
5

This was like staying at someone's house with guesthouses in the countryside. All action took place in the main building or patio, and one could take out a kayak if desired. This was an escape from the hustle & bustle and detach from doing anything but dive, snorkel and read a book. 5 days would have been enough here.
The food was standout delicious, from their own garden, and fresh bread products.
The diving was good, but nothing particularly exciting. Just really clear water and pristine coral.
The ride to and from the airport on a small boat was rough.

Visited on 11/2023 - Submitted on 11/14/2023

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