In May of 2013, I had the opportunity to stay and dive at Beqa Lagoon Resort in Fiji. 6 Nights, 15 dives. I highly recommend the Beqa Lagoon Resort and plan to return soon.

Travel Conditions:

We (6 divers in our party) arrived at the Nadi International Airport in Fiji after a 12-hour flight from Los Angeles (Air Pacific now called Fiji Airways). We were met just outside of customs by two resort drivers who loaded all of our bags and dive gear into one van and us into another. Don’t worry, everything made it safely.

It was near a 3-hour drive from the airport to the dive boat that would take us from the mainland to the Island resort. The van stopped about halfway to give us a 30-minute break and a chance to do a little shopping. I would however recommend holding off on buying a ton of stuff until the return trip at the end of your trip. The transport vans stop at the same street of stores going and returning from the resort. I bought way too much stuff, but love many of the Fijian pieces of artwork and cultural items I picked up along the way. I had many of the larger items shipped directly from the store back to Los Angeles.

Upon arriving at the boat, our gear had already been loaded onto the boat for us. Once we confirmed all of our gear was present the boat set out for a quick 45-minute boat ride to the resort.

Upon entering the Beqa Lagoon, everyone transfers to smaller dingy boats and goes ashore for a wet landing. We were greeted by about 20 plus staff members all singing and welcoming us to the Island. Refreshing cocktails and a complimentary travel foot and shoulder massage were offered and accepted.

There was a quick overview of the resort and rundown of the week ahead. We were then shown to our Bures where all of our luggage and gear was waiting for us.

Accommodations:

A Bure is the Fijian word for a wood-and-straw hut, sometimes similar to a cabin. In its original sense, a bure is a structure built of anything that comes to hand.

At Beqa Lagoon Resort, the bures are simplistic, yet clean and well maintained. Ours was a suite style with a queen size bed in the main area and a twin bed in front. There was a window AC unit and room safe. While it’s not the Four Seasons, it was by no means a straw hut. I found the bures quite cozy and accommodating.

Our party booked 3 Bures side-by-side with ocean views. I would highly recommend spending the extra $ for this option. We had a secluded back porch with hot tub, private yard and an amazing view of the ocean. It made for a great post dive wind down spot each day before heading to meals in the main area.

There is electricity in the bures (Fiji is 240 volts AC 50Hz with three-pin power points) but it was recommended to us to recharge all lights, batteries, dive computers, cameras, etc in the main office as the electrical current in the bures was not at a constant voltage. I feared this idea at first, but after one day found it to be no problem at all. The office was set up to accommodate many items being recharged throughout the day and night.

An extremely friendly housekeeping staff cleans the room each day while you are diving.

Although I declined this option, Wifi is offered for an additional fee in the main lobby area where most guests spend their time above water. This is where all the meals are served and the bar is located. There are no TV’s anywhere at the resort. You’re here to dive, not watch TV.

Resort Features & Non-Dive Activates:

Just off the main area, there is a beautiful pool, which I confess I never touched. Too busy in the ocean. There is a very nice spa that offers all kinds of different services. We took advantage of the ocean-side couples massage. Very nice and relaxing.

One of my favorite things about the resort was they offered different activities every day after lunch. From cooking classes, fire-walking, kava ceremonies to island tribe school visits. The resort and staff went out of their way to provide a genuine and authentic Fijian experience.

Don’t miss the school visit. It was a true highlight. I recommend bringing a few school supplies as a small gift. These kids are amazing and friendly, and they love soccer.

Also don’t miss the hike to the island waterfall. If it’s been rainy, it’s quite spectacular.

There is NO CASH exchanged at the resort. Unless you buy something from the locals during a visit off resort, everything is charged to your room/bure and settled up at the end of your trip. Spa, gift shop, extra dives, even your drinks at the bar are tallied and paid for at the end. The meals are all included.

There is a small resort gift shop for supplies and such but I never went inside. Sorry.

Restaurant/Bar:

There is only one restaurant and it provides all meals (breakfast, lunch & diner) for the entire resort. There is no traditional menu, you are simply presented with a few multi-course options for each meal. This may seem limiting but I assure you, we never had the same dish twice and the food was off the charts amazing! Some true fine dinning dishes were served. It was far above the quality that I expected.

The bar offers a different happy hour drink special each day before diner. Beware of the mai thai’s. They are crazy good but extremely strong. Contrary to what you may think, nobody needs 5 mai thai’s in one evening.

The Diving;

This is the main reason to choose Beqa as a destination. First, the boats and dive crew. BEST I”VE EVER HAD! I don’t say that lightly. Why are they the best? In a very quick amount of time they assess every diver’s abilities, your underwater likes and dislikes and cater the entire experience to suit. Unlike many resort dive boats, this is no cattle boat. There were three large and well-equipped dive boats that went out every morning. Our core group was a mix of certifications (1 rescue, 3 AOW and one OW) and nobody felt pushed or limited by the dives. I would say we never had more than 15 divers on our boat. This is also a place where because of its small resort size, you get to know everyone pretty well. I really enjoyed diving and exchanging stories with the other guests. You will add many friends to your Facebook account after staying at Beqa. Our group had the same guide for most of our dives. Joe Green (not his given name of course, but adopted due to the striking resemblance) was an amazing guide! He pointed out things that I would of swam right past. His ability to spot the unique was remarkable. Loved diving with Joe!

As for the dive sites. Everyone goes to Beqa for the Shark Dive. It cost a little extra but truly lives up to the hype. It was my first encounter with Tiger and Bull sharks. Awesome! Yet my favorite site was John’s Tunnel. A tunnel 30 feet long, 5ft to 8 ft wide, lined with soft coral. There’s also a nice Japanese trawler wreck at 80ft.

Fantasea was also a great site. The most colorful of dive sites on this trip. Lots of great soft coral and Georgian Fans.

One thing to add. The OW member of our group actually finished her open water skills to complete her certification while at the resort over the first couple of days. They offer most certification courses. Her review of the resort instructors were top notch.

This is a place were you dive as much or as little as you want to. For me, 15 dives in 5 days. Boat dives, shark dives, shore dives, night dives. All amazing. Most dives about 80-84 degrees with 100ft plus viz.

Last bit about the dive crew. They spoil you. Everything is set up and waiting for you on the boat each day. I’m one that generally likes doing my own set up, yet at Beqa, after the 1st day I sat back and welcomed the 1st class service.

Overall:

To sum it all up, Beqa is a great dive resort that I plan to revisit in the future. As soon as possible.