Why Fiji Diving? This quick guide compares Fiji and VOMO’s dive vacations to other international locations…
Fiji, and Vomo Island in particular, offer a distinct and highly regarded experience compared to other international dive and snorkel locations.
Here’s how they compare:
Fiji’s General Diving and Snorkeling Reputation
- Fiji is widely known as the “soft coral capital of the world“.
- It offers world-class diving for Open Water divers, professionals, and snorkelers, making it a great destination even for non-diving partners.
- The waters are constantly warm year-round and offer excellent visibility, often exceeding 20 meters even in the summer.
- Dives offer a variety of underwater landscapes, including vibrant coral gardens, challenging swim-throughs, caverns, and fascinating rock formations.
- Beyond marine life, Fiji is also celebrated for its incomparable hospitality, charm, and rich cultural heritage.
Fiji Compared to French Polynesia: Both destinations share similarities, like picturesque islands, coral-fringed lagoons, and dream-like diving landscapes.
- Coral Diving – Fiji generally wins this round with its “technicolour reefs” and reputation as the “Soft Coral Capital of the World,” featuring sites like the Somosomo Strait (e.g., ‘Rainbow Reef,’ ‘Purple Wall,’ ‘Great White Wall’) and the Vatu-i-Ra Passage. French Polynesia is becoming known as the “world’s hard coral capital,” with Tikehau noted for its hard coral sites.
- Shark Diving (if you so dare!) – While Fiji’s Beqa Lagoon is world-famous for its ‘Shark Encounter’ dive, allowing sightings of up to eight different shark species, including tiger sharks, French Polynesia steals the crown here. Fakarava, in particular, offers exhilarating drift dives with 200-strong schools of grey reef sharks and the chance to witness a shark feeding frenzy during grouper spawning.
- Big Animal Encounters – French Polynesia is highlighted for “big animal dives,” such as snorkeling with humpback whales in Moorea. Fiji also boasts a variety of big marine life, including silvertip, leopard, bull, and tiger sharks, along with manta rays (especially May-October), marine turtles, and large parrotfish.
- Advanced Diving – While Fiji caters to both beginner and advanced divers, French Polynesia narrowly wins for advanced divers due to its impressive roster of adrenaline-inducing drift dives, deep channels, and significant big animal encounters, particularly in spots like Tiputa Pass and Fakarava North Pass, which can have seven currents.
- Learning to Dive: Both VOMO Fiji and French Polynesia (e.g., Bora Bora’s shallow lagoons) are considered excellent choices for learning, offering crystal-clear, calm lagoons, shallow coral gardens, and colorful marine life for beginners.
Fiji Compared to Other Popular Locations for Snorkeling/Diving
- Maldives: Ranked by some as the “best snorkeling” for its spectacular clarity and endless variety of fish, including large clams and small sharks. However, it can be a “pay to win” destination due to varying quality of house reefs.
- Galapagos: Offers a unique, non-tropical reef snorkeling experience, allowing up-close interactions with sea lions, marine iguanas, penguins, large turtles, and various shark and ray species, although water clarity is not always guaranteed.
- Indonesia (e.g., Gili Islands, Raja Ampat), Thailand: Some areas in Thailand/Indonesia are noted for “better coral” than the Maldives, but may have less diverse marine life. The Gili Islands offer good snorkeling with coral and turtles, but there are concerns about reef health. Raja Ampat is considered spectacular but less accessible.
- Caribbean (e.g., Bonaire, Roatan, Curaçao, Cayman Islands):
- Bonaire was once considered “by far the best” for easy shore entry snorkeling and healthy reefs.
- Roatan is praised for easy shore access, warm, clear waters, and abundant fish and coral, though sand flies can be present.
- Curaçao is noted for its very easy access to snorkeling directly from the beach, crystal clear water, and diverse fish.
- Little Cayman and Grand Cayman offer good snorkeling/diving but have experienced coral bleaching. Aruba, once highly rated, saw significant reef damage due to local boat activity.
- Red Sea (Egypt): Described as “unreal” for its ease of access from floating piers, calm, warm waters, healthy coral, and colorful fish.
- Australia (e.g., Great Barrier Reef, Okinawa, Coral Bay): The Great Barrier Reef is mentioned as a standard for comparison but also has areas of dead coral. Okinawa is considered by some to be “the absolute best” for snorkeling, offering good value, though opinions vary.
Vomo Island’s Specific Contributions to Fiji’s Reputation
- Vomo Island, located between the Mamanuca and Yasawa Island groups, offers a PADI 5 Star Dive Resort experience.
- It has five dive sites within 5-10 minutes by boat from the resort, which are generally shallow (12-20 meters) with healthy coral life and features like overhangs and galleys.
- Notable dive sites near Vomo include:
- White Rock: Known for vast coral formations and abundant marine life, including schooling reef fish, turtles, and nudibranchs.
- Salamander Wreck: A 30-meter cruise ship wreck at 27 meters depth, covered in soft corals and anemones, with common sightings of moray eels, lionfish, and puffer fish, and is easy to dive inside.
- The Supermarket: A “world famous shark encounter dive” about 40 minutes from Vomo, where divers can see White Tip, Black Tip, and Gray Reef Sharks, along with barracuda and groupers.
- Vomo also provides excellent snorkeling directly from its beaches, with complimentary gear and daily escorted snorkel safaris to nearby sites.
- Vomo’s commitment to marine conservation through its partnership with Counting Coral and the Sculptural Coral Gene Bank offers unique opportunities for guests to participate in coral restoration efforts through hands-on dives and educational tours.
- The resort is recognized as a “TOP 1% OF TOURISM OPERATORS WORLDWIDE” and “Best Luxury Resort in Fiji for Families,” with Fiji’s snorkeling destinations being highlighted by Condé Nast Traveler.
Overall, Fiji, including Vomo Island, stands out globally for its soft coral ecosystems, varied underwater landscapes, and warm hospitality. In contrast, French Polynesia is a stronger contender for specific large shark encounters and adrenaline-pumping, advanced drift dives. Other locations like the Maldives and Galapagos offer their unique marine life and experiences.
