Garden Island Resort, Taveuni, Vanua Levu and Bligh Water

Often overshadowed by Fiji’s legendary shark sites around the main island, Taveuni and Vanua Levu boast incredible underwater wonders - and far fewer visitors. Explore the 'soft coral capital of the world', encounter shark and schooling fish, and enjoy dramatic drift dives over some of the most beautiful reefs in the Pacific.

Diving Taveuni

The waters between Vanua Levu and Taveuni, known as the Somosomo Strait, offer a glimpse into some of the planet's most stunning soft coral splendour. The strait’s powerful currents channel a vast amount of nutrient-rich ocean water that fuels the region's astonishing coral growth. Sites such as the renowned Great White Wall and Rainbow Reef, are a veritable feast for the eyes, dazzling divers with nearly every shade imaginable.

The dive sites around Taveuni and south into the Koro Sea support pristine marine ecosystems, with far more than just coral gardens on offer. Divers can explore current-swept walls, fields of sand punctuated by huge bommies, and sloping reefs gently dropping down to the abyss. This is also a hotspot for bigger species of marine life, with plenty of schooling fish, sharks and manta rays during the season.

Vanua Levu diving

Vanua Levu is home to an exceptional variety of underwater environments, including sprawling reefs, drop-offs, and sloping walls dotted by caves and overhangs. The dive sites around the island are carpeted with a jaw-dropping variety of hard and soft corals and clouded by dense schools of colourful reef fish. There's plenty of pelagic action as well, with regular shark sightings, and vast shoals of barracuda, kingfish, jacks, and tuna.

Explore Savusavu Bay's calm, sheltered waters, where beautiful coral bommies and shallow light-filled gardens dominate the landscape. Or, head to the island's northern coast to experience the Cakaulevu Reef, also known as the Great Sea Reef. This is the planet's third longest continuous barrier reef system, boasting hundreds of kilometres of hard and soft coral and incredible biodiversity, with 55% of the coral reef fish species and 74% of all coral species found in Fiji.

Diving Bligh Water and beyond

Bligh Water separates Fiji's two main islands, Vanua Levu and Viti Levu, and includes the Vatu-I-Ra Passage. This region, along with the surrounding Koro Sea, marks one of Fiji's best dive destinations. Covering a massive geographical area, area is primarily explored via liveaboard, and many of the further-flung sites only see a handful of guests per year.

An incredible amount of water passes through this area each day, creating powerful currents which carry a wealth of nutrients along with them. This daily bounty of plankton supports a rich ecosystem, and plenty of bigger species, with reef sharks, hammerheads, eagle and manta rays, and towering tornados of barracuda all common sights. And if you take a closer look, the coral gardens teem with macro life, including nudibranchs, pygmy seahorses, frogfish, and more! This region also boasts plenty of dramatic scenery in addition to its signature wildlife, with coral pinnacles and plummeting walls.