Liveaboard Diving in Suva
What to expect on a Suva Liveaboard
Liveaboards departing from Suva, Fiji will usually be embarking on a multi-stop itinerary around the Fijian Islands. Suva is located on the south-east of Fiji's main Island Viti Levu and is the capital of Fiji, containing half of the urban populaton of Fiji. It is a harbour city built on a peninsula reaching out into the sea. Suva is a green city with a vibrant cultural scene. There is a mixture of colonial buildings, modern shopping malls and many eateries. It is also a common starting point for Fiji liveaboard vessels. There is also a decompression chamber here.
Liveaboard Diving from Suva
A choice of liveaboard itineraries are available offering 7 and 10 nights dive safaris, which include the Fijian highlights. A 7 night liveaboard dive safari will cruise or sail you to Bligh Waters and the Vatu-I-Ra Passage to dive at the Namena Marine Reserve. Also the more south located Lomaiviti Island Group for dives at Gau Island ,Wakaya Island and Makongi Island may be visited. Here you'll experience drift dives, coral gardens and pinnacles with a sight of manta rays and hammerheads but also ribbon eels, leaf fish and numerous other smaller creatures. At Nigali Passage you can see schools of grey reef sharks.
Depending on weather conditions also Kadavu Island south of Viti Levu can be incorporated in the liveaboard cruise itinerary. The reef here is has a variety of beautiful hard coral outer reef slopes in many colours, and steep soft coral drop-offs. The dive sites here exhibit an enormous variety with several passages, submerged pinnacles and manta ray cleaning stations and the numbers and variety of fish life is very rewarding. This is a great spot for several days diving and good for beginning divers since there is usually little to moderate currents.
A 10-night liveaboard cruise will also include dive area's at the north east: Taveuni Island and the Somosomo Strait, also called Rainbow Reef due to the large amount of colourful soft corals which cover the reefs. You can also expect to see many different pelagic fish, sharks, mantas and barracuda. Exhilarating drift dives along the reefs here are the norm.
You can be diving on a dive site which reef is covered with the famous abundance of soft corals and interesting macro creatures on one day and the next spend the day among white tips, hammerhead sharks, whalesharks, dolphins and manta rays. Though these areas might be accessible by day boat, journeys are long and liveaboards offers you the opportunity to be the first on the dive sites, have longer bottom times and avoid day boat crowds.
Marine life is varied and abundant in Fijian waters. The soft coral capital of the world gives you corals in rainbow colours and swarms of fish. Many shark sightings including schools of hammerhead sharks, silky sharks, nurse sharks, silvertips, white tips, thresher sharks and whalesharks, Also dolphins, eagle rays, marble rays and manta rays are often spotted. Don't forget the beautiful macro life such as nudibranchs, pygmy seahorses, ghost pipe fish and shrimp.
Conditions and underwater sights vary and while there are places with calm waters, at most sites however you’ll experience currents running, from a slight current to very strong. The current however makes the waters nutritient what makes diving in Fiji so memorable.
Getting to Suva
Suva is a main port for departures on some Fijian liveaboards. Nadi International Airport is the main airport of Fiji. Daily, 4 or more domestic flights leave from Nadi to Suva. Nausori Airport is Fiji's second International Airport and is situated on the eastern side of Viti Levu, just 30 minutes from Suva.
