Fiji has coral reefs everywhere, and all have their attractions. However, you’ll have the best time diving here if you select the type that’s best for you and your experience level.

Here is a generalised account of diving character in the main areas that divers usually visit. 

Fiji Character Dive Map

By Helen Sykes

Pick your area…

North & West of Viti Levu

The Coral Coast, Mamanuca & Yasawa Islands

The best for casual and relatively new divers: easy diving, very few currents, schools of small colourful fish, most sites are relatively shallow (best diving generally in less than 50 feet/ 15 metres of water).

The Bigger Small Islands

Recommended for the more experienced divers who can handle currents and deeper diving at least some of the time: spectacular soft corals, pristine reef systems, and larger fish life.

• Taveuni for soft corals, swarming fish, rare critters, and intact ecosystems.
• Beqa for soft corals, rare critters, wrecks and shark feeding.
• Kadavu for walls and passages, healthy hard corals, manta rays and sharks.

Coral & crinoids by Cat Halloway

Central Waters

Some of the best and most varied diving in Fiji – most of these sites are quite far off shore. Mostly easy diving but many sites require careful planning due to tide dependent currents and depth.

Vatu-i-Ra Passage for spectacular walls, soft corals, schooling fish. Lomaiviti islands for passages with sharks, manta rays, and rare critters.

Southern Vanua Levu for walls and soft corals. Namena for absolutely everything concentrated into one package.

Northern Vanua Levu

Cakaulevu (The Great Sea Reef –the third longest barrier reef in the world!)

Dramatic outer walls and passages.

Limited fish life in some areas, and outer waters can be rough. Inner reef mangrove islands have poor visibility but extensive fish life of interest to specialists and ecologists.

Kia Island provides a good and sheltered bay to base while exploring.

The Eastern Archipelago

Lau Islands

Scattered islands with varied diving. Relatively easy conditions, but there are fewer well-known dive sites, so most is exploratory diving with some areas better than others.

Some areas are overfished while others are pristine.

Helen Sykes is a marine ecologist and dive instructor who has dived extensively across the Fiji islands for over 15 years. For more information see Marine Ecology.