Best snorkeling in Fiji for underwater photography
Paradise Cove Resort - Naviti Group - Yasawa Islands - Fiji
Recommended as a luxury, get-away holiday destination with reasonable underwater photography
This is a small, luxury resort (20 villas in 2014). One bar and one restaurant. Staff
are brilliant. 'Fiji-time' here means 'now'.
Get there from Nadi via a longish boat trip or, better to take a deep breath, empty your credit card, and go by 20 minute seaplane if you can.
Food is OK. No live TV but free and good, WIFI everywhere. Take your own fish and coral identification guides.
Get there from Nadi via a longish boat trip or, better to take a deep breath, empty your credit card, and go by 20 minute seaplane if you can.
Food is OK. No live TV but free and good, WIFI everywhere. Take your own fish and coral identification guides.
Paradise Cove is one side of a a channel between two adjacent islands. There is a narrow
gap between them at the Northerly end. The impression created is of a cove.
Access to the other side is free by boat or kayak.
The Paradise Cove resort beach is a few hundred metres long. Snorkelling from the beach is better at the dive centre end. This is furthest away from the resort bar, boat and sea plane area.
Access to the other side is free by boat or kayak.
The Paradise Cove resort beach is a few hundred metres long. Snorkelling from the beach is better at the dive centre end. This is furthest away from the resort bar, boat and sea plane area.
Gallery to give a feel for the Paradise Cove resort
pass cursor over thumbnails left and right to see what the resort is like at Paradise Cove
Water very warm so no wetsuit needed. Long-sleeved, snorkelling top recommended
to reduce sunburn and the infrequent jellyfish stings.
Thwarted by three days of rain (Feb 2014), we focussed our two remaining dives 'off the beach'.
Entrance was easest in front of villa 35, as further South has more rubble, rather than sand. Dress and swim out at 450 towards the end of the groin.
Initially poor, visibililty becomes good further out.
The current increases towards the deeper middle channel but was fine at snorkeling depths.
Corals improved as well with current and visibility.
Overall the corals appeared to be healthy but tended to grow in patches.
Entrance was easest in front of villa 35, as further South has more rubble, rather than sand. Dress and swim out at 450 towards the end of the groin.
Initially poor, visibililty becomes good further out.
The current increases towards the deeper middle channel but was fine at snorkeling depths.
Corals improved as well with current and visibility.
Overall the corals appeared to be healthy but tended to grow in patches.
They weren't, but they almost looking planted, surrounded
by an algae-covered rocky bottom.
See the pictures below to see the effect.
With the exceptions of Chromis and Fiji blue-devils, fish weren't overly abundant.
Overall, reasonable rather than exceptional off-the-beach snorkelling.
However, there were many more places to explore ie further South of the groin and across on the adjacent island, (had we had time).
The hotel was willing to do snorkeling trips.
See the pictures below to see the effect.
With the exceptions of Chromis and Fiji blue-devils, fish weren't overly abundant.
Overall, reasonable rather than exceptional off-the-beach snorkelling.
However, there were many more places to explore ie further South of the groin and across on the adjacent island, (had we had time).
The hotel was willing to do snorkeling trips.
Gallery below showing the snorkeling seascape.
pass cursor over thumbnails left and right to see what is under the surface at Paradise Cove
Gallery below of fish and critters are likely to see snorkeling at Paradise Cove.
pass cursor over thumbnails left and right to see what is under the surface at Paradise Cove (Fiji)
Any comments? To email please click on the envelope.
(captions below needn't be read as you will have seen them with the gallery pictures -
repeated below so are visible to Google/ search engines)
captions to Paradise Cove'fish and critters' gallery pictures
captions to left 'fish' thumbnails
- Blue linkia sea stars (Linckia laevigata) are quite common at Paradise Cove
- only saw one of these - a wary, Banded goby (Amblygobius phalaena)
- The common Fiji blue devil damselfish (Chrysyptera taupou) in usual, small group. Their colours really are this bright
- Yellow and black feather star (Himerometra robustipinna), on a boulder coral. Feather stars are quite mobile at night.
captions to right 'critters' thumbnails
- Three, brightly coloured, Tomato anemonefish (Amphiprion frenatus) in their anemone. The female is the largest.
- Large shoal of Blue-green chromis (Chromis viridis).
- Lemon damselfish (Pomacentrus moluccensis) and Humbugfish (Dascyllus aruanus) in coral
- Shoal of cream and black-striped, Convict surgeonfish (Acanthurus triostegus) feeding. The disturbance has attracted others.
captions to Paradise Cove 'seascape' gallery pictures
captions to left 'seascape' thumbnails
- various corals forming a coral garden surrounded, and isolated by, boulders
- Acropora coral (centre) plus surrounding boulder coral with blue-green Chromis and Fiji Blue Devil Damselfish at bottom.
- Blue staghorn coral, among others, plus Humbugfish and Lemon Damsels
- shrub-like coral formation with blue-green chromis and Fiji blue devil damselfish
- relatively common boulder coral with the Eclipse butterflyfish swimming away
- small Mushroom leather coral (Sarcophyton spp.)
captions to right 'seascape' thumbnails
- four distinct colours shown in these Acropora
- two corals which so far we have not identified
- white acropora in centre, small boulder coral below and yyy with mauve edging to right
- cluster of corals with some acropora and staghorn coral in the centre
- Mushroom leather coral (Sarcophyton spp.) and a single Fiji Blue Devil Damselfish
- close-up of Mushroom leather coral (Sarcophyton spp.)
- a large, isolated, staghorn coral
- an isolated, beautiful, pale green and pink acropora
captions to Paradise Cove resort gallery pictures
captions to left 'resort' thumbnails
- The best way to travel ie by seaplane. The resort office, bar pool and restaurant is at the centre-right (green rooves). The dive centre is off this shot, further to the left.
- The 'busy' beach looking North. Where the two boats are moored is the landing area for boats and the seaplane so best to avoid this end. The snorkeling isn't great here anyway.
- Looking South where dive centre is. Snorkeling is better here. The best is at the end of, and outside, the boulder groin.
- Large restaurant. Dinner-time limited to 1900 - 2000. A la carte rather than buffet style.
- Nice big swimming pool (typically empty), right next to bar.
captions to right 'resort' thumbnails
- Garden villas which are only set slightly back from the beach.
- Seafront villa 35 next to dive centre. Good veranda, two very large rooms plus outdoors bathroom. Seperate entrances mean could easily accommodate two couples.
- Very large main room with bed and lounge area. Beautiful wood and stone floor and ornate ceiling. Windows have gauze. The lack of any glass windows was a pain if wanted air-con during day.
- part of the daily routine - flowers on the bed
- A bathroom with a difference. Beautifully done.