Jean-Michel Cousteau Fiji Islands Resort

The award-winning, five-star Jean-Michel Cousteau Fiji Islands Resort is one of the most renowned vacation destinations in the South Pacific.

Located on the island of Vanua Levu on 17 acres of a coconut plantation, the accommodations overlook the peaceful waters of Savusavu Bay.

The acclaimed resort is an international favorite for romance, honeymoons, weddings, scuba diving, and families, who want to combine heavenly surroundings and exceptional dining with an unsurpassed range of eco-friendly activities.

Each bure features rattan furnishings, king-size bed with custom-made mattress, small sitting area with desk, wooden louvered windows, overhead fan, and private deck with garden or ocean views.

Diving at Jean-Michel Cousteau Fiji Islands Resort

Water enthusiasts will be in heaven at Jean-Michel Cousteau Fiji Islands Resort, where warm, clear waters tempt both above and below the waves. Full PADI certification is availabe to new divers and advanced certification is available to qualified divers.

Known as the "Soft Coral Capital of the World," Fiji offers the largest variety of fish and coral anywhere in the world. Small reef dwellers and large ocean pelagics (a class of fish that includes barracuda, tuna, sharks) swim among the colorful reefs near the resort.

Divers of all skill levels will delight in the award-winning facilities at the resort, which is the "World's Best for Diving," according to Harpers Abroad. (January 2003)

For beginners, the expert dive staff will welcome and guide you into the underwater world. Expert divers can do their own thing. PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) provide certified courses and Nitrox fills.

Dive Boats

L'Aventure, a37-foot custom-built, enclosed cabin dive vessel is equipped with the latest GPS plotter, color depth sounder and radar, catering for 12 divers, individual gear lockers, a freshwater shower, and complimentary soft drinks and cookies.

It cruises at 16-18 knots. Each morning, the boat leaves the resort at about 8:30 a.m. and returns for lunch around 12:30. Full day trips, which are organized whenever possible, include a picnic lunch and return to the resort around 4:00 p.m.

L'Aventure Dive Shop has everything you need for an underwater adventure. Snorkels and fins are provided free of charge.

Choose from an array of wetsuits, tanks, masks, fins and other accessories.

The dive shop is also a great place to hear what's going on under the waves, from shark sightings to the latest findings from the monthly reef check.

Fiji Scuba Diving Vacations

Awarded World’s Best Resort Hotel For Scuba Diving

The resort was honored as the “Best Resort Hotel for Diving” by Harpers Abroad in the “150 Best Places on Earth” in the Harpers & Queen Travel Awards, January 2003.

One of Europe's leading magazines, Harpers & Queen had this to say about the resort:

"Best for Diving. The name alone suggests that, at this resort diving is a serious attraction. Jean-Michel Cousteau, son of Jacques, is the founder and owner of the five-star resort on the south coast of the Fijian island of Vanua Levu, where the Koro Sea meets Savusavu Bay.

The PADI dive school has access to some of the World's most enviable dive sites: Shark Alley, and the more seductive "Big Blue."

Fiji Dive Sites

The resort is recognized for providing the best diving this region in Fiji has to offer. The waters of the Koro Sea are known for their exceptional diversity, including a large number of identified dive sites and newer areas that are still  being explored. From sites just 10 minutes away to the world-class Namena reefs, there are a variety of dives for novices and experts alike.

Part of a great diving experience is the adventure of the unknown. Thus, guests are welcome to join the exploration and help name new sites including drift dive in some areas never previously dived.

Favorite dive sites:

Namena Island
This small island 20 miles to the south of Savusavu is surrounded by mile after mile of unexplored reefs. Seemingly bottomless drop-offs, multi-colored soft corals and perfect coral gardens support an abundance of marine life. This is the place to see the big fish cruising in from the depths of the Koro Sea. Barracuda, spanish mackerel, dog-tooth tuna, mantas and large sharks regularly patrol these reefs.

Jean-Michel rates Namena as the best dive spot in Fiji, and one of the 10 best in the world.Jean-Michel Cousteau Fiji Islands Resort is one of the only resorts in Fiji that visits Namena on a regular basis.

Canyons
Swim through beautiful grottos of hard coral extending into vast unexplored underwater canyons. See Reef Sharks resting in the grottos.

Shark Alley
A maze of swim-throughs, overhangs and chambers hide white tip reef sharks resting on sandy bottoms. Giant Maori wrasse and grouper can be found hiding around the next corner.

Nuggets
The nuggets are two coral heads. One is a myriad of soft corals surrounded by schools of fairy basslets, masked banner fish, leaf fish, with jacks and barracuda circling. The second is covered in golden soft corals. Lionfish, scorpion fish, nesting trigger fish and moray eels are abundant.

Goldilocks
This site is a favorite because you can swim completely around the edge of the reef. It offers great diversity of hard and soft corals, with a very abundant reef fish population.

Jacksons
This spectacular wall features gigantic sea fans at depths of 90 feet. Divers finish among luxurious purple soft corals at 40-60 ft.

Fingers
This site is known for a beautiful spur and groove reef system, jutting fingers of hard coral alternating with high flow grooves., plus painted crayfish, giant Tradicana clams, and eagle rays.

Light House
This is a good, deep dive -- 100 feet -- with a large aggregation of fish, such as groupers and snappers, and octopus. This is an active spawning site of both these large fish and smaller reef fish.

Mystery Reef This isolated reef is scattered with coral heads covered in multi-colored soft corals, spanish mackerel, coral trout and unicorn fish.

Hole in the Wall
This vertical drop off supports huge gorgonian fans. Large tuna, spotted Sweetlips, mackerel, barracuda, with bronze whalers lurk in the depths below.

Big Blue
This spectacular drop off features giant Gorgonians covered with feather stars. It's a perfect place to watch for sea turtles and large fish.

Alice in Wonderland
This site is an open water large patch reef, where small reef sharks often lurk underneath large mushroom-shaped corals. The up current end has good flow and huge aggregations of reef fish and larger pelagic life.

Nsonisoni Pass
This is a drift dive along a wall covered with every variety of pristine hard and soft corals imaginable. Divers can swim across the passage to the purple bommies, a mass of purple soft corals fed by the nutrient-rich Koro Sea waters. Large barracuda, circling gray reef sharks and white tips cruise everywhere.

Barracuda Point
Beginning on a reef wall just off the coast of the resort, this dive involves swimming along a hard-coral reef finger to join a school of 50-60 resident barracuda. Be on the lookout for hammerheads and schools of batfish as well.

Dreadlocks
In the middle of Savusavu Bay, this site is home to a lavish array of multicolored hard and soft coral as well as lionfish, harlequin filefish and butterfly fish.

 

World Famous Diving: Dive Certifications

There is a full range of options for those interested in diving:

Introduction to Scuba
Like to try Scuba before signing up? Join PADI instructors in the pool to learn the basics before you sign up for a course. But be warned - you'll be hooked!

Resort Course
The Resort Course enables you to dive after just a few hours of training.

Full Certification
For full PADI certification, a medical certificate is required. The course takes 4-5 days and referrals are accepted with the proper documentation. The rental equipment is U.S. Diver regulators and Oceanic B.C.Ds with Luxfer 80 c.f. alloy tanks and standard K valves. Divers should bring their own DIN adapter if required. The resort carries only service spares for U.S. Diver equipment.

Referral Course
Get your classroom and pool work out of the way at home, so you can spend as much time as possible underwater!

Advanced Open Water Course
For those already certified, there is something more adventurous. Complete any or all of six advanced dives:

Night Dive
Drift Dive
Boat Dive
Underwater Naturalist Dive
Peak Performance Buoyancy Dive