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One of the dive destinations I have heard about several times is Beqa Lagoon Resort (pronounced benga) in Fiji. Tailored for scuba divers, this is located on the island of Beqa in the southern end of Fiji.

Getting there involved flying to either Nadi (the main international airport) or Suva. From Nadi, it is about 2 1/2 hours by bus or taxi to Pacific Harbor. From there, it is about a 30-minute ride by boat to the resort. Once there, you are greeted by the warm Fijian culture, with the staff waiting and singing to you on the beach. After a welcome drink, you can go to your bure (pronounced boora) where your bags are waiting for you to unpack for your adventure. I stayed in a koi pond bure, with a relaxing and beautiful path along the koi pond. The room was large and air conditioned, with two king size beds.

The packages at Beqa Lagoon include all three meals. Normally at dinner, you are given the menu choices for the day, along with a sheet of paper for you to select your appetizer, main course and dessert for lunch and dinner. The resort employs high quality chefs, and every meal is delicious. Most meals include a choice for fish, as well as vegan choices. The staff can accommodate any special requests.

The main attraction for most visitors is the diving of course. The dive center is right next to the restaurant, and they have any gear necessary for rent if you don't want to bring your own. With multiple dive boats, and multiple guides, you are assured of diving in a small group. Chances are, you won't see the other groups on your boat until you arrive back at the boat. The boats go out in the morning, and after two dives they are back by lunch time. Afternoon boat dives are available, as are night dives.

The diving itself is spectacular. The reefs are healthy with large schools of fish swimming on them. Bicolor chromis, banner butterfly fish, clown fish, eels, sharks, sea snakes, lionfish, so many more! The resort runs shark dive trips a few times a week to a site called Cathedral, and those are very fun to watch! To ensure the safety of the divers, the divers are kneeling with a wall at their backs, and a small wall separating them from the feed level. In addition, there is one dive master for every 4 divers, along with some dive masters in the feeding level. If the dive masters feel comfortable with your reactions to the feeding, they may even invite you down to the feeding level for a closer look! On our shark dive, there were nurse sharks hanging around the feed box, a few lemon sharks and bull sharks, but the star of the show was a tiger shark that was about 13 feet. The sharks know their place within the hierarchy.

The check out dive and night dive are done on a site called Beetle. This is a shallow reef, along with a wreck, though there is no penetration of this wreck. The second dive was at a pinnacle called Malabi, however currents made it difficult for the captain to find a suitable site due to currents. The next day was a dive on Carpet Cove, another wreck whose bottom sits at about 100 feet.

As with most dive operators, the dive masters know where to find hidden gems. On one of our dives, my guide Junior pointed out an electric fire clam. For those into macro he can point out nudibranchs and other small critters. Since I was using my wide-angle lens, I really was not paying attention to the macro life.

Of course, there is the house reef for snorkeling or diving. The house reef is fairly shallow, and if you go scuba diving, make sure you have a buddy, because solo diving is not allowed. When not diving, there are plenty of other culture to enjoy. The staff all live in the local villages, and the resort offers visits to the local village. The local villagers also come to the resort for special activities, including a Sunday service in the restaurant, fire dance, fire walk and several other activities.

Just going on a trip with great diving, delicious food and warm weather in a beautiful location is enough for many people. What makes it even better is how you are treated like family. In the end, you get what you put into the trip.