Barefoot Kuata Island Resort

Really a big family, every one on the island is really lovely, and starting miss all of you on the island.

I visited this island as part of the Ultimate Shark Snorkel tour. While there were some positives, there were also several drawbacks. Pros: The island is beautiful. The snorkel guides were very friendly. Cons: Travel time vs. time on the island – We spent five hours on a boat for only 45 minutes of snorkeling, lunch, and barely any free time afterward. Although the tour is advertised as departing at 4:15 PM, we were instructed to be ready at 3 PM to be loaded onto small boats that would take us to the main vessel. Poor communication – I emailed in advance to ask if the shark dive and shark snorkel tours were compatible in schedule, so my partner could snorkel and I could dive. The response I received was: "The two activities are on different schedules and will occur at different sites." Of course, I already knew that diving and snorkeling wouldn’t be in the same location—that was obvious! What I needed to know was whether both tours would travel to the island on the same boat, have lunch at the same place and time, and share the same free time in the afternoon. Since I didn’t get a clear answer, I ended up booking the snorkeling tour for both of us. However, I later realized that the two tours probably could have been compatible. Unaccommodating dive school owner – Since I was snorkeling instead of diving, I requested a 1.5kg weight to make my experience more comfortable. I’ve been a certified diver for over 20 years and have insurance. However, the dive school owner refused, citing "safety concerns on snorkeling with weights." (1.5kg—seriously?) It was the first time in my life that a dive shop wouldn’t lend me a simple weight. This was especially odd considering they allow non-swimmers to snorkel and uncertified divers to dive with bull sharks. Overcrowding & poor supervision – The first 10 minutes of snorkeling were fine; it was just four of us plus two guides. Then, two more boats arrived, and a large group jumped in. One guy grabbed a shark by the base of its tail while it tried to escape while laughing. I swam over and told him to let go, but none of the guides intervened. Our guides later said the man was from another resort and could not do anything. I went snorkel further from the mess. Limited post-lunch activities – I had originally planned to dive after lunch but wasn’t sure about the timing (the dive started at 2 PM, and we had been told to be ready at 3 PM). After my frustrating interaction with the dive owner about the weight, I opted to snorkel instead—only to discover that the tide was too low. Snorkeling from the beach was impossible, and the only way to reach deeper waters was through the same path boats were using to go in and out. Although the island itself was beautiful, I would not have booked this tour had I known these details. I had a far better experience diving with sharks in Pacific Harbour with BAD and would have preferred to do that again instead.

Kuata Island is a 1hr 30 min ferry ride from Port Denarau, and represents the first island of the Yasawa's with unique scuba experience, namely diving with bull sharks. The dive, itself, is very manageable and although it was the low season, there were 8-10 bull sharks in attendance for the 'feeding performance'. You really do get a sense of the size of these animals, and their relaxed cruising style. Its only if they do 'sprint' to grab a fish head, do you appreciate the speed of a predating shark versus that a relaxed one. Other than this dive, there is good snorkelling trips to see black tip sharks. Snorkelling direct off the resort can be challenging at low tide. You need to use the channel and share it with dive and transport boats. Coral is mildly bleached in places, and i suspect that has been going on for some time now. The long hike to the summit can be very slippery, and frankly, the view at the top isnt that great. Sunset down by the restaurant is a far nicer photogenic moment. We stayed for 3 nights and our bule had issues with water supply, as well as the realisation that there really isnt hot water for showers anywhere in the resort. The bules have fans for aircon which works just well enough, but at the height of summer would be a little tough. They were having fresh water issues for the island and we needed a toilet fixed almost as soon as checking in. It took a while, but got sorted. You need to pay for a daily food package, which while filling, isnt really of high quality. We can only recall one dish atone lunch that we could say we enjoyed. The remaining meals where just OK. And here is the rub for an island resort such as this. You are paying upwards of FJ$400-600 per night for private accommodation for two. The daily food bill is FJ$159 per person. Transfers to and from the Port are FJ$370 per person. The shark dive is FJ$339 and the snorkelling tour is $99. We brought some liquor to make a daily cocktail but even so, incidentals can add up as well. So ultimately, if an island experience is going to cost you A$750 to $800 per night, then you should expect warm showers, working toilets, and better meals. Overall, you cannot fault the staff and their ever-lovely attitude and good nature. And Michael, Oz and the team at the Dive Shop are first class. But if Fiji has to be assessed as a tropical island location for snorkelers and divers, then it falls short versus other options in the South Pacific and SE Asia.