PARADISE TAVEUNI, FIJI

The 4* Paradise Taveuni is located north of Vuna village at the southern end of Taveuni, one of the island’s most beautiful areas. Set on five acres of elevated oceanfront land, Paradise Taveuni offers impressive sea and sunset views.

OCEANVIEW BURES - twin / double share AS STANDARD £400 sole occupancy

These Fijian Bures (pr: boo-ray - Fijian for house) have a private bedroom with a generous king bed and French doors opening onto a sundeck, complete with a day bed and ocean views. The spacious lounge room has mini bar, refrigerator, tea & coffee making facilities, safe & lounge furniture. There is both an indoor bath and shower and an outdoor private garden shower and jacuzzi.  Your Bure is fan cooled and has ceiling fans in the bedroom & lounge room. If you choose a twin share option, a single bed will be added to the lounge area. The king-sized will reallocated on a first come first served basis, or you can pay a £100 supplement to secure the larger bed. You are welcome to choose the twin share option if you are travelling on your own - we will simply pair you up with another solo traveller of the same sex.

DELUXE OCEANFRONT BURE - £460pp upgrade supplement per bure

THE ITINERARY

N.B. Please note, this is a rough guide to the week. We will adapt the week carefully for each individual and the prevailing weather. All swim activities are planned with safety as the paramount concern. Swim distances are adaptable and because of our extensive boat and safety cover we can deal with a mixture of abilities on this tour.

SATURDAY

A SwimQuest representative will meet you at Paradise Taveuni (please advise us of your arrival time, we will ensure we meet you at reception). We will show you round the resort, and let you settle into your room before meeting for lunch and the safety briefing. After lunch, we will complete a short acclimatisation swim in the bay in front of the resort, and (if you wish) film you above and below the water so that your SwimQuest guides can help you improve your stroke throughout the week. In the evening, we will meet for sundowners and dinner - to get to know each other before the week begins.  If you need to arrive later in the day, it’s no problem, just let us know.

SUNDAY

On Sunday morning after breakfast, we will head out for an easy coastal swim (approx 2km) along the coastline of Taveuni. Swim along a labyrinth of lava flow covered in stunning hard and soft corals, and swarming in tropical reef species. After a leisurely lunch and a chance to digest, we will head out to to Vuna reef, for our second swim of the day.

MONDAY

This morning we head out to the legendary 32km long Rainbow Reef, a scenic 30 minute boat ride from the resort. Swim along the reef edge for approximately 3km and enjoy the multitude of tropical fish, hard and soft corals. After lunch on the white sandy beach of Vanua Levu, we will head back to rainbow reef for a second swim (approx 2km) before returning to Paradise Taveuni.

TUESDAY

After breakfast, we will head north to Dolphin Bay. Swim with the currents along the reef, and watch the snapper and trevally below you. We will then head back to the resort for lunch. In the afternoon, join the Taveuni team and try your hand at frond weaving and coconut catching, or simply use the time to relax before we meet again for dinner later in the evening.

WEDNESDAY

After breakfast,  we will head north to Dolphin Bay. Swim with the currents along the reef, and watch the snapper and trevally below you. We will then head back to the resort for lunch. In the afternoon, join the Taveuni team and try your hand at frond weaving and coconut catching, or simply use the time to relax before we meet again for dinner later in the evening.

THURSDAY

Today will be a big day as we head out to the Bouma National Park area. This morning, we will swim alongside the Lavena Coastal path. After lunch, we will walk through the national park to Taveuni’s swimming up waterfall, were we can cool off. There will also be the opportunity (conditions permitting) to have a go on Taveuni’s natural rockslide before we head back to the resort for our final evening.

FRIDAY

Those on the early flight will depart at 6.30am. Those on the afternoon flight, can wake up and enjoy a leisurely breakfast and swim before packing and departures.        

GETTING TO PARADISE TAVEUNI

Please don’t worry about your time of arrival on the Saturday. You won’t miss out on any of the big swims. For those who arrive early, it will be a chance to settle in and enjoy the resort. We recommend using a travel search engine (for example www.skyscanner.net) to find the best flight deals, and then booking directly with your chosen airline straight through to your final destination. This ensures you get the best baggage allowance and that your flights will match up even if you experience a delay.

WHAT TO PACK

In addition to your everyday clothing and personal travel items, we would also recommend packing:

• At least two swimming costumes
• A wetsuit should you wish to wear one - our Partners at Zone3 offer a wide range of wetsuits, including the eco Yulex natural rubber range HERE and you get 20% OFF all full price Zone3 products with code : SWIMQUEST
• Two pairs of swim goggles
• Swim ear plugs if you are used to wearing them
• Rash vest (optional but can be useful in keeping the sun off)
• Tow float (required) - if you haven’t got one yet, you can purchase from our online shop here
• Rash vest (optional) - available from our online shop here
• A beach / swim towel (the resort provides room towels)
• Sandals, aqua shoes or flip flops which you would be happy to get wet if necessary
• High factor water resistant suncream, sunhat and sunglasses
• Insect repellent
• Comfortable sportswear (optional - running / stretching / yoga)
• A sports bottle (as part of our quest to reduce the amount of plastic we use, we ask all guests to bring their own water bottle - alternatively you can purchase a reusable SwimQuest one on tour)

PASSPORTS AND VISAS

A 4-month visa is granted automatically on arrival to visitors from most countries, you can check the list here. Non-residents of the Fiji require a full passport to enter the country, which should be valid for at least six months beyond the expected length of stay. For further information, please visit https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/fiji. Please note that visa regulations are subject to change and we advise that you check your own visa requirements prior to travel.

VACCINATIONS

Fiji is free from malaria, yellow fever and major tropical diseases. Inoculations are only required if travelling from an infected area.  There is an effective medical system in place with government and privately run hospitals, clinics, surgical centres, dental service and pharmacies. This being the case, it is important to visit your health professional at least 4 to 6 weeks before your trip to check whether you need any vaccinations or other preventive measures to travel to Fiji. You can check the latest country-specific information and advice from the National Travel Health Network and Centre on the TravelHealthPro website or from NHS (Scotland) on the fitfortravel website. Useful information and advice about healthcare abroad is also available on the NHS Choices website.

Health care facilities are adequate for routine medical treatment, but are limited in range and availability. Doctors and hospitals often expect immediate cash payment for health services. In the event of a medical emergency, evacuation is a likely option for treatment. Make sure you have adequate travel health insurance and accessible funds to cover the cost of any treatment abroad, medical evacuation and repatriation.  

INSURANCE

As a SwimQuest guest, you are required to have in place travel insurance that covers you for all activities you will be taking part in during your trip. It is your responsibility to ensure that you are fully covered for these activities.

Whatever travel policy you decide on, you will need to bring a copy of your current Certificate of Insurance to the safety briefing at the start of your SwimQuest holiday. Your swim Guides will need to take a note of your insurer, policy number and the number to call in case of an emergency claim.

If you are looking for a travel insurance policy, we love worldnomads.com because they make choosing the right policy as painless as possible.

Worldnomads.com do not offer cover over 65s, however if you are over 65 and looking for insurance, please feel free to contact us and we can put you in touch with alternative providers.

The temperature

Fiji has two seasons: warm and even warmer! It’s a sunny, tropical climate that’ll wash the winter chills from your bones. In the cooler months (May - November) temperatures range from from 19° to 29°c, and from December and April, the temperatures register from 22° to 33°c. Expect the sea temperature in March to be around 25-26oC.

Time Zone

Straddling the 180th meridian, Fiji has frequently been called “the crossroads of the Pacific”. In fact, the International Date Line has been adjusted so that the entire archipelago falls into the same time zone, 12 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time. From November to February, Fiji moves one hour ahead with its own daylight savings.

Currency and Banking

The Fijian dollar is the basic unit of currency, available in denominations of $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100. There is a 24 hour currency exchange service at the arrivals concourse at Nadi Airport. ATMs are located around the country and at larger resorts and hotels.

Tipping

There is no tipping etiquette in Fiji, but you may, if you wish, offer extra payment for outstanding service.

Electricity

The electric current is 240 volts AC 50Hz. Fiji has three-pin power outlets, which are identical to Australia and New Zealand. Leading hotels and resorts offer universal outlets for 240v or 11v shavers, hair dryers and other electrical appliances.

TAXES (included in your price)

A 9% Government Value Added Tax (VAT) is applicable to all goods and services in Fiji. Visitors staying in hotels and resorts are subject to 6% Service Turnover Tax (STT) and Environment & Climate Adaptation Levy of 10%.