Pacific Islands · Fiji
Savusavu & Natewa Bay
A resident school of scalloped hammerheads stays off Savusavu all year.
Photo: Debra Baker · CC BY 4.0
Savusavu is a small diving and yachting town on Vanua Levu, with the untouched reefs of Natewa Bay 35 minutes away. Boats work walls and sunken pinnacles, the Dreamhouse seamount and the Namena Marine Reserve, and most dives sit between 13 and 24 m. Divers come for a resident school of scalloped hammerheads, seen year-round, with grey reef and whitetip sharks common across many sites.
About diving in Savusavu & Natewa Bay
Diving here is by boat from Savusavu. Several sites are 10 to 15 minutes away, and the Dreamhouse seamount is 20 to 30 minutes each way. Namena Marine Reserve, 20 miles (32 km) out, is the most popular trip at 30 to 40 minutes each way, and it is reached only by Savusavu boats or by liveaboards. Night dives leave at sunset. Natewa Bay, 35 minutes outside town, has its own centre, and trips from Savusavu run as far as the Somosomo Strait.
The terrain is walls with sheer drop-offs and sunken pinnacles 100 to 200 m across, their tops at 13 m (40 ft) and their edges sloping from 18 m (60 ft) to 24 m (80 ft). Dreamhouse is a seamount where current carries nutrients over the soft corals and pulls in pelagics, and some sites add swim-throughs and caverns. Grey reef and whitetip sharks are common at many sites, with barracuda, hawksbill turtles and humphead wrasse on the reefs.
Within Savusavu Bay the water is calm enough for relaxed diving, and Natewa Bay's calm conditions suit novices and experienced divers alike. Outside the bay the walls and pinnacles become drift dives, and Dreamhouse is a dive for seasoned divers. Courses run from beginner through divemaster and start from age 10; once the online theory is done, certification training takes two and a half days. Dive trips also take divers staying elsewhere.
Best time to dive Savusavu & Natewa Bay
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good |
Savusavu is dived all year, and the hammerheads stay through every month. The wet season runs from November to April, with brief heavy showers and thunderstorms; March is usually the wettest month, yet the water is calm and reaches 30°C. Fiji sits in the South Pacific cyclone belt, though only about one cyclone a year comes anywhere close. From June to October the southeast trade winds can make the surface choppy and the water drops to 22°C, but visibility is very good. July is the driest month.
Best months: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
Dive types & marine life
The scalloped hammerheads are a resident school seen in every month of the year. Whales pass Namena Marine Reserve on a seasonal migration, and spinner dolphins are a possibility in Natewa Bay rather than a certainty.
- Wall
- Seamount
- Drift
- Coral garden
- Hammerheads
- Reef sharks
- Sea turtles
- Barracuda
- Napoleon wrasse
- Dolphins
- Whales
Best dive sites in Savusavu & Natewa Bay
- 1
Dreamhouse
Football-field seamount whose north edge drops from 12 m to 76 m (40-250 ft), with barracuda and grey reef sharks.
- 2
Dreadlocks
Coral garden in Savusavu Bay known for its colourful soft corals.
- 3
Shark Alley
Deeper reef where octopuses and large animals pass over big coral formations.
- 4
Lighthouse
Outer barrier reef dive where the corals change hue.
Site guides
Pinnacle
Three coral towers rising almost to the surface at Namena
Coral garden
Two hard-coral bommies flanking a garden in sheltered Savusavu Bay
Seamount
Schools of hammerheads over a football-field seamount
A ledge on a Namena wall that falls away for hundreds of feet
How to get to Savusavu & Natewa Bay
Savusavu Airport (SVU) has flights from Nadi, about one hour, and from Suva. Ferries run from Suva or Lautoka in roughly 12 hours. Savusavu has a handful of dive resorts and dive shops, and the Natewa Bay centre is 35 minutes outside town.
Photos from Savusavu & Natewa Bay
Debra Baker · CC BY 4.0
Debra Baker · CC BY 4.0
Debra Baker · CC BY 4.0
Dive videos
Scuba Diving Fiji / Underwater Scenes in Natewa Bay near Savusavu · Ocean Ventures Fiji on YouTube
World Oceans Day / Scuba Diving in Natewa Bay near Savusavu · Ocean Ventures Fiji on YouTube
Questions divers ask
When can hammerheads be seen at Savusavu?+
The scalloped hammerheads are a resident school and are seen year-round, so no month has to be chosen for them.
Can Namena Marine Reserve be dived from Savusavu?+
Yes. Namena is reached only by Savusavu boats and liveaboards; from town it is a 30 to 40 minute ride each way, and it is the most popular trip.
What is the best time of year to dive Savusavu?+
Diving runs all year. June to October brings trade-wind chop and water down to 22°C but very good visibility; the wet season to April brings calm water up to 30°C.
Is Savusavu suitable for new divers?+
Natewa Bay's calm conditions suit novices, and the water inside Savusavu Bay is calm enough for relaxed diving; courses start from age 10. Dreamhouse is recommended for seasoned divers, and the walls outside the bay are drift dives.
How do divers get to Savusavu?+
Savusavu Airport (SVU) has flights from Nadi, about one hour, and from Suva; ferries from Suva or Lautoka take roughly 12 hours.
Sources
- Diving | Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort Fiji — Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort
- PADI Certification Course (diving FAQs) — Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort
- Ocean Ventures Fiji — Ocean Ventures Fiji
- Diving and snorkelling — Savusavu Tourism Association
- Weather — Savusavu Tourism Association
- Savusavu - Wikivoyage — Wikivoyage
- Savusavu - Wikipedia — Wikipedia
- Diving in Savusavu — Scubago (SSI)
Photo credits
- A green and orange striped triggerfish among branching and plate hard corals on a shallow reef by Debra Baker, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A black, white and yellow bannerfish with a long white dorsal streamer swims over a green reef slope by Debra Baker, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A giant clam with wavy, fluted shell edges sits open among tan sponges and corals by Debra Baker, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A blue trevally with bright blue fins swims past a rocky reef wall in deep blue water by Debra Baker, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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