Tivua Island Fiji Mamanuca Islands
Fiji
Frequently Asked Questions
It is a coral islet in the Mamanuca group, north-west of Viti Levu. You reach it on a day trip from the Nadi and Denarau area, often aboard a tall sailing ship whose masts are visible far across the lagoon.
About four hours ashore. Ten minutes is enough to walk right round the island: a ring of white sand, a cluster of coconut palms, and all around some 200 hectares of coral gardens.
It is part of the trip: crew in flowered sulu, guitars and welcome songs, wooden decks where you settle facing the wind. Depending on the vessel you sail or take a catamaran, and the crew hoist canvas by hand when the wind allows.
By small boat, feet almost in the warm water. Approaching the reef, the water changes colour in stages, from deep blue to pale green, until the hull glides over the coral heads.
It is the main draw of the call. Mask and snorkel provided, you swim over branching corals where butterflyfish, electric damselfish and silver shoals scatter at the slightest movement. Guides lead groups to the best coral heads.
The glass-bottom boat shows the same reef while you stay dry. Kayaks and paddleboards follow the shoreline for the more active, and a lounger in the shade of the palms remains a perfectly respectable option.
No. The golden rule the guides repeat is simple: look, don't touch. Reef-safe sunscreen does everyone a favour too.
Yes. The traditional drink goes round in a wooden cup to the sound of clapping. The meal is then eaten with your toes in the sand, and the crew, often from the neighbouring villages, are happy to talk about their islands.
Depending on the season, the islet is a stopover for seabirds and turtles, sometimes glimpsed between swims. Nothing is guaranteed: it is an encounter, not a scheduled show.
For anyone content to do nothing in particular. The programme is deliberately short: a lounger, a walk round the island, a book, the water. Nobody hurries anybody, and the word schedule loses almost all meaning here.
