Volivoli Beach Resort ★★★

The Point at the Top of Viti Levu

Most of Fiji's diving reputation rests on a stretch of water that hardly anyone stays beside. Bligh Water runs between the two big islands, the current pushes nutrients through the Vatu-i-Ra passage, and the soft coral that grows on it is why people cross the Pacific with a regulator in their luggage. Volivoli sits on the point closest to it, at the northern tip of Viti Levu, past the cane country of Rakiraki where the road finally runs out. The Darling family built the place and still run it, dive shop included. That last detail explains most of what the resort is: everything ashore is arranged around what happens on the boat.

Why It Works

The dive operation is the argument. Ra Divers works out of the resort itself, so the boats leave from the beach in front of your room and the day is not built around a transfer. Ninety-odd sites are within reach. The second reason is that the resort ashore is more than a dive lodge: every room faces the ocean, the villas climb to private pools, and there is a spa and a swim-up bar waiting when the tanks come off. Dive resorts usually make you choose between the water and the comfort, and this one declines to.

Why This Location

Rakiraki is the Suncoast, the dry northern side of Viti Levu, and it sees a fraction of the traffic the western resorts do. Volivoli Point is the last piece of land before the water opens into Bligh Water, so the boats are on site rather than an hour away. Nananu-i-Ra lies just offshore for a day on the water. Behind the resort the cane country climbs into hills that hold the light late. The drive up from Nadi crosses the island's northern coast and makes the transfer part of the trip rather than a chore.

Fast Facts

• Price: Premium

• Vibe: dive-first, family-run, unfussy

• Rooms: Ocean View and Deluxe Ocean View Rooms, plus Family, Premium, Superior and Luxury Ocean View Villas, the upper categories with private pools

• Best For: divers and snorkellers, families who want a pool and a boat, travellers heading for the Suncoast rather than the west

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: the dive boats leaving from the beach in front of the rooms, which removes the transfer that ruins most dive holidays

• Dining: Nuku Restaurant and Bar, the Ra Bar and Grill, and a swim-up pool bar

• Amenities: Ra Divers on site, Daulomani Day Spa, pools including private villa pools, boutique, fishing and island tours

• Attractions: Bligh Water, the Vatu-i-Ra passage, Nananu-i-Ra, Rakiraki and the Suncoast

Ra Divers and Ninety Sites of Soft Coral

Ra Divers is the house operation rather than a concession, and that changes the texture of a week here. Boats go from the beach. Kit stays aboard between dives. The site list runs past ninety, most of it in Bligh Water and the passage, where the current does the work and the soft coral comes up in colours that look edited. Snorkellers are taken seriously too, which is not always true at dive resorts. Fishing and island trips fill the surface days, and the list is long enough that a fortnight does not start repeating itself.

Ocean View from the Smallest Room Up

The accommodation is unusually consistent in one respect: the ocean is in the window whichever category you book. Ocean View and Deluxe Ocean View Rooms sit at the accessible end. Above them the villas step up through Family, Premium and Superior to Luxury, gaining space and, in the upper categories, a private pool. It is a sensible ladder for a resort that fills with a mix of divers travelling light and families who need somewhere to put everyone. Nobody ends up in the room at the back, because there is no room at the back.

Nuku, the Pool Bar and the Spa

Nuku Restaurant and Bar is the open-air room where most meals happen, with the Ra Bar and Grill and the swim-up pool bar covering the rest of the day. The Daulomani Day Spa is the obvious answer to three dives and a boat ride. There is a boutique and a small conference room. None of it tries to be a destination in its own right, which is the correct instinct on a property whose main event is offshore.