Tavarua Island Resort

Fiji

Overview

The mother of all world-class surf resorts. Located in the Mamanuca Island chain, about 15 miles southwest of Nadi, Tavarua is a 24 acre heart shaped island. Tavarua offers world class comfort and perfect conditions for surfing, kite-surfing, SUP, diving, fishing, or just getting a tan and reading.

Tavarua Island faces south by southwest into the South Pacific and is perfectly positioned to catch all swells coming up from the Southern Ocean.

Tavarua comfortably accommodates 36 adults in 16 private bures. They are beautifully made in a traditional island style that is still thoroughly modern in comfort.  The bures are there to rest, relax, and rejuvenate, for the next surf, kite, sailboard, dive, snorkel or SUP session.

The food at Tavarua is legendary and tailored to meet the appetites of hungry guests who are playing hard in the ocean and the sun. The buffet is loaded with fresh, healthy foods in generous portions providing energy to restore and reload.

Tavarua began as a remote island camp offering the basics to those who love the ocean but today, Tavarua has become a family friendly resort and is finding more and more guests who come as much for the wonderful amenities as for the surf.

Unique Accommodations

Accommodations

The resort at Tavarua began in 1983 with eight detached rooms. Over the last quarter of a century, the resort has evolved and the accommodations have been polished to a world-class luster.

Kelly Slater proclaimed Tavarua a “beautiful experience,” while Kevin Naughton called it a “Fiji wave garden… an idyllic experience.”

The accommodation is part of the beauty of that experience. Tavarua offers 14 private bures along with two Sunrise bures.

The 14 bures are all private and en-suite, made of hardwoods and thatch. Each is beautifully appointed with Fijian art, surf photos, air conditioning and has two VCQB (Very Comfortable Queen Beds), a day bed, louvered windows, ceiling fans, mini-bar, and a large beach side verandah for relaxing, watching the sunset or just taking in the lush island foliage and bird life.

For larger families or groups traveling together, Tavarua has two air-conditioned Sunrise Bures that have two bedrooms and can accommodate four adults. The Sunrise bures have two VCQB and two sleeper-couches, private verandahs and a mini-bar.

For those looking for the best, you may want to consider the Tavarua Villa complex offering couples, families or groups of friends the opportunity to experience Tavarua from a whole new level of Luxury.

Amenities

TAVARUA VILLA
Each wing of this semi-detached two villa layout is appointed with all the amenities and design elements one would expect from a high end resort; large master bedroom, second back bedroom, spacious sunken living room, bathroom with spa tub and shower, air conditioning, tropical ceiling fans and more. The two villa units are connected by an additional split level deck. Villa guests can choose to lounge on their individual decks or share time with family, friends or other guests on the adjoining deck space offering spectacular panoramic ocean views.

TAVARUA RESTAURANT/BAR
The key word at Tavarua is “fresh,” as in fresh fish, fresh fruits and vegetables and fresh bread baked on the premises. Meals are served buffet style and the tables at Restaurants seat seven people, so meals are also mixers, bringing together water people and vacationers from around the world.

The kitchen serves three fresh meals a day, plus Happy Hour, which begins each day at four. Guests come to sample appetizer platters served poolside and on the deck. The Tavarua bar is fully stocked with an international array of wines, beers, liquors and mixed drinks that are unique to the island.

SWIMMING POOL & SPA
The swimming pool on Tavarua is as clear and blue as the ocean water and located directly adjacent to the restaurant with a perfect view of Restaurants. Loved ones can swim while others get barreled, out on the reef. Next to the swimming pool is a heated spa where tired surfers can soak away the pains of the day and enjoy a happy hour drink…or two.

OFFICE & BOUTIQUE
Tavarua provides an office for international phone calls, faxes and Internet access to stay in touch with the world.

Tavarua also offers a boutique for buying necessaries and gifts: sunscreen, hats, beach clothes and surf gear. Local art, jewelry and photography are also available to bring home as a consolation to those who couldn’t make it to Tavarua.

Surf & Seasons

The Surf

Guests staying at Tavarua have access to a variety of breaks within a few miles of the island: Cloudbreak, Restaurants, Tavarua Rights, Kiddie Land, Swimming Pools, Namotu Left, Wilkes Pass, Desperations.

CLOUDBREAK
Cloudbreak is just about three miles straight south of Namotu. A world famous left reef pass that is regularly voted one of the 10 Best/Most Challenging waves in the world, Cloudbreak is a powerful open-ocean reef with three main sections. The Point, the Middle and Shish Kebabs that occasionally link up to offer a screaming, 200-yard-long ride, with a number of tube sections.

Like many tropical reef-pass breaks, Cloudbreak tends to get faster, shallower and more critical as it goes. Waves here are regularly four to six feet, and it does not seem to close out no matter how big it gets.

RESTAURANTS
A left hander than breaks along a reef directly in front of the restaurant on Tavarua Resort. Restaurants is not as exposed to swell as Cloudbreak, but it breaks in extremely shallow water over sharp-edged coral heads with waves usually half the size of those at Cloudbreak.

During a smaller swell and at higher tides, Restaurants can be any surfer’s fantasy having often been called a “skate park” in the water.

TAVARUA RIGHTS
When the wind and swell aren’t perfect for Namotu Left or Cloudbreak, they can be perfect for Tavarua Rights; a fun wave on the southeast side of Tavarua island.

Tavarua Rights has been described as “playful” and “user-friendly” but can become serious with size. It breaks during mid to high tides that diminish the challenges posed by sharp reef. Great for long and short boards alike, the wave is best from November to March, but can present itself during any season when the prevailing southeast wind lies down and conditions at Tavarua Right are either glassy or offshore.

KIDDIE LAND
While Tavarua attracts experienced surfers that want to challenge some of the best waves in the world, Tavarua also offers Kiddie Land that is not really a surf break at all. Kiddie Land is actually the far inside of Restaurants and is a perfect place for beginning surfers, body boarders and even SUPers to ride their first waves.

Tavarua resort has a complete quiver of beginner equipment for all ages, and the staff is happy to assist eager students. Breaking directly in front of the Restaurant, every wave at Kiddie Land has party wave potential and it also presents a great opportunity for quality time with family and significant others.

SWIMMING POOLS
If you’re thinking “playful” and “warm” and “fun” then you have the right impression of Swimming Pools, a reef-break right which has just enough of the power of a tropical wave coming up out of the deep ocean. Popular with both short boarders and longboarders, Swimming Pools has the speed, power and length to do draw any lines you choose.

NAMOTU LEFT
What Restaurants is to Tavarua, Namotu Left is to Namotu – a world-class reef break that’s more forgiving than its more famous neighbor Cloudbreak. From 6 to 15 feet, Namotu Left can be the thrill of a lifetime, but from two to six foot the wave is a shortboard, fish, longboard or SUP paradise.

When the wind is going strong side shore, Namotu Left is as legendary in the sailboard and kitesurf world as Cloudbreak is in the surfing world.

WILKES PASS
About a mile northwest of Namotu Island, across the channel, Wilkes Pass is a powerful right barrel that breaks on the southern tip of a long barrier reef. Wilkes is a serious wave that will test the skill of any surfer, especially as it approaches the 10-foot mark. Access to all the surf breaks is by boat, with a boatman and radio on board in case of a broken board or an up-close-and-personal inspection tour of the Fijian reefs.

DESPERATIONS
Farther northwest up the barrier reef from Wilkes Pass, Desperations is a right and left peak that breaks off a point. Desperations is the go-to spot when the ocean is having an off day, but it’s better than 90% of the waves most surfers leave behind at home.

Season and Weather:

Peak: March – September
Good: November – February

Waves:

Average Shoulder high, up to Triple overhead

Winds:

Offshore 90% of the time

Air/Water Temp:

Air: 75º to 90º (day) • 70º to 75º (night)
Water: +68º to 90º (Tropical)

Area Breaks:

12+ quality breaks (fun for most skill levels)

Synopsis:

CLIMATE
The cooler dry season is from April through October and the warm, wetter and more humid season is from November to March. Air temperatures range from the mid 70’s to mid 80’s year round, with water temperatures hovering in the same range, year around

Fiji does receive rain year round but the wet season also corresponds with the South Pacific cyclone Season. Although it is rare to have a cyclone impact Fiji directly in any given year, it can happen, and does typically every 5+ years for a short period (3-5 days) of very intense and very bad weather.

The Fiji islands also have dry and wet sides similar to Hawaii; drier on the west and south, much more rain on the east and north. The properties WaterWays has relationships with are all located on the southwest or southern end of the island chain.

WIND
As with most of the South Pacific, the seasonal “trade” winds blow from the southeast across the Fiji Islands June through September. These winds can blow relatively strong for 5-10 days at a time, and then often back down for a week before continuing the on and off cycle. These trade winds may not be favorable at many breaks, but each location with which we work has some “fall back” plan in the event of unfavorable conditions.

During the wet season winds blow from the north, which is offshore for most breaks along the south coast. The shoulder months of March through May and October through early November receive light and variable winds producing many glassy days.

SWELL
The south swell window is generally from March through November while North swells are biggest and most consistent from December through February.

South Pacific does receive southern hemisphere swells year around and it is very rare for Fiji to receive a north ground swell out of season.

To sum it up: If you’re looking for the biggest surf, March through November is the go. Surfers looking for the cleanest conditions and the least crowded time of the year should visit during wet season from December through February.

Many people prefer to travel during shoulder months of March, April, May and September, October, November, hoping to get glassy conditions with early or late south swells.

Activities

Activities

Kite/Wind Surfing

Fiji is as renowned in the world of wind sports as it is in the surf world.

When conditions go bad for surfing, they usually are a green light for windsurfers and kiters, who go for speed runs inside of the reef and out in the channels, or put their wave-riding skills to the test in some of the most challenging conditions in the world.

Fiji is also a perfect place to develop kite skills, as beginners can stay within the reef and the lee of the island to control how much wind exposure they can handle.

Tavarua does have some equipment. Call or e-mail our office to see if we have the right gear for you.

 

SUP

Tavarua is the place to cruise over the crystal clear reefs, to learn to ride waves at Kiddie Land and Swimming Pools, or to try experienced SUP skills in more serious surf at Cloudbreak, Restaurants, Tavarua Rights and Namotu Lefts.

  • Fishing
  • Snorkeling & Diving
  • Tennis
  • Volleyball
  • Skate ramp
  • Massage & Spa
  • Swimming Pool
  • Fitness Bure

 Notes: Serious tennis players may want to bring their own equipment, but rackets and balls are available for your use on the island.

Designed by Tony Hawk himself, the Tavarua mini-ramp has two drop in heights for both novice and experienced skaters. Safety equipment and boards are available for your use.

” You made our trip so much better! We would have been lost without ya’ll! Mmmm… good food. Good people. Good waves. Love this place! It will always be in my heart and soul.”
– JC

Pricing

2024 Rates

Package Details

  • Seven nights air conditioned bure accommodations (Saturday/Saturday).
  • Surf transfers by boat to all breaks
  • Three meals per day
  • Use of island facilities and equipment (SUP, Kayak etc)
  • Wi-Fi
  • Roundtrip Airport Transfers 
  • Not Included: Board bag fees imposed by airline, beverages. 

Notes:

Please contact WaterWays Travel for land & air inclusive package rates. 

All Pricing Subject to Change. Book and pay in full to lock in your rate.

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