Nighttime offers many opportunities to do wonderful things. You can romance that special someone over a bottle of fine wine or take a moonlit stroll along the beach. Or perhaps you’d prefer to spend a night out on the town, dining, and dancing. If these options don’t strike your fancy, you can always head to nature and gaze at the stars—and if you happen to be in Fiji, staying on or near the island of Vanua Levu, you can take a dip into the water once the sun goes down and go night snorkeling.
Fiji beach
The Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort on Vanua Levu, staffed with a full-time marine biologist, is the ideal locale to take a splash at night and discover the nocturnal marvels of the sea. With a rich abundance of coral nearby—famed with divers the world over—the area boasts an incredible diversity of aquatic life, both fauna, and flora, for nature lovers to enjoy.
The Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort on Vanua Levu, staffed with a full-time marine biologist, is the ideal locale to take a splash at night and discover the nocturnal marvels of the sea.
And the good news is that for non-divers, the resort offers PADI-certified courses, which means that after enough training and practice in the water, you’ll eventually be able to call yourself a “real” diver, and impress all of your non-diving friends back home. If taking classes don’t fit your interests or your schedule, snorkeling opportunities still abound.
Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort on Vanua Levu.
The resort, with stunning views over Savusavu Bay, specializes in all kinds of diving and snorkeling outings. Johnny Singh, the aforementioned on-site marine biologist, leads the night snorkeling excursions, which open up a beautiful and vastly different world compared to what’s zooming through the salty water during the day.
Lion fish, parrot fish, pearly cardinals, squirrel fish, soldier fish and nocturnal corral are just some of the diverse species that will likely make an appearance as you glide through the ocean come dark. Guests, both young and old (and every age in between), will have the chance to see and actually touch squid darting through the bay. It’s an immersive experience of sight and sensation.
Suite at Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort on Vanua Levu.
Toward the end of the snorkeling adventure, the dock lights (which allow us to witness all of this nightly wonder) are switched off, enabling guests to take in the green bioluminescence (created by certain types of plankton) glowing on their skin, providing a dreamlike closing to an enchanting night of snorkeling.
So even if you’re only on Fiji to kick back and relax, and aren’t all that interested in exerting much physical effort as far as your activities go, a nighttime snorkeling adventure will delight you. Floating in serene water with the natural world hypnotically swarming about you should add to your overall state of wellbeing, not detract from it while providing you with a spectacular experience to remember for the rest of your life. ■
