Beqa Lagoon

About This Anchorage

Beqa Lagoon is one of the world's most celebrated diving destinations — the Shark Reef Marine Reserve within the lagoon is home to the world-famous bull shark feeding dives, conducted without cages, with up to 8 species of shark including bull sharks, tiger sharks, tawny nurse sharks, and silvertip sharks. This is not a dive for the faint-hearted but is widely considered one of the top 10 dives in the world. Beyond the sharks, Beqa Lagoon is known as the 'soft coral capital of the world' — an extraordinary diversity of soft and hard coral in crystal-clear water. The lagoon is enclosed by a major barrier reef and entered via the Frigates Passage in the south or North Beqa Passage — both require careful navigation in good light. The anchorage inside the lagoon provides good shelter from the trades. Beqa Island itself has traditional villages — sevusevu required. The Beqa Lagoon Resort and Lalati Resort are on the island and can arrange diving. This is the definitive destination for serious divers on a passage through Fiji.

Hazards

• !Frigates Passage entrance — requires careful navigation in good light; do not attempt at night or in poor visibility
• !Extensive coral bommies throughout the lagoon — navigation requires constant visual look-out
• !Tidal currents in the reef passages — plan entry and exit with tidal flow
• !Bull shark diving — only with licensed Beqa Adventure Divers; do not attempt independent shark feeding

Skipper's Tips

• →Book the Shark Reef dive with Beqa Adventure Divers before arriving — the lagoon visit is worth it entirely for this experience
• →Enter via North Beqa Passage in the morning with the sun overhead for best reef visibility
• →The soft coral throughout the lagoon is extraordinary — bring an underwater camera
• →Sevusevu at the Beqa Island villages before exploring — the people of Beqa are the traditional shark callers of Fiji
• →Pacific Harbour (10nm N) is the nearest provisioning and dive operator base — stage from there

Nearby Anchorages