Fiji Ultimate 10-night Soft Coral & Shark Liveaboard Trip Oct 2025

Trip Overview

In Fiji, it's all about the corals. The colors are so incredibly vibrant and the anthias so plentiful that its hard to ever look away. Around every corner is the next world-class image. Remember to get in the current. One of the main draws of diving Fiji is the reef scenes - they are quite spectacular!

The gorgeous, lush, color-splashed images of Fiji that you see in dive publications are courtesy of a soft coral called dendronephthya. Few other places in the world offer such an abundance of this coral, nor the wide spectrum of colors ranging from pink and purple to orange, yellow and fiery red. Dendronephthya soft coral needs current; with little current present, the soft corals are muted, but as the current increases, they inflate with water and their color really begins to glow. As the current picks up, planktivores such as beautifully colored scalefin anthias spring up off the reef in polarized schools. Together, this forms a rich pageantry of color. Underwater photographers will want to shoot when some current is present, making a dramatic difference in the color of underwater imagery.

The best places for soft coral in Fiji are the Bligh Waters between Viti Levu and Vanua Levu where there are numerous reefs and pinnacles, the Somosomo Strait between Taveuni and Vanua Levu, and Namena Island, with its marine protected area. The 10-night trip includes a visit to Fiji's Rainbow Reef, one of the area's best-known dive sites which gets its name from the spectacular array of colors because of the abundance of soft corals, leather corals, sea fans and sea anemones - not to mention the fish!

Read about our 2024 trip to Fiji.

Marine Life To Photograph

Fiji is home to an amazing variety of fish life, including colorful angelfish, anemone fish, anthias, frogfish, hawkfish, moray eels, ghost pipefish, and countless other photogenic species.

Blue ribbon eels are also fantastic subjects. The yellow and blue males are full of personality and if you search hard, you can find the female (all yellow) and juvenile (black with a yellow stripe). The black juveniles are notoriously difficult to photograph.

There are sharks in Fiji, though they are generally not found on every dive. Beqa Island is the one exception to this rule, as sharks are seen there daily. The most common species of sharks in Fiji are grey reef, white tip reef, silvertip, and hammerhead. Sharks always make great subjects, but reef sharks are difficult to get close to. For real shark action, do the shark dive in Beqa Lagoon, where youll see up to 8 different species of sharks numbering in the dozens, including very large bull sharks and a massive tiger shark that makes semi-regular appearances.

Other fun subjects include banded sea snakes, several species of turtles, and pelagics like tuna, barracuda, and occasionally manta rays.

There are also plenty of macro opportunities. While diversity is not as great as Southeast Asia's coral triangle, there is still a wide range of species here, including mantis shrimp, decorator crabs, bobtail squid, and many different nudibranchs.

Camera and lens tips: You'll definitely want two strobes to get full light coverage in your frame. Use as much strobe power as possible to illuminate the soft corals and really make them shine. Fortunately, soft corals don't move, so you can get as close as you want. Bracket and really work on your blue backgrounds. Get close to the soft coral with a fisheye lens. Fiji is a great place to get close to the coral and practice your wide-angle technique. Take your time, put your strobes on manual, and get your exposures right.

Read the reviews on diving Fiji here.

(L) Colorful Reef By Paul Gruner. (L) Clown Fish By Dan Bishop

Itinerary Overview

Please see the map below to get an idea on the place you will visit on the trip.

Sample Itinerary

Here is the daily onboard routine:

* This schedule may vary at several locations where tighter coordination of dive times is required due to the site, tide and/or weather. Additional dives are generally available in between scheduled dives.

Recommended Scuba Gear

• 3mm wetsuit. Browse Wetsuits at Bluewater Photo
• SMB. The Mares Dive Marker Buoy is our choice!
• Skins. Check out these sharkskins.
• Snorkel gear. We recommend the Cressi ZS1 & Corsica Snorkeling Package
• Travel BCD. Read our Best Travel BCD Article
• Travel regulator. We suggest Mares Ultra 62X Dive Regulator