Yasawa Islands

The nearest Yasawa Island is about 40 km (25 miles) and a two-hour South Sea ferry ride from Nadi, and the group embraces its remoteness over the length of its 80 km (50 miles). The 20 islands are generally more rugged, the villages more traditional, and the resorts smaller and more intimate than those of the Mamanucas. Most resorts are toward the northern end of the group on Tavewa, Nanuya Lailai, and Nacula. Set amid this cluster is the famed Blue Lagoon, film location for the 1980 remake of the eponymous movie. Its crystal clear waters, fringing reefs, and sea life, including angelfish, butterfly fish, octopi, and green and hawksbill turtles have earned the northern end the reputation of being one of the most idyllic parts of the group often likened to "paradise." The islands here are generally larger than those in the Mamanucas and more luscious, as their soaring volcanic peaks attract rain. On some of the islands, dense rain forests inhabited by skittish land crabs encroach upon tidal stretches of sand, with sporadic volcanic rock partitions. Dive sites here include canyons and swim-throughs amid a range of hard and soft coral.