Epic Pacific Adventure Tour – New Zealand, Vanuatu, Fiji – Mar 20th to April 4th 2027

Highlights

• Auckland
  • Glow worm cave tour
  • Hobbiton or wine tour (or both)
• Vanuatu
  • Dive the Coolidge – massive WWII shore diving wreck – takes multiple dives
  • Million Dollar Point dive
  • Blue Holes – swimming and swings
  • Bat Cave, Beach Coves, Birding, and Jungle Hike tours
  • Dugong snorkeling tour
• Fiji
  • Dive the famous Bligh Waters
  • Experience Voli Voli beach resort
• Optional add on’s
  • 5 days diving in Tavenui at Paradise Tavenui
  • 2 days night add on for the high adrenaline bull shark dive

If you are reading this you probably know that Matt and Sheila have been planning and escorting group dive trips for over 20 years.  In early 2025 we did a site visit to Vanuatu to make sure the trip would meet our standard of awesomeness.  It did, so here it is!

Why does the trip start in Auckland?

It starts in Auckland because that is a large major international airport that  everyone can get to and it connect to a great Tuesday flight to Santo that takes us direct to our intended Vanuatu dive destination.  Prices are good too, as of this writing a one way economy ticket from LAX to Auckland is less than $400.  Just as important, however, is that on Tuesdays there is a non stop flight from Auckland into Luganville, Vanuatu at a very reasonable 1pm that is about $300.  You can get there other ways, but even if you are just using this site to plan your own trip, this is the best way coming from US mainland or HI.

Auckland is, of course, is a destination in itself.  As a group we are going to plan a couple of days of activities, but feel free to book your Auckland arrival well in advance and take advantage of all things New Zealand, or get there just in time for flight to Vanuatu.

For the group option, we’ll be hitting glow worm caves, wineries, and have an option to visit Hobbiton (go nerds!).

What will we do in Vanuatu?

Santo is only one of the islands in Vanuatu, but it is the most popular for diving, and is where we are headed.  Port Villa is the biggest town, on Efate island, but we are skipping that on the way in with a direct flight to Santo.  The main city there is Luganville, where we will stay.  Luganville is not a big place.  We are in the nicest hotel on the main drag, the Espiritu, with a good restaurant, AC, and wifi.  There’s a pool, bar, pool table and the resort opens onto the main street where you can find other nice restaurants, coffee shop, and a pretty decent grocery store.

Diving (and some local tours) will be done with Pacific Dive.  They pick us up at the hotel about 8:30 after breakfast which is included at the hotel.

Wed 3/24 will be first day of diving.  We’ll do 2 dives on the Coolidge, go find a local lunch place and then explore one of the blue holes in the afternoon.

Thu 3/25 we will do another wreck dive on the Coolidge, then a reef dive on Million Dollar Point.  If you have not heard of this spot, it is incredible the amount of WWII trucks and equipment that were dumped in the water so that the troops could get home faster!  We’ll explore another blue hole after lunch.

Fri 3/26 we will dive from a “Water Taxi”. These are not really dive boats but are just boats for hire that the local use to get around to and from the islands.  Commuter boats basically.  They are similar to Mexican pangas.  There are NO commercial dive boats operating in 2025, so this is the option if you want to go and see some local reefs (I want to see more reefs – but if you are a wreck fan you can always skip these dives and do more on the Coolidge, there is plenty to see there!).  We will go to a local island for a BBQ for lunch prepped by our dive crew and family.  This night we will do a night dive on the wreck.  The highlight of this dive is when you turn your light off inside the wreck and watch the flashlight fish eerily dance around.  Don’t miss this!

Sat 3/27 is a tour day.  The choices are 1) chill in town and do a lot of nothing (maybe some shopping) 2) all day Millennium Cave tour (this is jungle hike and bat cave) or 3) a dugong watching tour + snorkel, and combine that with a visit to Champagne Beach.  I suspect that everyone will want to do either option 2 or 3 so the choice of activities is included in the package.

Sun 3/28 is a travel day.  SON to VLI is the first leg, and this will need to be booked at a local office.  We’ll be handling the logistics of this flight for the group, the next leg will require us to collect bags and check in and then we’ll be on our way from VLI to NAN (Fiji).  In Fiji we’ll be getting a hotel for the night and getting picked up by Voli Voli in the morning.  Some people might head home, but it is a lot more likely that the Hawaii contingent will be arriving to join us for there easy one week holiday at Voli Voli.

What is and is not included in Vanuatu trip?

Not included

• Flight from Auckland AKL to Santo SON.  This is a Tuesday flight by Soloman Airlines from 1pm to 4pm at time of writing. Expect $300 to $400.
• Lunches and Dinners in Santo (though the dive shop does a lot of feeding us)
• Rental Dive Gear (bring a light or two!)
• Gratuities

Included

• All diving on the schedule (7 dives)
• Accommodations & breakfast at hotel
• Hotel WiFi
• Blue hole visits
• Local island BBQ
• Tours on Last Day
• Domestic flight to SON to VLI
• International flight VLI ot Fiji (NAN)
• Hotel in Fiji prior to getting picked up in Nadi

Pricing for Vanuatu leg

The pricing for the Vanuatu leg is included in the 2 week trip that includes a week at Volivoli Resort.  Starts at $4499 per person for the 2 week trip.  If you want Vanuatu pricing only, email us.  This does include the 2 flights to get to Fiji (SON -> VLI ->NAN) and the transit hotel night we will need to before connecting to the next leg of the trip – Fiji at Volivoli Beach resort.

Next stop Voli Voli Beach Resort in Fiji

March 29th to April 4th 2027

Tried and true, this is our favorite spot in the Pacific.  The diving in the Bligh waters is fantastic, the resort staff feel like family, the restaurant is outstanding, rooms are beautiful and the massages are always book up early.  Social hour is easy at the swim up bar or at some one’s pool.

The highest compliment Sheila and I pay to a resort is to send them guests when we are NOT going along, knowing that the quality and experience will leave everyone happy.  This is one of those places.  But we do like it better when we get to go along.  Feel free to contact us if you want us to set up a trip for you.

Getting to Voli Voli

You don’t have to worry about it if you are booking the two week trip.  We are arranging it.  However, for your friends not doing the Vanuatu portion – most flights from the mainland US will leave on Saturday 3/27/27 and arrive Monday early am March 29th (loose a day over date line – get it back on way home).  Note that Fiji Air has been very cost friendly in the last year, and they have a non stop service out of Dallas, LAX, and Honolulu.  All less that $1000 round trip.  Depart on 4th of April late and you get back early on the same day.

New this year at Volivoli Resort – another upgraded room type with private pool

Volivoli is ALWAYS upping their game, and this year the addition will be the Superior Ocean View with pool!  Sheila and I (the trip organizers if you don’t know us yet), have always preferred the Premium Ocean View until now.  Those rooms are little stand alone houses with lanai (patio), couches, king bed, kitchen and private en suite.  I haven’t seen the Superior Ocean View with Pool yet, but I’m told it is what I’m used to except with a private pool.  Love it, and that is where you will find us in 2027!  Note to the bougie out there, there are only 5 of these.  Since we (Matt and Sheila) are taking one, there are only 4 available at time of publication.  They will NOT last long.

Note: you will be given the option to upgrade your Volivoli room at the end of the booking process, in the “add-on” section.  If available the Premium Ocean View is really nice upgrade (own little house), with Superior Ocean View with Pool the highest upgrade option with very limited availability.

 

Inclusions

• Round trip Nadi airport/resort transfers
• Accommodations
• 3 days 3 tank diving, 2 days 2 tank diving
• unlimited shore dives (reserve in advance)
• Complimentary wifi on 2 devices per person
• Full meal plan – 3 meals daily with juice, milk, rain water, coffee, and tea at breakfast.
• Beach BBQ
• Traditional Meke performance
• Hosted group event on last night
• Free use of kayaks and participation in a variety of complimentary resort activities
• Resort and Government taxes
  

  fun around the kava bowl

Exclusions

• Nitrox ($125 for whole week, choose it as add on while booking)
• Vatu Ira Conservation Fee ($15FJ per person, about $7.50 USD)
• Beverages other than tea, coffee, and rain water
• Lobster and Crab (market price)
• Rental Gear
• Dive Trip and/or Travel Insurance (there is a link to buy while booking)

Pricing for Volivoli Beach Resort

If you are looking to book ONLY the Volivoli week you are welcome to do that but you are in the wrong blog post.  Go here for that link.

Options after Voli Voli

1. Head back to Honolulu
   1. The “official” end of the 2 week trip is here, extension options follow
2. Do the high adrenaline bull shark dive in Bequa on the way home (2 nights, one 2 tank shark dive)
   1. Again, you can book this as an “Add-On” during the booking process.
3. Continue to Taveuni and Paradise Taveuni
   1. This can include a bull shark dive on the way home as well
   2. #3 is the option for Matt and Shelia.  We went to Paradise in early 2025, different island, different vibe, diving on the Rainbow Reef!
   3. This trip is a stand alone trip, and you will need to book that separately, at this link.

Paradise Taveuni resort in Taveuni extension

April 4th to April 11th 2027

This trip can be booked as an extension to the Voli Voli trip OR as a stand alone vacation.  The plane from Nadi (NAN) to Taveuni (TVU) is a turboprop, small, about $200 one way and expect to pay additional for dive gear baggage fees.  There are multiple flights per day.

The flight in is definitely part of the experience.  Beautiful.

Matt and Sheila have traveled to the resort, the rooms are really, really nice.  So is the restaurant.  I’m not crazy about the dive boat set up, but there is a great open area at the top of the boat that has much more room to strech out.  The grounds are great, and there a quite a few local tours to do.  Last trip, one of the groups got dropped off down the island after the 2nd dive and did a waterfall hike/tour.  I’m up for trying that.  We did the bird watching tour, which ended up being more of a garden tour, but still good.

The diving is all drift, and the currents can be pretty strong, swirling around various sea mounts and walls.  I liked it.  The shore dive from the resort wasn’t quite as good as the outer reef, but still pretty good and it is always nice to have an easy unlimited bottom time dive.  We also saw pilot whales in the every day we went diving.

Inclusions

• 7 nights accommodation
• 5 days of 2 tank dives plus unlimited shore dives
• full meal plan, 2 course lunch 3 course dinner
• Fiji Night Experience
• Paradise Massage
• RT airport transportation

Exclusions

• rental gear
• drinks besides water, coffee, tea
• gratuities
• small fee for internet access
• airfare to TVU
• optional tours
• Nitrox (about $10USD per tank)

Pricing

Current pricing will be held on the booking platform, but to give you an idea it is $2515 for dbl occupancy in oceanfront vale (these are the very nice two room stand alone houses with lanai.

Getting to Paradise Taveuni

If you are coming from the Voli Voli trip you will just take the included Voli Voli ride back to the airport and then a local flight to Taveuni (TVU).  This flight is about $200 with probably an extra $75 each for people traveling with a personal bag and a dive gear bag.  This is ball park, just to give you and idea.

If you are flying in just for this trip you may be able to book your flight all the way to Taveuni, but more likely you will collect your baggage, clear customs, then make your way over to the domestic terminal where you will recheck (repay for bags) and wait for your flight.  The airport is small, but it has AC, and there is at a minimum two restaurants (though one is a Burger King).  Unlike Guam, the restaurants were open when we went through.

The bull shark dive add on package

So this is a two night hotel stay at The Pearl and one day of diving (bull shark dive x2).  When done a ride to the airport.  You can add this onto your trip after the Voli Voli leg or after the Taveuni leg.

Pricing

• Rate per diver (DBL): USD$450
• Rate per non diver (DBL): USD$275
• Rate per diver (SGL): USD$650

So this is a two night hotel stay at The Pearl and one day of diving (bull shark dive x2).  Transportation to airport included, though depending on your flight you may have a wait at the Gateway Hotel prior to departure.

This add on trip can be after the Voli Voli leg OR after the Taveuni leg.

Here is a video that I took in 2025 of the bull shark dive – it is clearly not 100% safe.  It was awesome.