Matei: Snorkeling, excursions and getting there

Matei brings together providers offering a range of excursions and activities: snorkeling opportunities and tours, a fishing trip, a village tour and stand-up paddleboard rentals. When planning your stay, it can help to consider the specific activity, its duration, group size and included equipment. This also helps you plan your arrival at Matei Airport and an excursion in the surrounding area.

Snorkeling and excursions in Matei

Taveuni Ocean Sports has a location in Matei with access to good snorkeling opportunities. Makaira Sports Fishing offers snorkeling trips to Rainbow Reef. This gives you a choice between access to snorkeling opportunities and organized trips to a named reef. Facilities and offerings may change; check in advance what is currently available for your visit.

Reef Life offers a four-hour fishing trip for up to four people and a four-hour village tour to Kioa Island. The same duration makes the trips comparable in terms of time; the limit of four people applies to the fishing trip. The offerings also include a snorkeling trip with equipment for at least four people and stand-up paddleboard rentals. Confirm current availability and booking conditions with Reef Life in advance.

Getting there and excursions in the surrounding area

Matei Airport can be reached from Nadi on a domestic flight with Fiji Link or Northern Air. The flight takes about one to one and a half hours. Airlines and flight schedules may change, so check current connections and availability before your trip.

There are small local shops near the airport for basic supplies. As retail offerings may change, it is a good idea to check availability before your trip.

Lavena village can be reached from Matei in about an hour by car along a rough, unpaved road. Travel time and road conditions vary depending on the weather and mode of transport. The 10-kilometer Lavena Coastal Walk, a loop trail, starts in Lavena. Trail conditions and access rules may also change with the weather; check them before your visit.

The Northern Division as a regional context

The wider destination of the Northern Division is home to the Namena Marine Reserve, established in 1997 and Fiji’s largest no-take marine protected area. The reef has exceptionally high biodiversity and is home to more than 1,000 fish species. The Waitabu Marine Reserve on Taveuni is a reef dedicated to snorkeling tourism and environmental education.

On Vanua Levu, KokoMana offers a Tree-to-Bar chocolate tour lasting one and a half to two hours. It shows the production process, from processing the cocoa beans to grinding them. The tour ends at the forest factory with a tasting of the chocolate made there. In the Northern Division, marine protected areas and environmental education are complemented by an experience that shows the chocolate-making process step by step.

Discover more destinations: Qamea, Pagai, Natuvu, Fiji, Vatutandova, Naqarawalu, Vanuavou, Waiyevo

For the wider travel overview: Northern Division.