Kokomo Island Fiji

Kokomo Private Island's 5-star PADI Dive Centre sits on the north-east of Fiji's Kadavu group, with the Great Astrolabe Reef — over 100km (62 miles) of it — as its front garden. What sets the operation apart is access: Kokomo reaches dive sites that other resorts simply don't visit, so encounters with manta rays, reef sharks and turtles happen without a crowd on the mooring line.

Courses for every level

PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer Instructors handle everything from a first breath underwater on a Discover Scuba Dive, through the Open Water Diver Course, to advanced training for divers who already have the basics down. Children aged 8–9 get the Bubblemaker Program, which introduces scuba by teaching them to blow bubbles and take those first breaths. An onsite training pool and classroom back it all up.

Fiji is called the Soft Coral Capital of the World, but the Great Astrolabe Reef is known for hard coral, with soft corals along the steeper walls and passageways. Sixty locally managed marine reserves hold more than 1,000 species of fish, 200 species of coral and a thriving reef manta population; green turtles and whitetip reef sharks turn up across the sites.

Boats leave daily at 9:00am for a 2 Tank Dive and 3:00pm for a 1 Tank Dive, with each dive tailored to your experience level. Meet your instructor on West Beach for a night dive on the house reef and watch nocturnal life emerge under torchlight.