Where To Snorkel With Reef Sharks in Fiji

For my last trip to Fiji, I chose to stay at Barefoot Kuata Island just to get the chance to snorkel with reef sharks and scuba dive with bull sharks. After an amazing morning dive with the bull sharks, I arrived back on the island and had just enough time to get ready for the reef shark snorkelling activity.

I wrote a full review of Barefoot Kuata Island below if you are thinking of visiting.

Barefoot Kuata Island

A serene getaway in the Yasawa Islands surrounded by sharks.

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Reef Shark Tour

The tour starts at 11 am but unfortunately that's also the time that the ferry stops at the island so plan accordingly because you won't have enough time if you need to take the ferry on the same day to go to another resort. You can sign up at the dive shop located on the beach. You can’t miss it, you will see it when arriving on the Island.

After a short boat ride from the resort, we arrived at the snorkelling site. Equipment (masks, fins and lifejackets) were provided by the friendly crew. The water is deep here so you need to be a comfortable in deep water. There were several families with young kids on the tour and it looked like they enjoyed it so it not that difficult but just keep in mind if it’s your first time in deep water (you can see the ocean bottom here). One dressed, we all jumped in the water and spotted the sharks right away. You can observe the sharks from the surface but they tend to keep their distance from humans so they are usually several meters below.

This is an awesome place for freediving as you can descend to around 20m or so in some areas and come face to face with the sharks as you explore the area. Keep in mind that if you went scuba diving earlier in the morning then you shouldn't be mixing freediving right after.

In total, I saw around 5 reef sharks. There were both white tip and black tip reef sharks. In case you are wondering, reef sharks are not dangerous to humans. They hunt mostly fish and keep our oceans healthy. I highly recommend bringing a waterproof camera if you have one, I used my Akaso EK7000 for all the pictures in this blog post that I bought for less than $100.

After everyone had a great time snorkelling, we headed back on the boat. This was also a great time to speak to the crew who live and work on the island and are often from nearby villages. We headed back to the resort and with a big smile on our faces. If you love sharks, I think this is a must do when visiting Fiji!

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Mantaray Island Resort Review - Fiji

Mantaray Island is part of the Yasawa chain of islands off of Fiji’s coast. The island is uninhabited except for the Mantaray Island resort located here. To reach the island, the easiest way is to take the high speed ferry from Port Denarau known as the Yasawa Flyer. You can prebook your tickets online and they conveniently also offer airport pickups to the port.

After boarding the ferry, get comfortable because it will take around 2.5 hours to reach Mantaray Island. During that time, you can move around the cabin and also sit on the deck up front to work on your tan. As you arrive, the resort will send a smaller boat to transfer you and your luggage over to the island.

The Resort

Mango Trees

The sunset views are unmatched here!

The Rooms

We stayed in the Family Reef Bure which was located right on the beach. The room was very comfortable albeit a bit small. The beach bungalows (Reef Bure) felt private and they had their own little slice of beach just in front. During my time here, I barely saw anyone else on the beach and never had to fight anyone for a beach chair. The tropical outdoor bathroom was gorgeous!! It was surrounded by lush plants and beautiful walls. After having stayed at the Barefoot Kuata Island, I was so thankful that the rooms here had AC to beat the heat and humidity. The rooms had a wrap around deck with a comfortable outdoor sofa.

The outdoor shower was gorgeous!

There was a little bucket of water outside the bungalow to wash the sand off your feet before entering

While the Reef Bures all featured private bedrooms and bathrooms, the hotel also had some dorm style accomodations available at a more budget friendly price.

Food and Dining

Since there is no other restaurant on the island, the resort’s restaurant is the only place to dine. You will need to pay for the mandatory meal plan which includes 3 meals per day. Food was generally pretty good both in quantity and quality. The breakfast included eggs, which was a welcome improvement after coming from the Barefoot Kuata Resort. The menu for lunch and dinner were written on the blackboard at the entrance of the restaurant and varied frequently. I'd suggest bringing some trail mix and granola bars to snack on in between meals if you get tend to get hungry after a swim. Alcoholic drinks are not included in the meal plan.

Wifi is technically available but the signal is so weak and cuts out often that it's really only useful for occasionally sending messages. When I visited, the only place the Wifi was available was at the restaurant. In a way this is nice because it adds to that remote feeling and really helped me disconnect and fully enjoy my vacation. Forget about working remotely from here through or uploading or watching videos.

Activities

Mantarays

I visited this island mainly for the chance to snorkel with the Manta Ray but unfortunately I did not see any. The trips are run whenever Mantas are spotted in the channel between the nearby island so you never have any advance notice or schedule for this trip. Just alert the staff that you are interested in the trip and they will notify you if they plan to go.

Village Visit

I signed up to visit a local Fijian Village which I think was well worth the trip. We got to speak to the local Fijians, learn a bit about their way of life and sustainable practices, learn how the resort and community work together. I also visited a school and brought some colouring books and crayons which was much appreciated by the teachers. If you are planning to visit, I highly recommend bringing some presents. I had read that while candy is highly appreciated, it's recommended not to bring any due to the high rates of diabetes.

Snorkelling

Snorkelling from the beach is the best snorkelling I have ever experienced, easily rivalling the Great Barrier Reef given that you can just walk off the beach and the corals were stunning and full of life. I recommend bringing your own mask and snorkel. Although they were available from the dive shop, they were out when Felix wanted some. Since then, we always travel with at least our own masks and it's also better to wear your own mask as you’ll be more comfortable and it’s less likely to leak water and give you trouble in the water. I always bring my own fins as well as they are light enough and work well for both snorkelling and scuba diving.

No snorkelling is allowed in the afternoons

Low tide is during the afternoon and they put out a sign that no snorkelling is allowed because it's too easy to damage the corals. I loved seeing them taking care of their island and heritage. During my recent trip to Mauritius, I saw tourists standing on the corals without anyone giving it a second though.
Unfortunately a lot of the activities take place in the morning and given that snorkelling is forbidden in the afternoon, you'll need to plan your day accordingly to ensure you have lots to do! I also wanted to go scuba diving but it didn’t fit into my schedule. Make sure you check the ferry’s schedule as they only pass by once per day to pick up guests so you often have to fit all your activities in the mornings.

I very much enjoyed my visit to the Mantaray Island resort and Fiji in general and I cannot wait to visit again. I think they have done an amazing job at preserving their reefs.

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Is Air France Premium Economy worth it? (Flight Review | Paris CDG to Montreal | Boeing 777-200)

In this trip report, I'll review my last flight in Premium Economy on Air France from Paris CDG Airport to Montreal, Canada. Having flown Air France multiple times travelling back and forth to Mauritius, they’re still one of my favourite airlines despite the issues I’ve had with them over the years and they are significantly better than Air Canada. I also flew Air France’s Premium Economy earlier this year if you want to check out that review as well.

Some of the links below are Amazon affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I may receive a small commission from sales of certain items. Thank you for supporting the blog.

Priority Check-in and Luggage Drop Off

This benefit may or may not be worth it for you depending on the airport you're flying out of. Some busy North American airports can have very long lines for luggage drop off, specially if you're using the lines of Delta, Air France's partner.
Having upgraded last minute while I was already airside after security, I was not able to use the Skypriority luggage drop-off line at the Check-in counter. While the line was not particularly long, it would've saved me about 15 minutes of waiting.
Next time, I would upgrade before arriving at the airport because there was no one in the Skypriorty line and luggage drop-off would've been a breeze.

Priority Security

Depending on which airport you are flying out of, you'll likely have a dedicated Skypriority or Premium security line that you can use for faster access. This is really going to depend on how busy your departure airport is, sometimes it can save you an hour or more while other times it's not any faster than going through the regular security line.
When flying out of Paris, there are dedicated Skypriority lines everywhere at Paris CDG Airport that are accessible to Premium Economy Passengers. Most times I’ve gone through security in Paris CDG, the security line was usually short. However, I have transited through Paris CDG Airport before where the security line took over an hour to get through.
In those cases and if you hate waiting in line or have a very short layover, access to the Skypriority line is absolutely worth it. It also makes a difference if you are carrying a heavy backpack like I was. It makes the experience a little exhausting. If you can, I always suggest travelling with a rolling carry-on, your back will thank you!

If you are visiting France, you can purchase your esim on the Airalo App so you're connected as soon as you land and can call your Uber, use Google Maps and WhatsApp without searching for WiFi. If you sign up with my referral code C0887, you’ll get $3 USD off your first purchase!

Lounge Access

Unfortunately, Air France Premium Economy passengers do not benefit from complimentary lounge access. Air France probably wants to avoid overcrowding their Premium Lounges but they should offer some deal for lounge access. Your only option here is to pay the normal price. I feel like having lounge access would make paying for premium economy significantly more worth it, specially if you have a layover in Paris where you can shower, have lunch with an open bar and even take a nap at Air France's Lounge.

Boarding

You'll be assigned to Zone 2 boarding, which boards just after business class although they don't usually separate the Zone 1 & 2 boardings. Economy is usually Zones 3,4,5 but since it's a single line, people start lining up from up to an hour before so you may easily have to wait for atleast one to two hundred passengers to board first. Even if you are in Zone 3, the line is so crowded that you are not getting past everyone to board. I always enjoy this priority boarding perk. The stress of not having to line up early or wondering if you'll find enough space in the overhead bin is worth it to me.

I always leave an AirTag in my suitcase so that before boarding, I can track my luggage location using the Find My App to make sure it’s loaded on the plane (AirTags only work with iPhones but you can also use a Samsung SmartTag or a Tile). They are also useful to locate your luggage in case the airline loses them). In this case, the app showed my suitcase was just outside the gate so I was worry-free.

Boarding on this flight was speedy. The priority line was very short (around 10-15 people max) compared to at least 100 for economy and you can usually show up even after boarding has started and they'll let you right on without having to wait.
If you show up later during boarding, the line is usually empty but they keep it open for business and premium passengers so no worries there.

Cabin

My flight was on the Boeing 777. While I tried to search for the layout on Seatguru to help me pick the best seat, I couldn't find this layout on their site (this plane had 4 rows in the Premium Economy Cabin).
I sat in the bulkhead row and right away I noticed there was no personal TV on the wall unlike my last Air France flight. The TV was in armrest instead. The bulkhead row provides a lot more leg room but at the cost of having to watch TV staring down as the arm is too short and the screen does not rise up to eye level. The worst part is you cannot use the TV during takeoff and landing because it has to be stowed away. The cabin is arranged in a 2-4-2 layout.

Amenities

At my seat were a pillow and blanket. The blanket we large and thicker than the one offered in economy. In between the two windows seats were a pair of noise cancelling headphones. I always travel with my own Sony Noise Cancelling Headphones as they do an excellent job at turning the engine rumble and cabin noise into a quiet whisper but the Air France ones they did look sturdy and they tend to work very well from prior experience.

A flight attendant passed by after takeoff to hand out complimentary amenity kits. These included a single use toothbrush, toothpaste and socks.

Basic Wifi for messaging is complimentary for ALL passengers

Once boarding was complete, we took off on time. A glass of Champagne on a tray was served immediately after takeoff along with a refreshing towel. A cabin crew member soon came by to ask if everything was ok and to let her know if I needed any help. I mentioned that their headphones port was splitting the sound unevenly and she quickly took note of it.
She provided some information on which lavatories were available for us and to feel free to walk around through the cabin during the flight. This is as a big improvement over my previous Air France Premium Economy flight where I was pretty much ignored for the first hour. The Premium Economy cabin had 3 lavatories available for the small cabin; a decent ratio as I rarely had to wait for more than 1 person to use the washroom.

Food

Lunch was served soon afterwards. After a subpar experience on Air Mauritius, I was pleasantly surprised by the meal on this flight. I had salmon risotto with bread and camembert cheese followed by a lava cake for dessert. Wine and beer was available with lunch but sadly no gin and tonics. For the digestif, mini Cognac bottles were served. Although the service was more personal and much quicker than economy, this is generally the same meal that is served in both cabins so nothing extra for flying premium here. By the time the pilot announced the lunch service for economy, the premium economy cabin had already been served lunch.

Seat

I thought that these seats were similar to the other Air France Premium Economy seats but I was very wrong about that. While the seat is indeed very spacious, it reclines inside a hard shell. In fact it felt more like the seat slid down and forwards rather than reclined. It's hard to describe, it kind of feels like you're falling forwards and it's hard to sleep in that position. I kept waking up and my head fell forward throughout the flight since I didn't bring my travel pillow with me. It maybe works if you bring one and lean against the window but overall I didn’t manage to sleep comfortable. The seat next to me was empty and I found it more comfortable to rest my feet on them and sleep sideways despite the immovable armrest sticking up under my thighs. This seat needs a serious redesign!!

This Boeing 777 is noticeably louder than the A350 I had just flown on. The plane also felt much older. Since there were so many empty premium economy seats, I have to wonder if my flight was originally on a newer Boeing 777 without Premium Economy that had to be swapped for maintenance and that's why they didn't have enough time to sell all the seats in this cabin.

Snack

About 2 hours before landing in Montreal, we were served a snack consisting of a sandwich and drinking yogurt with choice of tea or coffee. It was nothing to write home about but the sandwich was better than the muffin and slice of cake they often served.

Overall, this premium economy flight was much better experience than my previous Premium Economy Experience on Air France. Although the plane and seat were not as good, the food and service was better. Of course their Business Class is an elevated experience with a lie-flat bed but I don't consider that necessary on a 7 hour flight.

CONCLUSION - WAS IT WORTH IT?

✅ FOR

• Spacious Seats - Enjoy wider seats with ample legroom

• Priority Check-in, Security and Boarding lines make the entire experience so much more calm and hassle free.

❌ AGAINST

• Seats not comfortable for sleeping when “reclined”

• No complimentary lounge access

• Standard economy food offerings may disappoint some travellers.

The big value proposition here is skipping the lines for luggage, security and boarding while having wide, comfortable seats. If those are not important to you, it’s unlikely that you will find it worth your hard earned dollars.

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5 Reasons Why The DJI Osmo Action Camera Is Great For Scuba Diving! (A long term review)

This post is for non professional photographers or for people who love to scuba dive as a hobby and do not want to lug around big and heavy camera equipment with lights onto dive boats. It's for regular scuba divers who just want to capture their dives in an efficient way while travelling light.
When I was searching for a decent compact camera to bring on my dives, there wasn't a lot of information specific for scuba divers. At the time, I was hesitant to buy a DJI camera because I had only heard about GoPros which were much more expensive. However, DJI is popular for making the best drones on the market and my DJI drone works well and has great image quality so I decided to buy the DJI Osmo Action camera and I have loved using it ever since. While there are now newer versions with improvements, the original is still an excellent option with a lower price.

The following is a review based on my personal experience and I am not a professional product reviewer. I paid full price for my DJI camera. Some of the links below are Amazon affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I may receive a small commission from sales of certain items. Thank you for supporting the blog.

So below are my 5 reasons why I think DJI Osmo Action is great for scuba divers! (and snorkellers too)

1. No red light filter required

If you've been on a dive boat, you've probably noticed other divers with a GoPro and a red square on their camera. This is because water absorbs red light as you descend and that is the reason why your underwater footage often looks very green! To offset this, many people add a red light filter in front of the lens to add back the lost colour.
With the DJI Action Camera, there is no need for all that because it has a built in underwater mode. Simply go into your settings on turn on the underwater mode. The icon looks like a little fish and voila! It will properly white balance your underwater footage by correcting for the lack of red underwater (it essentially adds a red/purple tint to your videos, which when used underwater, makes the colours appear normal). The main reason I don't recommend using a red light filter is because it adds an additional layer of glass that reduces the amount of light available. An action camera’s sensor is already small so the last thing you want is to reduce the light when filming in less than ideal situations like underwater and with potentially poor visibility.

2. Long lasting battery

The DJI Osmo Action has a long lasting battery which according to DJI, lasts for for up to 63 minutes when shotting at 4K/60fps. If you are doing 2 dives, which is very common at many popular dive tours around the world, that means a single battery is enough for both dives unless you are planning to film your entire dive from start to finish. I usually have over 50% battery remaining after 2 dives. But I think the most important reason for having a single battery that can last 2 dives is my next point, which is that it leads to

3. Reduced lens fog!

You might be wondering how long battery life leads to less lens fog? If you've been scuba diving in tropical countries, you know that these places tend to have very high humidity. Unfortunately for your camera, this extra humidity in the air can often fog up your lens during a dive as the warm air inside your camera housing condenses when operated in the colder water. The fix I found is to always seal/close your camera housing while you are inside your hotel room with the AC on high so no humidity makes it inside your camera case. (also works inside the car). This has always worked for me and I never need to use any fog strips. However, they key here is not to open your dive casing until you are done using your camera, this means no changing batteries while you are on the boat because as soon as you open the case, the warm humid air makes its way inside, ready to ruin the videos on your next time. So that’s why in my opinion, having a single long lasting battery is key!

4. Quick Record

One of the great features of this camera is that you can start recording even if camera is off. The camera has an auto off function that turns off the screen then puts the camera in standby to save battery. If you press the record button while the camera is off, it will turn on and start recording right away. Thus, you can leave it off during your dive to save battery and immediately start recording when you come across something interesting.

5. It does not freeze!

One of the cons of owning a GoPro is that they can sometimes freeze. I’ve read this online and also asked Divemasters about it. As a scuba diver, this is a big no no for me because once the dive starts, I cannot open the camera to take out the battery and wait for it to restart. With my DJI Osmo Action, I thankfully haven’t had this issue during the years I’ve owned it.

Cons

The one downside I have noticed is that the angle is not as wide as a GoPro. This applies to the original DJI Osmo Action but has been fixed in the newer DJI Osmo Action 3 and DJI Osmo Action 4. The wide angle is important if you shoot yourself in close range in selfie mode (like vlogging) but otherwise it’s not a big issue.

For a more budget friendly option, you can check out the Akaso EK7000 although the image quality, battery life and video stabilization are not as good but it is what I used before I could afford a better camera.

Good to Know

I often shoot in 4K resolution which is high enough that you can take screen captures for still photos from your videos. The camera itself is waterproof to 10m according to DJI although I would never use it without an underwater case (I use this one).

So there you have it, 5 reasons why I think this camera is great for Scuba Divers! If I missed anything or if you are thinking of buying one and have any questions, let me know below!

Sample Images I shot with the DJI Osmo Action

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