Fiji Laguna / Lagoon

Blue Lagoon island is 225 acres in size and has numerous caves and tide pools to explore. In the 19th century it was an operating coconut plantation so you will find the island littered with coconut palms and was a safe haven from storms for Polynesian sailors over the centuries. The island is surrounded by a 5,000 acre plus lagoon which almost completely encircles the island offering protection from extreme tides and providing the island with calm tranquil waters ideally suited for water sports. The island is home to rare coconut crabs, giant clams, leather back turtles, doves, and many other birds and marine mammals.

Living coral reefs of blue, green and yellow, called fringing reefs, ring the island and are home to colourful galaxies of fish, from lion to angel to butterfly fish. Squid and octopi live here too, as well as sea cucumbers, rays and crabs. Don snorkel gear and go eye-to-eye with a green or hawksbill turtle. On soft, star-studded nights, the breezes carry the scent of frangipani down to the sea’s edge and the waves turn green-gold with bioluminescence.

Columbia Pictures, in looking for a location to shoot The Blue Lagoon, surveyed a thousand possible sites before deciding to film the movie entirely on Turtle Island. Columbia felt that Turtle closely resembled the beautiful, mythical island described in the 1906 novel on which the movie was based. The movie, starring Brooke Shields, was completed in 1980. The original 1949 version, starring Jean Simmons, was also filmed here.

Snorkelling is fantastic and scuba diving is good, more so for marine life than for the soft corals.

Sailing charters are also available. Blue Lagoon Cruises offer several small ship luxury cruises along the islands for 2-, 3- and 7-days. The further out you go, the more traditional the islands become with the islands of the Yasawa chain being home to lots of small traditional fishing villages with thatch homes.