Nakia Resort & Dive Fiji

Set on ten acres of garden and forest above the Somosomo Strait, Nakia looks across the water to Vanua Levu and down onto Rainbow Reef. The resort sits on Taveuni's west coast, roughly 8 kilometres from the Matei airstrip and a short bike ride from the twin towns of Somosomo and Naqara. It is a small, family-run place: just five bures, each with a sun deck facing the strait and a tile floor kept cool under a fan. Three standard bures, Sunset, Forest and Garden, suit a couple with a child; the two-bedroom Somosomo Bure sleeps up to eight, with an outdoor rock shower and 180-degree views. You can hear the reef break from the deck at low tide. A 12-metre freshwater pool, the largest on the island, sits among grounds watered by artesian spring and planted with the fruit, herbs and vegetables that turn up on the Cliffhouse Restaurant's menu. Diving and snorkelling run through Taveuni Ocean Sports, based at the resort and operated by the owners' family, using boats between 8 and 12 metres for trips out to the Great White Wall. Mountain bikes and kayaks are free to guests, and staff arrange transfers to and from the airport or ferry dock. It runs on solar and hydro power, with its own borehole water. Check-in is at noon.