Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort

Overlooking the sparkling Savusavu Bay, on Vanua Levi.

The resort’s 25 local-style bungalows, crafted from local wood, are scattered throughout the gardens and along the seafront at the foot of towering palm trees. Inside, the bures put natural materials to stylish use, with bamboo, rattan furnishings, polished wooden floors and splashes of sea-blue and green on plush beds.  The impressive honeymoon villa offers its own swimming pool and spa tub and larger two-bed bures are fantastic for families.

Facing out onto Savusavu Bay Bay, tuck into meals of fresh seafood and Fijian-grown produce with a twist of Asian influence – and as a digestif, a little of the local liquor kava, which is dished out as part of a traditional ceremony. If you’re after an intimate dinner for two, we like the resort’s lantern-lit pier, extending out into the bay and blissfully secluded. The resort also has an extensive spa menu of massages, facials and wraps using locally-harvested coconut oil – choose between the soothing Spa Beach Bure or the privacy of your own.

Unsurprisingly, the focus here is on the South Pacific’s dazzling scuba diving – the Jean-Michel Cousteau Dive Center has three purpose-built dive vessels to take you to the many dive sites within the resort’s reach, or the marine reserve of Namena, just 45 minutes away and widely known as one of the best dive sites in the world. The on-site Marine Biologist is at hand to offer insight and expertise on diving excursions and night snorkels.