Winegar's Around The World
After we were spoiled at the Blue Lagoon we were on our way to Manta Ray resort. Fortunately we had already talked to people at Blue Lagoon who had been to Manta Ray so we knew it wasn’t going to be the same experience here or anywhere else in Fiji. Ashley and I hopped on the Yasawa flyer from Blue Lagoon and got to Manta Ray a couple hours later around 2:00. We were greeted at the main bar/hang out area for the island by the friendly staff.
We were taken to our bungalow which was just behind the main area and only a 2 minute walk to the beach. The bungalows didn’t have any air conditioning but with a fan running it really wasn’t too bad. We settled into the room and then made our way around the resort to check it out. We had 4 nights here as well and we were excited to continue relaxing and hitting the beach each day.
Over the next few days we really enjoyed just relaxing around the resort. The beach was very close to our room and everyone was extremely friendly here as well. We spent a lot of time each day just relaxing in a hammock at the beach or hanging out in some of the big chairs found in the main areas.
The second day we were there we heard that there was a snorkel tour that was relatively cheap. Ashley and I both decided to go on the snorkel tour and check it out. We were both surprised to find that the snorkeling was even better at Manta Ray than it was at Blue Lagoon. In fact, the snorkeling was the highlight of Manta Ray if you ask me! During our time in Manta Ray it was very similar to Blue Lagoon. We would wake up each day and hit the beach and Ashley and I would go snorkel here and there. There were just tons of fish everywhere and lots of variety. I’ve posted all the photos of the snorkeling at the bottom of the post because there were a ton of them!
Each night they had a community dinner area. They had a pretty good size set menu each night for dinner. You’d select what you wanted and then sit at one of the community tables. It was a good way to get some conversations going with other travelers. We met a couple from Australia and had a good chat about the differences between Australia and America. On some nights at dinner they also had some staff members who would sing and play the guitar as well.
After dinner each night they had a few games in the main area. One night they had a game where you had to push a rock the furthest distance. They put a line on the ground and you could place only your hands across the line in one position and then had to get back to standing position without falling. This involved people basically dropping forward into a push ups position, shoving the rock forward with one hand while they held themselves up with the other, and then using both hands to push backwards to a standing position. This game was naturally unfair to taller males. I didn’t win but it was definitely a lot of fun for such a simple game and there was a good crowd around enjoying the fun.
There really wasn’t a lot else going on at Manta Ray but that wasn’t a bad thing. As with Blue Lagoon, you basically spent every day snorkeling or hanging out on the beach relaxing. We remarked a few times while we were here that it was such a great way to relax after being in such a huge cities prior to this.
Between our snorkeling trips and just snorkeling right off the shore, we racked up a lot of go pro footage! Here are some of the best shots.
