Level: Free shore access This spot have a free shore access: you can go snorkeling there freely and without having to book a tour or pay an entrance fee. Resort nearby
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Last updated on September 4, 2023
The Blue Lagoon Beach Resort is located on the West coast of Nacula Island, in the Yasawa Archipelago. The snorkeling here is rich in fish and in corals which are still colorful and very well preserved. From the top of the hill behind the resort, a stunning view of the shapes of the reefs will definitely stun you.
The best way to visit this spot is to book a stay at the Blue Lagoon Beach Resort. The hotel’s small boat will come to pick you up from the Yasawa Flyer, which runs catamaran service from Nadi Marina several times per day. The catamaran will first stop along the Mamanuca islands, and then up to the Yasawas until you will reach Nacula.
A second option to reach the island is to get there with your own private boat. In this case, based on your draft, you may be careful as the reef around the islands sometimes stretches out for several hundred meters and the water can be very shallow.
There are several accommodations on the islands, and judging from the aerial photos of the island the snorkeling will be fantastic wherever you are. If you wish to visit this specific spot and you are not staying at the resort, however, you may call the reception of the Blue Lagoon Beach Resort to make sure you will be allowed around.
Several paths link the resort with the nearby villages but beware that these paths are hard to find and it is considered very impolite to show up in any local village if you are not expected before and your arrival is planned. To get here from nearby homestays or resorts on the island the best way is to organize a small boat to take you there, check with your reception or host for this option.
You can enter the water right in front of the resort in the wide sandy area surrounded by reefs. There are no particular dangers in the area on the side of keeping an eye for the potential presence of stingrays. This is however statistically low as this part of the beach is very frequented by families and swimmers and hence human presence is somehow constant.
Watch out for the boat of the resort’s driving center and the small boat of the resort that collects and delivers passengers to the catamaran. They are however used to the presence of snorkelers and they hence will also keep an eye out.
There are two parts of the reef that you can explore:
This area is located on your right as you enter the water and is quite different than the other one. On this side there is not a real reef drop-off, instead, it gradually deepens and terminates suddenly on sandy beds. Occasionally the drop is deeper but generally speaking, the top of the reef can be explored if you approach it from about 20/30 meters from the shore.
There the water will be deep enough for you to snorkel both along the drop as well as on top of it on high tide. On top of the reef, the depth will go between 0 to 5ft/0 to 1.5 mt becoming shallower the closer you get to the coast. Here you will come across rocky areas poor in life as well as other areas very rich in colorful staghorn and branching corals entirely covering the seabed.
Along the drop-off, you will encounter corals anchored on rocky formations rapidly leaving room for a sandy seabed without steep drops as well as more important and sudden drops (9-12ft/3-4mt). If the rock formations and the shapes of the reef are not particularly interesting, colorful corals and countless amount of species of fish are the strong points of this snorkeling area.
Among the species identified at this location are stingrays, butterflyfish, damselfish, surgeonfish, parrotfish, groupers, and snappers. While snorkeling on top of the fields of staghorn corals you will also surely spot several blue starfish which are very frequent in this area.
This area is located on your left as you enter the water and the snorkeling options here are more limited. The very shallow reef makes it hard to snorkel on top of italso at high tide (2ft/0.5 mt) while this becomes practically impossible during low tide when the reef emerges from the water. The presence of sharp rock formation and abundance of corals makes it a risky business.
On this side, however, you will enjoy much more the reef drop that along all of it suddenly jumps from 2ft/0.5meters to 9-12ft/3-4 mt depth with fantastic shapes and formations. Several times reef stretches out forming small underwater bays that are beautiful to explore and extremely rich in fish while all along the drop off the rocks are occupied by well-preserved hard corals.
Along with the species of fish mentioned in snorkeling area 1, in this area the corals are also more various with the presence of staghorn, branching, lettuce leaf, cauliflower, Platygyra brain, and lobe corals. Moreover, in this area sometimes, and depending on the season, sea turtles and reef sharks are spotted especially along and behind the tip of the reef stretching out from the wide sandy area.
This spot is the Blue Lagoon Beach Resort‘s house reef. It has a bar and a restaurant.
These snorkeling spots are accessible to beginners and kids. You will enter the water gradually from a beach, or in a less than 3ft. deep area. The sea is generally calm, shallow, with almost no waves or currents. These spots are usually located in marked and/or monitored swimming areas. It is not necessary to swim long distances to discover the sea life. This level only apply when the spot experiences optimal sea and/or weather conditions. It is not applicable if the sea and/or weather conditions deteriorate, in particular in the presence of rough sea, rain, strong wind, unusual current, large tides, waves and/or swell. You can find more details about the definition of our snorkeling levels on our snorkeling safety page.
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Snorkeling spots are part of a wild environment and their aspect can be significantly altered by weather, seasons, sea conditions, human impact and climate events (storms, hurricanes, seawater-warming episodes…). The consequences can be an alteration of the seabed (coral bleaching, coral destruction, and invasive seagrass), a poor underwater visibility, or a decrease of the sea life present in the area. Snorkeling Report makes every effort to ensure that all the information displayed on this website is accurate and up-to-date, but no guarantee is given that the underwater visibility and seabed aspect will be exactly as described on this page the day you will snorkel the spot. If you recently snorkeled this area and noticed some changes compared to the information contained on this page, please contact us.
The data contained in this website is for general information purposes only, and is not legal advice. It is intended to provide snorkelers with the information that will enable them to engage in safe and enjoyable snorkeling, and it is not meant as a substitute for swim level, physical condition, experience, or local knowledge. Remember that all marine activities, including snorkeling, are potentially dangerous, and that you enter the water at your own risk. You must take an individual weather, sea conditions and hazards assessment before entering the water. If snorkeling conditions are degraded, postpone your snorkeling or select an alternate site. Know and obey local laws and regulations, including regulated areas, protected species, wildlife interaction and dive flag laws.
