Mantaray Island Resort

This is one of the best resorts on the Yasawas for solo travelers; the dorm accommodation is large, clean and allows you to meet new people. There are also lots of activities and the food provided is great.

The resort was in a lovely location but is a little tired, understandable after covid. Even after a few emails requesting a double bed close to the beach they did not have one arraigned for us, they had put us in a Bure up the hill. I have tendinitis in my knees so that was never going to work. In the end they put my husband and I in a Bure with twin beds closer to the beach - not at all romantic! The meal plan was really expensive but the food was plentiful, unfortunately the restaurant was up the hill so it was a painful effort on my behalf for each meal. Unlike other resorts that we stayed in this resort required a daily fuel surcharge and we also had to pay a hire fee for fins. They did not put on Manta ray trips on either of the 2 days that we stayed there although there were Manta rays in the channel both of those days. Unimpressed. Luckily we had also booked nights at Barefoot Manta Ray Resort so ended up swimming with the mantas which was our sole reason for going. To be fair other people staying at MRIR said that they had been taken on Manta trips earlier in the week so I have no idea why they told us that there were no mantas on the 2 days that we were there - Barefoot Manta Resort said that on one of the days there had in fact been 7. This resort is much more of a backpacker resort although the high cost of the meal plan would give most backpackers a second thought.

Enough words cannot be put into this review to explain how incredible mantaray resort is. Came travelling with my friend, and whilst it was mostly a couple-y resort, the staff just made us feel like we were right at home and were friends from the very beginning. Not only is the location absolutely sublime, but all the facilities and activities are well organised, easy to get involved with, and offers a huge range of fijian traditions that we were able to immerse ourselves into. We stayed in the dorm room, which was well air conditioned, very quiet, comfy beds, and despite it being a 32 bed dorm had a lot of privacy. The food was absolutely incredible (the pork belly being my favourite), and you can tell that head chef Luke (shout out to him) is super passionate about the food and variety offered, each dish with absolutely no fault. The portions were also very plentiful! the staff up at the restaurant were also incredible, always smiling, and putting in a lot of effort to remember our names, making us feel so so welcome everyday! The beach bar during the day and evening had a great vibe, with music playing to the ambience, and especially to Eliki who was the friendliest bartender I’ve ever met and he felt like a great friend with the way he chatted with us a lot and made us laugh while also providing incredible service ! Also special shout outs to Oni for the evening entertainments (not only because I won at bingo) but for making all the games super fun and everyone included. Jay is also an asset to the team, again entertaining us day and night with his guitar playing, knowledge and of course that infectious laugh of his. One of our favourite parts of the trip was when the staff invited us to play volleyball with them in the evening, it truly felt like we were part of their little family even if we were absolutely awful at volleyball😭😂 I wish I could write the names of all the staff as they are all an absolute asset to the team, however my memory is as good as my volleyball skills and I cannot remember each and everyone’s name but they all get exquisite praise from us! I wish we could’ve stayed at mantaray resort for longer, but it does mean that we will definitely be back In the future Love to you all🫶🫶🫶🫶

Great place for doing scuba dive courses, caters for backpackers through to families with kids. Amazing reef just at the front of the resort if not diving and just snorkelling. Relaxing and cheaper prices than some of the other local resorts.

The food was lovely, lunch is the best with multiple options. The wood fire pizzas are a great additive if you get hungry in the afternoon and lots of snack options at the bar. The dorms leave a little to be desired as it’s a 32 bed dorm, but the resort is a nice mix of families, backpackers and honeymooners. Lots of options for activities. The kayaks and SUP’s are in great condition. Bathrooms were always clean. If you are staying in the dorms they allow you to lock your valuables in the safe which is a very nice option. The snorkeling in front of the resort is excellent, sometimes the manta rays are right there including some reef sharks! Dive equipment was in good shape.

We had 6 days there in August, we chose this resort because of the chance to snorkel with mantarays (which we did). However, the resort is in a rather dilapidated state, we stayed in one of the more upmarket accommodations, a reef burre, and it was in a deteriorating condition, with loose pebbles on the shower base and rotting timbers around the shower and front steps and balcony. Concrete pathways around the resort were also broken in places. These were long-term problems and there is clearly little or no maintenance around the resort. The food was good, room and restaurant staff friendly but the activities staff were very aloof and generally unhelpful. The house reef had good snorkeling. The resort caters mainly for the 'backpacker' end of the market, and with a turnover of 20-30 guests per day it is a pretty busy place. So if you want a quieter stay at a better quality, more friendly resort, I'd suggest looking at other options in the area.