Barefoot Kuata Island

Barefoot Kuata was the relaxing holiday we were looking for. The staff were the highlight of our trip, such beautiful people.

After three days here, I'm still amazed at how this “hotel” can have such a good rating on Booking and Google. We booked the hotel because of the good reviews and would definitely not come back. The “hotel” is at best a hostel and definitely not a resort. In the “freshly” furnished room there was a lot of sand under the duvet and over the sheets and the bed cover and the floor were dirty. The room was probably not cleaned after the last guest and only the bed was superficially made again. An absolute no-go. For the hefty room price of USD 140 there was no filtered water and only two towels. They seriously serve brown rainwater to the guests without any comments. You can buy bottled water which we did for the stay. The food is reminiscent of canteen food. The facility is not very well maintained and also quite worn out. One day there was no bread, water and cola. Based on our experiences in other Fiji hotels, the staff are not very friendly and helpful (except Edith + Illy). You have the feeling of living in a terminal accommodation. Every day around 30 Chinese day tourists come to the complex and are there all day, taking photos and eating in the same restaurant. We didn't do the bullshark dive because we couldn't reconcile the fact that the divemasters feed sharks two or three times a day (to attract the sharks) with our conscience.

We stayed here for one night on our way back from Barefoot Manta to Nadi. The island felt very different than Barefoot Manta and it was absolutely beautiful. This island feels much for wild and jungle-y and the surrounding views are unreal.

Since we were only staying one night, we splurged on the beachfront bure and it was 100% worth it. The bed was so comfortable and the outdoor bathroom was really nice. We also paid $40 FJD for the late checkout.

We were lucky and stayed on Saturday night — which happened to be Fijian night. The staff offered a kava ceremony and provided a traditional lovo feast for dinner. Breakfast and lunch were buffet style.

Other things to note:
• The pools were quite small and no one was swimming in them.
• Day trippers come Kuata and it gets more crowded in the afternoon.
• As a marine scientist, I didn’t feel comfortable with the bull shark awakening dive experience since the sharks are being trained and fed to swim down to the divers. We opted for the reef shark snorkel instead and that was really nice. I think it was $100 FJD per person.
• The sunrise hike takes about 30-45 minutes and is slightly strenuous. It’s a little hard to find the trail in the dark, but reception has instructions and a map.

Did the bull shark dive here, saw 6 of them, the experience was epic and a must do of you dive in the Yasawans.
The food and the poolside views were also great. I shot the milky way from the sunset point view which is a short 5 min hike. My only gripe was with the noise at night, we got Bure 15 which was right outside the diveshop so you hear people talking passing by often at night, the main issue though was they had construction work at the resort on until 12am! That was ridiculous.

Starting off with the positive: we really enjoyed the bull shark dive that is offered here. Also, the staff in the restaurant were very friendly and helpful. They have nice laying chairs around the pool.
Coming to the other side of things:
As in previous islands, our group stayed in the dorm part of the resort. Though, this one was the first one with multiple “fresh” bed sheets covered in blood (!) stains and full of gigantic holes… quite disgusting. Also the bunk beds are literally 2 beds stacked on top of each other - not sure when this will crash on the bottom person…
Also, the reception staff as well as the hotel manager have probably never actually heard the word hospitality before. Super unfriendly, unhelpful and just uncaring.
As for the mandatory meal plan, it is probably the same very mediocre (and for that a little pricey) we have seen in other places here. More fish (not just small pieces in fried rice) and seafood would be great.

I have never been so disappointed with service before. If I could give this zero stars I would. We were due to arrive at barefoot on Friday. I was told on the Wednesday afternoon, when I was already in Fiji, that the booking system had a glitch and our booking was effected. We booked 10 months in advance! Not only did we only have 48hours notice, but this was during Australian school holidays, when a majority of accommodation is booked out. My husband had also previously emailed them about activities with our dates in the email, and still nothing was noticed. Instead of 4 nights we were only booked in for 2. And that we could go to an eco resort across the bay (which did not look ok and had mediocre reviews). I had researched extensively to find the perfect place for our wedding anniversary. Their offer of compensation? A snorkelling trip! You would think they would offer the person who booked the accommodation first. When I asked them to send me an offical email to say that the cancellation of accommodation was due to an issue with their system to get a refund for the boat transfer and our travel insurance, nothing! Did they offer to communicate with South Sea Cruises for us to get us a refund? No! And then hours after they finally offered accommodation at their other barefoot resort. It was too late, we had already last minute book somewhere else. Such a stressful experience and ruined our holiday.

This is the most wonderful place with the most wonderful people. How long we spent here… I don’t really know, must have been 4 or 5 nights. During that time it was so chilled and relaxing that I completely lost track of time.

We had a beautiful beach hut/ safari tent, with our own bathroom and shower, toilet. There was a lovely view through the trees to the beach, which at night the sound of the ocean could be heard gently singing you to sleep.

The food was great! I love to eat so I was definitely not disappointed in the meals in taste or quantity.

Lovely live music frequently played at meal times.
The summit walk provides a good bit of exercise and a rewarding view.

If you love snorkeling then there is plenty to see. The reef shark snorkeling. Or just exploring the front of the beach is full of life.

Good mix of people there. Singles, Couples, families, backpacker’s. But over all a relaxing vibe which is nice.

All the staff were great. I can’t remember all the names. And there were some names I didn’t get. But EVERYONE was amazing. Dive shop, Bar, food, reception, grounds, catering, cleaning, baggage etc.
Felt like a big family.
Thank you to Juliet and Juan for their shark and coral talks. And for the technical support in helping me with my GoPro problems.

The dive team were who I personally interacted with most, and the experience was stellar. Thank you Mella for a wonderful village tour, shark snorkeling and general all round hospitality.

Mike for your constant friendliness, humor and professionalism. I wish you all the best in life.

Reef, Chloe, and to our dive boat captain - the big man - Phantom.and the rest of the dive shop team who’s names I don’t have. Vinaka! For a truly unforgettable time. You were all awesome! Made me feel very welcome.

It’s been 10 years since my last dive and I was a little nervous about it. But there was no way in hell I wasn’t doing the Bull Shark Dive. So I booked the introductory shark dive and felt very confident and fully trusted the crew. It was such a great experience that I done it again… and again.
We will definitely be back. And I’ll do it… again.

Best holiday I’ve ever had. Vinaka!

Breakfast is very limited and if something runs out they won’t bring more. After less than one hour breakfast they were out of pancakes, oatmeal and pineapple. After asking 3 times they made a few more pancakes. Watermelon didn’t look like you could eat it. Volleyball is very busy with all the stuff joining. It’s fun but makes it very busy.
Dinner is decent.

+ positive is that the island is nice, the common showers and toilets clean and good. Staff is friendly and the view is very nice.

I stayed at Barefoot Kuata for 4 nights with my husband and 2 young kids. It is truly paradise and we look forward to coming back. We stayed in a beachfront bure and most days we had the beach to ourselves.

All the staff were so lovely and helpful. The chef went out of his way to ensure our kids were looked after for dinner, which was much appreciated.

My husband did the shark dive and highly recommends it!

We stayed here in September and it was amazing - the staff are so friendly and kind and our glamping tent was nicer than other hotels and resorts I've stayed in. The buffet had a great selection of food and did not keep repeating the same thing like some resorts do. The highlight was the reef shark snorkeling and bull shark diving. If you are not up for the bull sharks at least do a reef shark dive as it is great fun and something you'll never forget. The only downside for us was a continual onshore wind which meant we couldn't snorkel much in the reef in front of the island as it was quite exposed - so do your research on weather patterns for the month you are planning to visit. Overall I totally recommend this resort and hope to go back.

We were there for a day tour with snorkelling and lunch. The people are extremely friendly and even grilled some fish for my lunch to cater for gluten free. There were 3 small swimming pools, change room and toilets for day trippers, a bar and covered lunch area. The sea was crystal clear and water temperatures around 32oC perfect.

The staff were amazing and the dorm was nice once you got to the resort. Very friendly and very good hospitality. The dorm rooms were also nice and cleaned daily, as are the bathrooms. However prior to arrival, we had some communication issues with the reservation team where they (accidentally) charged us for one extra night, sorted once we raised the issue.
Further to that we did many dives with the dive team, the dive sites were good but have to say the safety standards are subpar, they don’t do dive gear safety checks and when we did it ourselves, our dive guide just wanted to rush us off the boat and into the water.
The dive guide does not use an SMB and when we did a night dive, 2 out of 3 torches ran out of battery (the only torch that worked was my own personal torch), if all 3 torches were out, there could have been serious injuries and safety issues in the pitch black shallow reef, needless to say we lost our dive guide halfway into the dive.we heard the same issue from other night snorkelers.

We are confident rescue divers but if you have less experience, you might have to be more careful.

Nevertheless, overall a good stay.

The island and surroundings are gorgeous, and so is the beach and snorkeling. Our beach bure was perfect during the day, however at night without airco it was impossible to get a good night’s sleep.

The food was mediocre. Most of the meals were in buffet style, resulting in lukewarm dishes, soggy garlic bread and fried chicken. We’ve had much better food that was freshly prepared for the same price at other Yasawa resorts. The experience was somewhat saved by the great live music and atmosphere.

Being the most expensive of our three stays in the Yasawa’s, it actually had the worst food and the worst accommodation quality.

Went scuba diving with bull sharks, incredible! I didn’t have to be scuba certified, this island is beautiful with hikes and views!

We enjoyed our time at Barefoot Kuata but we weren’t blown away. It’s a more affordable, traveller-friendly island resort in Fiji. We’re a couple and stayed five nights in a Garden Bure, the cheapest private room option.

Pros:
- Beautiful setting and fantastic communal pool and dining area.
- Loved the snorkeling and that you could borrow snorkels and paddle boards free.
- Nice place to meet people as lots of backpackers coming and going.
- Really enjoyed the couple of hikes on the island - they’re short but challenging and the views are amazing.

Cons:
- The Garden Bure was very basic and not well maintained - broken curtains, no bedside lamps, nowhere to put your clothes.
- Food was okay but not amazing, definitely not a great place for veggies.
- Our biggest con is that we felt we were being constantly pestered by the team who worked there about doing the shark dive, despite saying on day one it wasn’t what we were interested in and despite paying the same amount to do an intro dive (we weren’t being stingy, it’s just not what we wanted to do).

I absolutely loved my stay at Barefoot Kuata. From the moment I walked onto the beach the staff were kind and helpful.
I had the opportunity to do a night dive and there were various other diving options. The dive instructors were excellent. You can also snorkel from the beach which is full of different varieties of fish.
The food was plentiful and delicious and the restaurant bar was always clean and tidy.
I stayed in a dorm tent and they had a fan to keep you cool at night. They were close to the toilet and shower block that were regularly cleaned.
Overall, I would definitely recommend that you stay at Barefoot Kuata.

Visited the island as a day trip. The water is the clearest I have ever snorkeled in! The pools are a great option for those not wanting to swim in the ocean, and there were plenty of hammocks and loungers to get some sun and relax. The food was incredibly good, and we weren't limited on portions (made my teenage boy happy). All of the people who served us (and their children) live on the island across the way, and they were so lovely. They performed traditional dances before we had to leave, along with welcome and farewell songs on the beach. We loved it so much, we plan on going again and staying on the island next time. A great getaway!

Friendly staff, great food. I didn't stay at the resort, but was on the island for a snorkel experience.

I went there as a part of a day trip. Would highly recommend to go. Wish I would stay there overnight. Very cozy Island with a lots of activities like snorkeling, shark diving/ snorkeling, diving, paddle boats and beautiful white sand beach

Paradise on earth! The staff was wonderful, the food was great and the snorkeling with Sharks was amazing!