Barefoot Manta Island Resort Reviews

Such a cool place with amazing facilities- they have a marine biology research centre which does great talks every day. Food is good and service is so friendly

Good value for money. The food is great!

Barefoot Manta was amazing! We spent 5 nights and had the best time. The staff were incredible, especially the resident marine biologist Rob who was a mine of information and enthusiasm. There are 3 different beaches to snorkel from and the snorkelling was the best we have ever seen, it is a protected marine reserve and we participated in coral planting which was great. The Manta Ray trips happened on 3 of our 5 days, it is a bit of an uncontrolled bun fight with various resorts sending their boats to see the mantas but the Barefoot Manta crew were educated and respectful. The resort is beautiful and has a lovely vibe, the staff were so friendly and helpful. We stayed in a double Bure on the sunset side, it was a permanent tent and it was all that we could have wished for, right on the beach. The meal plan is really expensive by our standards, I would have preferred an al a carte option as I have food restrictions and I found that eating salad and rice for almost every meal was boring and repetitive. The staff did try though, however $40 Fijian for salad and rice was a bit on the nose. Bring snacks! It would have been good if they could have made the tea/coffee available all day and maybe had something available for afternoon tea as it is 6 hrs between lunch and dinner. We do recommend this place.

Very good place, snorkeling, beach are great, the meal is also very rich, the only drawback is the cold water shower.

We had a great time, nice location, warm and friendly staff To be recommended

Terrible. Staff unfriendly and unhelpful. Food is terrible and not worth the $139 compulsory payment. “Luxury” room was a tent with mould on the walls. Manager said it wasn’t mould and refused to move me. The bar plays loud music all day so it’s not relaxing. Do not book here. I paid in cash and they didn’t have change.

We spent 4 nights at Barefoot and wished we had more time there . The staff were so friendly - the manager Robin ensured he spoke to guests throughout the day and was both warm and personable to everyone , and Matthew at the dive shop was so friendly and informative . And we loved our fancy bure tent right on the beach - natural and private … this place really feels like the Fiji you imagine. The resort was also very clean and my husband and daughter being celiacs, also had their diet catered to with care once we reminded them … after the first day the cooking staff became masters ! We also appreciated how the resort takes such care with protecting and caring the corals and environment - having marine scientists and the leadership of Rob is also very impactful . Hopefully other resorts will take this learning forward !

Just because they try and make swimming with Manta Rays ethical it doesn’t mean it is. We unfortunately had an awful experience snorkelling with a single manta. I don’t believe they should announce the manta rays if there is only 1. We ended up in the water with over 50 people swimming to one manta ray. It was disgusting and very upsetting. In fairness to our guide she said that it was particularly bad and she disagreed with it, but continued with the tour despite this. I understand it’s not like that for every snorkel, but in my opinion if you can’t guarantee it being ethical and fair for the Manta Rays 100% of the time then it shouldn’t be done at all. Barefoot manta resort could lead the way in swimming ethically with Manta Rays and make a genuine difference, instead they choose to ignore the other resorts and say “well we try to be ethical, it’s not our problem that the other resorts aren’t trying”. At no point was general snorkel etiquette spoken about such as keeping fins away from reefs, and we witnessed other people continuously kicking the reef with their fins. Something that we saw much less of on other islands as it’s drilled into you from the minute you hire snorkel gear. If this isn’t something the resort is willing to do then they shouldn’t supply fins as it’s not necessary for an average snorkel. While the resort itself is amazing and most of the staff are wonderful, its treatment of the local wildlife was consistently upsetting, especially in comparison to its sister resort Barefoot Kuata.

My husband and I went to Barefoot Manta Island Resort for three nights and had a great experience! The resort is definitely rustic (no air conditioning, wifi only in the common area), but was very beautiful and well cared for. Our beachfront Bure was cozy but clean and had lots of great outdoor space to lounge (and we were mere steps from the beach). The food was pretty good (buffets for breakfast and lunch, seated dinner). The corals on the island are absolutely amazing, and we spent much of our time snorkeling. The dive shop staff were incredibly helpful and very available to answer any questions at any time. The most amazing part of the Resort is the staff, who are incredibly warm and friendly and greeted us by name every day and made us feel like part of a family. For the staff alone I would recommend Barefoot Manta to anyone.

The island is so beautiful with lots of different activities to do but the highlight of the trip was connecting with the staff that do such an incredible job. Not only providing perfect service but creating an infectious vibe around the island through singing, traditional activities and countless Bullas!

What a beautiful place , friendly people who look after you entirely, we bought our own snorkelling gear but my wife had some issues with hers so used the resorts equipment which was in good order, the reefs just off the beaches were fantastic with plenty of fish life. If you want to see the Manta rays make sure you book for the right time of year, we had the option to see Mantas just about every day, the experience was magical, with the guides doing their best to get you close enough to get a good view. We found the the food to be tasty with as much as you wanted. The Bure we stayed in was well equipped for our needs but we could have done with a change of towels. Meal times were busy as you would expect but otherwise the place wasn't overcrowded. A privilege to be shown part of Fijian culture even if just for a little while. We throughly recommend if you want a active relaxing holiday.

Barefoot Manta resort was our first stop on our maiden trip to Fiji. The experience from the time we stepped off the ferry to the Barefoot boat, the emerald blue waters, welcome song at the beach, checkin process was just amazing. The rustic Queen Bure was very cute, comfortable, right by the sea, private entrance to the beach, the outdoor patio, the hammock and the open plan of the burre were just breathtaking. Not to forget the outdoor bathroom. We got the first experience of Fijian Hospitality at Barefoot Manta, the warm and welcoming nature of Fijians were just unbelievable, I have travelled all over the world but never experienced the hospitality of people like we did in Fiji. Their embracing singing culture and humility is very touching and cannot be faked , it comes from deep within. The resort is a great place for snorkeling , novice and advanced, we unfortunately didnt get to see the mantas, guess they have their own schedule, the activities staff were also very helpful and eased us into intro diving lessons also. Overall we felt so relaxed and happy at Barefoot, it is on the top of our revisit again places and would highly recommend it for anyone wanting to experience this unique experience.

Our stay at Barefoot Manta was extremely disappointing. On our first day we arrived for lunch and the only options were four types of cold pasta with no other accompaniments. This theme continued at meal times throughout our stay. With very limited options, small portions, and rigid dining times. We often experienced long queues or stampedes for food with the other 140 guests. At breakfast, there often weren't any glasses or cups available for tea/coffee or juice. Other items would often run out and not be replaced without prompting from guests, which at times felt like it annoyed staff. The staff at reception and the dive centre were extremely unhelpful, unfriendly, and looked unhappy for the most part. As an example, having cut my ankle I requested a plaster from reception, which they said they would give to me. Having sat and waited for 20 mins, this never arrived. Similarly, the main attraction with the island is the Mantas. Firstly, these are not as common or accessible as advertised. When mantas are present, a drum sounds, and around 80 guests rush to boats to begin snorkelling. There is definitely not beach access to the mantas, and you are informed of this multiple times on arrival. Dive centre staff seemed concerned for the welfare of the mantas, but could do little to control the situation. Similarly, the experience in the water with the mantas amounted to chaos. 80 guests almost fighting for position over such graceful creatures. Whilst we were glad we saw the mantas, this was far from other experiences we have had with marine life, and left us feeling somewhat sad and disappointed, which we felt was mirrored by our guide on the day. One positive that is worth mentioning, the quality of the reef and sea life at sunrise beach was amongst the best we saw on the Yasawas. This is highlighted by literally walking 10m from our bure to the water. What was disappointing was the quality of the snorkels from the dive shop, with many broken and half-repaired. For the size of the resort and the price paid we expected better, and we had better on other islands in the Yasawas. There are other examples which we could bring up from our stay, but these were the main experiences we thought were worth sharing. It was disappointing, and we would not recommend staying at Barefoot Manta. Friends of ours stayed at other neighbouring resorts, and had far more positive experiences of the Mantas and of their resorts which makes us feel that Barefoot Manta isn't the best choice to stay at.

This amazing place was exactly what we had hoped for. Staff are genuinely friendly and welcoming, tasty food, comfortable bedroom with own bathroom (bure), excellent beaches, kayak, paddle board and snorkelling opportunities, plus (on our last day) the excitement of seeing a manta ray and sharks swimming around us.