Hi Michael, 

Thank you for your e-mail.  We had a great time at Castaway!!   We are trying to figure out when we can go back!!! We enjoyed the Christmas experience  very much.  They certainly know how to embrace the holiday and make is special for everyone.  I don't know if you are aware of this very small detail or not, but, I thought it would be good to share it with you for future.  They charge a "surcharge" for Christmas brunch.  We met someone that was not pleased that they did not know in advance.  For some reason we were not charged??

We loved the property, it has a good Fiji feeling about it.  The bures were lovely and very comfortable, we love the ceilings. The resort as a whole was the perfect size...just enough walking to get good exercise!  We felt very comfortable having our kids in the kids club, they enjoyed themselves very much.  The frog and crab races were great fun (even though we never won)!

We did 12 dives at the resort- were enjoyed the dive masters and Elle and Woz very much.  We are fairly advanced divers (dive masters) and the crew did their best to find sites that would interest us!  I would add for your benefit, the diving is not the reason someone should go there, it is more about the entire experience; people, beach, family etc.  I would say if someone wanted a dive experience and they are considered experienced...they should probably go somewhere else.

Those minor distractions aside, it was a fabulous trip!!!  I am recommending it to many of our friends!! I have been looking into several destinations, perhaps you have some helpful information about the following: Philippines - Fridays Boracay - we cannot figure out if they have a kids club. Any other suggestions for Philippines? Palau - We prefer to stay somewhere other than Koror.  Two people have suggested Carp Island, they do not have a web site, do you know anything about them?  It sound like it is fairly old..we don't mind "rustic" but we prefer to have a similar quality as Castaway.  Do they have a kids club? Fiji - a location with better diving, kids club and about the same price range as Castaway? We are not opposed to Castaway again, in fact, we will go back to Castaway - especially if we don't find anything else that meets are needs while our children are still young.

I'm not sure when we will be going again..I don't think I can talk my husband into being gone for Christmas again...but I expect to take another trip in a year or so.

Thanks for you help!! Cathy

Testimonial about Kristi Fletcher Australia, New Zealand, Asia Specialist: 

Kristi,

 
The trip was amazing.  Every pick up time that you arranged was prompt. Everybody was friendly and professional.  I have already referred two people to travelwizard.com and I will personally use you again when I plan my next big trip.

Thanks for all your help.

Jamie Morley

Testimonial to Patricia Mullen, Hawaii, Mexican Riviera, Fiji and Tahiti Specialist:

 Hi Karen,

Ava and I had the most absolutely wonderful time at the Jean Michel Cousteau Resort in Fiji. Everything from the bures to the people to the food to the activities was top notch! We both got certified scuba diving and had such a amazing time discovering the ocean there. It was truly our best vacation together ever and so so very healing for the two of us. It is such a nurturing environment. I can see now why they call it paradise. I could've stayed another week, easy!! I met people there who stayed 19 days and were still sad to leave it.

I want to thank you for your great help and let you know that for families seeking peace, relaxation, incredibly fun things to do, adventure and all around a vacation of great joy and beauty, this is the one.

I have to say, though, that I barely sat down and relaxed, although it was so relaxing. There was just so much to do that was enthralling and captivating. So much fun!

Their daily programs for the adults and kids, distributed each night on our turned down beds were so great and was so varied. Ava was free to do as she pleased and met a wonderful girl from Norway who she hung out with the whole time we were there. Ava was in heaven there.

So happy! and free!!

Thank you for organizing this trip for us and for being so caring in the process. I also appreciated your personal touch with the information you shared about what to expect and what to bring along.

It was so helpful and I ended up packing really well and accordingly.

I used almost everything... including and especially the wet suit, fins and mask. I could've used maybe one extra dress to put on at night. I never did laundry. I loved the people who staff the resort.

They are the sweetest people and so enjoy what they do. They are the most gracious people and I literally cried when I left.

Thanks Karen! Let me know if there are any specials that come along having to do with vacations scuba diving, such as in Kozumel, or somewhere you might know of that I could discover. If you hear of any scuba clubs worth joining, let me know. Most likely, though, and God willing, we will return to this resort next year, it was just so fabulous for us. I want to go back every year!

Thanks again,

Elizabeth DAvis

P.S. The long flight was just fine and not grueling at all!

We had an absolutely amazing honeymoon!  Thank you so much for helping us along in the planning stages. The trip went completely perfectly. Everything was very smooth and we had no problems whatsoever. We would certainly not hesitate to recommend you to anyone looking for help planning a vacation.

Thanks again and we look forward to doing business with you in the future!.
James Hawken

Hi Karen  

Everything was wonderful!  The only thing is that Im sad to be back home, back to work, etc.  The entire trip was well planned and I did not have to worry about a thing.  Thanks for your help!  I will definitely use Travelwizard for future trips. 
Eunice

Hi Karen,
Sorry for the lengthy delay in responding. I've been swamped at work since our return. Thanks for checking in on us. The trip was fantastic! We loved Namale. We had a couple of days of rain, but there was lots to do in spite of it. The best thing was the people. Everyone was so nice and all of the staff knew us by first name. A very unique experience. The spa was fantastic, the food was great and we always had something to do. Tony Robbins was there and he and Tom Selleck had breakfast at the table right next to us! That was neat.

Tokoriki turned out to be a nice complement. The beach was fantastic. We did some great snorkeling and kayaking there. The only weird thing was that half the guests were from Italy and some had there kids with them. It was fine, but we were curious why so many Italians chose that particular resort. Visiting Castaway Island was cool too. The bures at both resorts exceeded our expectations.

We only had a few mishaps. When we arrived in Nadi and were awaiting our connection, we had a torrential downpour that delayed us for 2 1/2 hours. Maree, the rep from Namale kept us company and was great about showing us where to go and what to do upon our arrival. It worked out ok and we actually flew in on a tiny plane with Mark & Danielle, the managers at Namale. The second thing was a terrible storm on the day of our departure from Tokoriki. We had 6 foot waves the whole boatride back to Nadi, but we were prepared with Bonine so we made it through. . Obviously, no one can control the weather, but we were surprised with it being the dry season and all.

Thanks so much for all of your help and suggestions. We're already thinking about going back in a couple of years for our anniversary! We would definitely recommend you to prospective travelers and would love to call upon you for our future South Pacific travel needs.

Thanks again, Richard