should you book?
It depends on the hotel. There are some hotels that have boats that only go out on certain days. I would say yes just to be sure of your spot, we told them the day we arrived we wanted to go so they made it work. We stayed at the Coral View Resort and they had boats going out to the caves on certain days.
price
A lot of the tours we found were around the same price. It cost us 75 FJD. It wasn't expensive, and included the boat ride there and back, and the guide in the caves. I would be happy to pay again to re-visit.
what are the saws-i-lau caves?
They are beautiful caves located in the north Yasawa Islands. It's where they filmed part of the movie Blue Lagoon. The caves are known to be the resting place of Ulutini, the Fijian god with 10 heads.
what do you do at the saw-i-lau caves?
You enter and jump into the water. There is a lagoon inside, you can get in and swim around. The first cave has an opening once you enter, you can see the sky and everything is lit by natural sunlight. If you can/want, you can rock climb up and jump in from half way up the caves into the lagoon. You can also swim through another cave and rise up on the other side into another cave that is pitch black. Your guide, or whoever took you there, will help you go through one cave to the next. There were people in our group who don't feel very comfortable in the water and they were able to go through no problem. The second cave is really cool, you get in and can't see anything. The guides will come through with a flashlight and will show you everything. You're not in the second cave for a long time, it passes fast, I really enjoyed it. However, if you are someone who doesn't like caves above ground or has problems with claustrophobia you may want to sit the second cave out.
what to bring
is it worth it?
Yes! It's absolutely amazing seeing the caves. If you don't want to get into the second cave you don't have too, but the first cave is impressive and worth a visit. Also, right outside the caves you can buy some local jewelry and crafts, there aren't a lot of places to do that so take advantage of them being there.
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Bathing suit
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Camera, especially one that can get wet, like a Go Pro
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There can be a lot of wind on the boat ride there and back, a jacket or windbreaker is recommended
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Towel
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Cash to buy something outside (it's all local stuff, no credit cards)
food
how to get there
The caves are on an island, the only way to arrive is either by boat or seaplane. Almost all of the hotels in the Yasawa Islands have boats that go out to the caves.
The excursion didn't last all day, we went for 2-3 hours. They didn't give us food, and there is nothing to buy there.
