The South Pacific island paradise of Fiji is every bit as gorgeous as it looks in pictures. Perhaps even more so, because the people are so friendly.
With dozens, if not hundreds, of islands to explore, it can quickly become a planner’s nightmare (or dream, if you’re into that). During my recent adventure there, I spend most of my 3 weeks on the Yasawa islands, which extend out from Nadi, northwestward like an arm bent around to wave hello.
Fortunately, getting to and around these islands is fairly easy, and there are lots of resorts to choose from.
Pre-book? Sure, I guess
Since I started spending most of each year travelling, I learned that the most freeing thing you can do, one that reduces stress by an order of magnitude, is not planning too much. It’s life changing. It’s also the thing that no matter how much I sing its praises, no one believes. I used to plan every moment of every vacation to the minute, so I get it. It’s a horrible way to travel, but I digress. I doubt I can convince you, so I won’t try.
Instead, I’ll give you what tips I can about these lovely islands and some websites to check before you go (beyond the obvious like Expedia or AirBnb).
The first thing to know is that there are at least one, sometimes two or three, resorts on each island in the chain. Some of these are small, some are medium sized, none are huge. Many are run by locals that live on the same island, or one nearby.
The higher end resorts will be roughly similar to what you’d get on the “mainland” of Viti Levu. There are a number of slightly less expensive, but still remarkable resorts that might have options like dorms, or bathroomless (but air conditioned) huts.
One of my favorites, for example, was Mantaray Island Resort, which had a 32-bed dorm and several “jungle bures” that were essentially private rooms, but all shared a central toilets and showers. There were also, for more money, beachfront cabins that were like hotel rooms.
Barefoot Kuata, which I stayed at all too briefly, had glamping-level tents with ceiling fans right on the beach, plus cabins nearby.
These resorts, and many like them, had hot water, power all the time, bars, excellent food, and so on.
Others, if you’re looking for something a bit more rustic, have none of that. Far north on the island of Nacula, I stayed at Nabua Lodge. There was power in the mornings and early evenings, no hot water, and the bar had cans and bottles. There was no menu, everyone got the same thing. It was nice, but in a different way than the others. There was a nearby bakery that was great though.
AwesomeFiji has a guide to the islands, and it’s what my friends and I used to figure out where to go. They have a simple-to-understand rating system, with 1 coconut identifying places like Nabua, with more basic accommodations, and 2 coconuts identifying places like Barefoot Kuata and Mantaray. There are higher-end resorts as well, of course, like the high-end Yasawa Island Resort, Blue Lagoon Beach Resort, and Turtle Island that I didn’t get to visit.
The most important thing to remember is that there is no infrastructure on these islands. Power is provided by big diesel generators occasionally augmented by solar. Water is desalinated on site by the same. Occasionally, there’s a hiccup and you’ll lose one or both for a period of time. Such is the island life. Made sense to me, but I heard some people complaining when one resort lost hot water for a few hours. Go swim in the ocean, literally and figuratively.
My adventure was in April, a shoulder season leading to what passes for winter 17 degrees below the equator. A few of the resorts we wanted to visit were booked when we tried to book them, a few days out. If you find a resort you definitely want to visit, I do recommend booking a bit in advance so you can get the spot you want. And of course, the smaller the resort, the more you should book it in advance.
I also recommend not booking your whole trip. If you have 2 weeks, book 3 or 4 days in the place you want, and then see how it goes. Maybe you like it and want to stay, maybe you hate it and want to leave. Maybe they have space, maybe they don’t, but either way it’s all an adventure.
But hey, that’s me.
Transport
Getting to and around the islands is pretty easy. Awesome Adventures, for example, offers the “Bula Pass” which gives you unlimited rides over a set number of days. If you’re only going to one or two resorts, this isn’t worth it. If your plan is to island hop, it might be. When we were there, each trip was between $60-90 (US) from Nadi to each resort, plus a fee to transfer between resorts. I think this was $35 but I can’t find it in my notes, so don’t quote me on it. My friends and I did the 10 day, which would have worked out perfectly, had we not gotten evacuated by a cyclone.
Keep in mind that these generally operate in a loop, so depending where you are and where you’re going, it might take a few minutes, or a few hours. The mid-size catamarans are pretty smooth, but not huge, so if the sea is choppy, there will be some bounces and rolls. My friends, both of whom get seasick pretty easily, were hating life on the way out, as it was pretty choppy, but were OK the other trips when the sea was calmer. There are snacks and drinks available for purchase on the boats.
The islands are small, remember, so to get to your actual resort you transfer to a little runabout that goes right up onto the beach.
There’s also a Bula Pass that includes accommodation. I didn’t feel this was a good deal, but it’s worth considering.
If you’re booking into one of the high-end exclusive resorts, there will be no need to travel with the riff-raff. You can get to your resort via seaplane. Yasawa Island Resort, for example, offers the service for $230 (US) per person, each way. But if you’re spending over a $1-2,000 a night, what’s an extra few hundred?
More Information
Fiji.travel has ton of great info about all the islands, plus more info about the transportation choices.
Awesome Adventures, which has the Bula Pass and some info about the resorts their boat visits.
South Sea Cruses is Awesome’s sister company, and mostly goes to the Mamanuca islands, but has some more info to check out.
Lastly, definitely check prices in different places. You might find a better deal on the resorts website. We got discounts on the Bula Pass and at several of the resorts just by booking each from the resort we were at. Always worth asking for a deal!
