I hate the fact that even though we always go travel in order to take a break / feel relaxed etc. I got to spend like 10 x travel days worth of time to prepare the trip.
Fiji is a great sun & beach place. It’s never super hot like Thailand / Malaysia / Philippines at this time because this is now winter (May – Oct), yet the Sun will easily get you tanned in 30min because it’s closer to the South Pole where there’s a hole in ozone. Fiji has 300+ islands meaning lots of resorts to choose from, ranging from private beach for your own, down to dorm rooms even on resorts w/ luxury rooms.
To go:
Getting to Fiji is a 1-hop flight from HK via Air Pacific, a not-so-advance company with rather old fleet, but it’s not budget since you still have 2 meals, with cup noodles(!) which is much needed. For my north American friends, they also have direct flight from LAX. Unless you travel in biz class, the only entertainment is a big protector with some movies couple years back, so prepare lots of books / gadgets before boarding with full battery.
The main island:
Once you land, you are at Nadi, Viti Levu, the biggest island of Fiji. Nadi is a fairly small city with the biggest attraction being the airport itself. There are couple of destinations around which takes few hrs to go, but my main attraction is the islands out there. Plus I heard lots of unfriendly stories about this main island place so we didnt spend much time around besides transfer waiting.
Traveling in/between islands:
There are mainly 2 companies serving the 2 big set of tourist islands: Mamanucas and Yasawas, but I believe they are operated by the same company. The cruise is very expensive compared to any other expense there: a 1-hour cruise to a close island would cost at least F$60, so if you travel as a couple and return on the same day, it costs F$240, which is about USD150, a night of stay at a standard resort there. So rather than doing island hopping, which the cruise company strongly asks you to, try to stay at an island a day or two to maximize the value. Yasawa Flyer has a backpacker package that lets you explore those islands by staying in them as a long X-day journey. Though the package may / may not be more expensive than what you expect, and some islands aren’t in the program.
The Islands:
At the west side of Fiji there are 2 sets of resort islands: Mamanuca and Yasawa. Most of Mamanuca islands are in reach within 2 hours of cruise, while Yasawa’s would take up to 4 hours. Because of such demographic reason Mamanuca has lots of big resorts catering families and couples who don’t want much trouble in transfer. Ask me if you are interested in knowing my experience, or simply search mikkol in TripAdviaor.com.
Expense:
Interestingly even though it seems like a heck lot to go there, once you are in islands, esp. in the remote ones @ Yasawas, they don’t cost as much as thought. Snorkeling costs < USD10, borrowing gears would cost the same, while beer is within USD5 – quite a bargain, considering the distance it takes to transport stuff to there.
Planning:
From HK since the plane departs and arrive on Monday Thursday and Saturday, trip can be usually 6, 8, 10, 12 days etc. Plane departs in the afternoon and arrives in the next Fiji morning, while it leaves in the morning and arrives in the afternoon. That means you “waste” 2 days from transportation already. With taking boat cruise to islands, you have not much time to really explore the true Fiji. That’s why I took 12 days.
Fiji is really awesome place to slack off.
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