Fiji Us Finale

All in all we like Fiji and will surely go back and stay longer – might not be in the next 2 years as we also like to visit other island nations.

These are our tips for future visitors to Fiji:

• Shop around on the Internet for holiday deals or build up your own holidays and book direct    with  the resort and the airlines.
• Shoulder seasons are still wonderful – the manpower is there at the resorts and the islands with service in full swing but with fewer visitors (fewer children outside school holidays). You don’t even have to book any restaurants for dinners. We were there in the first half of June. The weather in Fiji then was fantastic.
• We prefer flying Air New Zealand – seat & bag option is fine. You can bring your own food on board. It’s only 3 hours away. A sandwich and a banana or an apple will be ample for the length of the flight - they will also give you free coffee/tea and water in flight. A bottle of water bought at the airport before departure will also be handy.
• If budget is not too tight, stay at a resort on Denarau and maybe one on the outer islands (Mana Island resort looks like fun). We stayed at The Raddisson Blu – no false to find (cannot complain that the ais-co is too cold and hot water is too hot!) The children pool was more fun than the adults only pool – funny that. We were upgraded to the ocean view room so it’s a bonus for going in shoulder season as they were obviously not full! We also visited other resorts and felt that we made a good choice at the Raddison. The vibe was good and the children’s laughter at the Raddison sounded much happier.
• You can use yellow cab service from Nadi airport to the hotel (our hotel was on Denarau). It will cost around FJD 25-30. This can be only one way as yellow cabs are not allowed to pick up any passenger from Denarau to the airport. You will pay $45 for a nice clean private taxi from the resort to the airport. This can be booked at the concierge.

•  Use Bula buses to visit other resorts and Port Denarau – they are very good and fun. You can buy a 4 day tickets for FJD24.
• Don’t worry about breakfast deals – you can hop resorts for breakfast and meals. Breakfast at the Wyndham is good at reasonable price or at the Sheraton which is not as good as the Wyndham but still OK. 

• Do go to Port Denarau for meals. More selections than at the resorts and more value for money. Have a drink or two at the Hard Rock Cafe and watch their famous YMCA dance around 8 at night.
• Most resorts offer non-motorised water sports equipment for guests to use free of charge (I guess they have already included in the room rates:). Make use of the offers. It’s fun. We enjoyed their Hobie Cats very much.
• Do try island cocktail/mocktail, fresh fruits and Fijian food.
• Have some Immodium and Telfast in your bag – just in case. We did not have to use Immodium at all but I took some Telfast when we knew we were going to have lobsters and prawns!
• Go out and about. Visit the outer islands, the markets and the Garden of Sleeping Giant.     
• Buy t-shirts and soap as souvenirs – from shops at Port Denarau is OK, shops at the resorts are a bit expensive (use them only when you're desperate). You can also buy biscuits and snacks from the mini mart at Port Denarau during your stay if you need to.
• Don’t be grumps. Enjoy your holidays and don’t try to find false with everything. Many things are different from home in Fiji. Stay home if you want everything same old, same old.