Are we the only ones that think of the movie Castaway when we think of Fiji? Standing on an uninhabited island, opening coconuts and looking for Wilson? You'll be happy to know that you can have the experience of feeling like you're on a deserted island but with the luxury of staying in a bungalow. You can leave Fiji knowing how to open your own coconuts and how to do handline fishing in case you do ever find yourself on a deserted island.
Fiji has 333 islands of which 110 are permanently inhabited. If you're looking for white sand beaches, some of the best snorkelling in the world and want to learn about the local culture this may be the perfect destination for you!
333 islands?! Where do you even start? When flying into Fiji, you will land in Nadi (pronounced: Nan-di) which is in the west of the island Viti Levu. The two largest islands are Viti Levu and Vanua Levu which comprise 87% of the total landmass of Fiji. 75% of the total population live in Viti Levu and 18% on Vanua Levu.
Lucky for us, Oleg had already been to Fiji and knew exactly where to go as a first timer. From Nadi, the most accessible island groups are the Mamanuca Islands (this is where Castaway Island is for the die hard Tom Hanks fans) and Yasawa Islands. There are a couple of companies that offer trips from Denerau port to these islands. The options will seem endless and to be honest there are no wrong decisions. Anywhere you choose you will have a beautiful beach to relax on. We will share with you our top tips we wish we'd known before going to Fiji!
Good to know:
3 official languages: Fijian, English & Hindi
Currency: Fijian Dollar
They take foreign credit cards pretty much everywhere but we recommend carrying some cash on you. Foreign credit cards are charged anywhere from 1-3%.
Fijian Phrases:
Bula (pronounced: boo-lah) means hello
Vinaka (can also be shortened to naka) means thank you
Bula Vinaka is used as a warm greeting and means you wish a person good health and life.
Moce (pronounced: mo-they) means goodbye
How to get to Mamanuca and Yasawa Islands:
Ferry
This is the most economical option and will take you anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour to get to the Mamanuca islands and anywhere from 2 to 5 hours to get to the Yasawa Islands. Make sure you check the ferry schedule to see which one best suits you.
By air (helicopter, seaplane, airplane)
If you can splurge and want to arrive to the islands in style, you can opt going by air. A helicopter will get to the Mamanuca Islands in less than 10 minutes and to the Yasawa Islands in less than 30 minutes. We saw quotes around 290 USD for a one way transfer and 550 USD for a return flight.
Which one should I choose, Mamanuca Islands or Yasawa Islands?
We went to the Yasawa Islands and that's where the rest of this blog post will be focused on. It was difficult to find information online about which islands to choose so our biggest tip here is to look specifically at what type of activities you want to do there. Fiji is known as the soft coral capital of the world so it's meant to be the place for diving. We don't have our PADI so we didn't do any diving and that's why you won't find our review on it in this blog post.
Our experience has been that once you're on a certain island, they only offer activities around that island. So typically, no island hopping tours or day trips to other islands. If you want to go diving, we recommend looking up dive sites you want to see and then the resorts that offer that excursion. For surfing, it's best to look up which islands are good for surfing. The Yasawa Islands are best known for their house reefs, there aren't really good surfing options there.
11 important things to know before going to the Yasawa Islands:
The islands are sparsely inhabited and to stay on the island you will need to book at a resort. Most islands will only have one or two resorts on them.
If you go by ferry and want to go island hopping, we can recommend booking a multi day pass from Fiji Awesome Adventures. If you only want to do day trips and base yourself from one place that's also an option.
The website of Fiji Awesome Adventures can be overwhelming because there are so many choices. We recommend either the Bula Pass which is only a pass for transfers between the islands or the Awesome Pass which also includes your accommodation (and meals for an extra fee). If you book the Bula Pass, you can book accommodation through booking.com or other websites.
We don't recommend all inclusive passes with activities as it's best to book the activities straight at your resort. The prices are often better and it also allows you to check whether your favourite activity is on (sometimes they cancel due to weather or national holidays).
If you send Fiji Awesome Adventures an inquiry and it takes a while (2 weeks) to get back to you, don't freak out. Island time is a big thing there, just politely remind them you're waiting for their response.
It doesn't make a difference whether you book your meals in advance or pay at the property, it's pretty much the same price.
It matters where you stay! There will be no supermarkets available and you will eat 3 meals a day on the resort.
Resorts will only offer excursions focused only in their area:
- Barefoot Kuata is the only resort that offers snorkelling with reef sharks and diving with bull sharks.
- Barefoot Manta is the only resort that offers snorkelling with manta rays (May - October)
Resorts will offer similar activities as per a daily changing program:
- Kava ceremony (non-alcoholic welcome drink ceremony)
- Yoga
- Coconut opening demo
- Village visit (typically a paid activity)
- Traditional Fijian Lovo dinner (a buffet style dinner with local food)
- Voivoi weaving (weaving with leaves)
- Free kayak, SUP rental, snorkelling gear
If you go to the Yasawa Islands by ferry, make sure you understand the ferry schedule. Once a day the ferry goes from Denerau port all the way to Nacula Island and back from Nacula to Denerau. This means that if you're island hopping in a northern direction, you will always depart in the morning. If you're island hopping in a southern direction, you will always depart in the afternoon. This matters because it will affect the activities you'll do on the day. If you leave in the afternoon, you will typically go straight to lunch or dinner so you do your activities the next day. If you need to leave in the morning, it's typically not enough time to do any organised activities but you can always check with your resort.
If you absolutely want to do a certain activity, there is no way to book in advance and there are group maximums. You have to book it at the resort in person. Our advice is, as soon as you're checked in to go straight to the booking desk (often the dive centre or reception).
The ferry will always be full because it operates day trips, drop offs as well as pick ups to and from resorts. There are no booked seats so you just need to be lucky that you can sit inside with A/C.
We know it's a lot of information but this is what we would've liked to know before going to Fiji!
5 days of island hopping in the Yasawa Islands
We booked the 5 days (4 nights) awesome pass from Fiji Awesome Adventures. Two nights at Blue Lagoon resort, one night at Octopus resort and one night at Barefoot Kuata island resort. Rather than a daily breakdown, we will give you a review of the resorts as there are 20 resorts to choose from. If you don't like the sounds (and looks) of the resorts we stayed at you can opt to stay at different ones. Or leave a comment below if you stayed at one you want to give a shoutout, sharing is caring!
In hindsight, we are happy we started with the island that was furthest away from Denerau Port. It meant that we always went in a southern direction and departed in the afternoon. Check out times are early, due to the people who arrive in the morning from the other resorts but you have to leave your luggage at reception anyway because the staff always loads your luggage onto the ferry. What it meant was that we always had time to do activities in the morning which are typically the diving and snorkelling trips.
Keep in mind that if you're looking for a more quiet and relaxing resort, the further away you go the more serenity you will find. The day trippers tend to go to the Mamanuca Islands and Barefoot Kuata because they're closest to the port. This makes the resort busy between 11:00 - 16:00 as lunch is usually included and then they need to wait for that one ferry going back to the port. This also means for day trippers who booked a 30 minute snorkelling tour, have a long day at the island with only a lunch. This is of course fine if you're prepared for it (bring a book and towel, they have shared shower facilities which you can use) but a bit of a drag if you're not expecting it. We saw a lot of reviews complaining about this.
Blue Lagoon Resort
This resort is on Nacula Island and takes 4.5 hours to get to from Denerau Port. This island has two resorts, Oarsman's Bay Lodge and Blue Lagoon Resort.
Blue Lagoon resort is on the Nalova Bay, facing southwest and which means every day you get to see a beautiful sunset. The bay is suitable for swimming and snorkelling on all tides. The beach is stunning and the house reef is amazing for snorkelling. The resort is truly named after its surroundings.
The highlight was the hike, much like French Polynesia you don't think of Fiji and hiking. Nacula Island has beautiful fluffy green mountains and gives a stunning view on the bays. If you are feeling adventurous and start early enough you can hike all the view to a point where you get a view on the local village.
One thing we didn't like which was the same for the Octopus Resort (it's a sister resort of the Blue Lagoon resort) was that they didn't allow you to kayak or SUP out of site. You had to stay visible in the bay which felt quite restricted. We understand it's for our own safety but it didn't give a lot of freedom to explore the area.
Top activities:
Snorkelling
Kayaking and SUP
Hiking
Relaxing on the beach
Best suited for:
Solo travellers, couples, group travellers, families (child-friendly, they have offer a daycare and activities for children).
Accommodation & shared facilities
Score: 3/5
The double room was quite small and fan only (like all accommodation in the standard pass package).
This was the only resort we went to that had hair dryers in the shared bathroom facility area.
The showers didn't have hot water but did have good water pressure
The restaurant and lounge area were large. There was enough space for everyone to lounge at the pool, beach or restaurant.
Wifi connection was only available in the restaurant/lounge area and was poor
Food
Score: 5/5
The best food we've had in Fiji was at this resort. Breakfast, lunch and dinner were a la carte and dinner was a 3 course meal. They really make an effort on food presentation at this resort.
Octopus Resort
This resort is located on Waya Island and had a beautiful beach front. It was the place with one of our favourite house reefs. When we were there it seemed like there were a lot of trainees at this resort. Being the sister resort of Blue Lagoon Resort, they probably get trained at Octopus Resort and then move onto the Blue Lagoon Resort.
As they didn't offer very different activities to Blue Lagoon Resort we decided to spend the day relaxing by the beach and snorkelling.
Top activities:
Snorkelling
Kayaking and SUP
Relaxing on the beach
Accommodation & shared facilities
Score: 3/5
The double room was similar to Blue Lagoon Resort except a lot newer.
The shower had hot water but lacked shower pressure
No hair dryers
The lounge area was a lot smaller than Blue Lagoon Resort. There weren't really any suitable places to sit with your laptop.
Enough space to relax on the beach and by the pool.
The pool is also used for diving practice so it's very deep and maybe not the best for young children.
The restaurant area had a few seats which could be reserved for dinner or breakfast and lunch is first come, first served. The other large tables are for everyone to join, which is meant to create a more social setting.
Wifi connection was only available in the restaurant area and was poor
Best suited for:
Solo travellers, couples, group travellers, families (child-friendly, they have offer a daycare and activities for children).
Food
Score: 4/5
Breakfast, lunch and dinner were a la carte and dinner was a 3 course meal. We ordered some of the same breakfast menu items as at the Blue Lagoon Resort and it wasn't quite up to the same standard. The food was still stellar, just not as good as their sister resort.
Barefoot Kuata Island Resort
This resort together with Blue Lagoon Resort were our favourites! This comes with a small back story though. When Fiji Awesome Adventures confirmed our itinerary, we had an en-suite room at this resort. When we received our printed passes, it got changed to shared facilities. For those who know Qiao-An, she of course wasn't going to let that one go.
After some deliberation, the resort manager decided to give us the en-suite room as it was definitely not our mistake. This meant for the first time on our Fiji island adventure, we've had private bathroom facilities. It was small and semi-outdoors (no roof) but functional.
Barefoot Kuata is situated on Kuata island and one of the larger resorts we stayed at. It's huge because it also receives day trippers. This means the lounge area was big but mostly outdoors. They have two beaches, the Front beach is much nicer than Matanivanua beach. The second one is a bit too rocky to properly relax on. What we loved about this island was that it had different scenery to the other islands. It was more rocky and that made for some awesome photos. We went up one of the rocky cliffs for a secluded sunset view. It also is the island that is the gateway to the Yasawa's so when you pass it by ferry in the morning, you're welcomed by a man in traditional clothing, standing on a tall rock.
Something we noticed about this resort is that they're more relaxed about everything. They don't seem to mind where you go and it gave us a lot more freedom to explore the place. The only downside about Barefoot Kuata is that the house reef on the front beach, was not in as great condition as the Blue Lagoon and Octopus resort. It was still beautiful but there was a lot of boat traffic and when it goes towards low tide it's almost impossible to snorkel.
Top activities:
Snorkelling with reef sharks
Diving with bull sharks
Hiking
Relaxing on the beach
Sunset views on the rocks
Cave tour
Snorkelling with reef sharks
Barefoot Kuata is the only resort that offered reef shark snorkelling. We think this is a good thing as it limits the amount of people that visit the location at the same time. When it comes to interaction with wildlife, we think less is more (so you don't disturb them too much). You're snorkelling 30-40 minutes max and there is an experienced diver keeping an eye out on the group the whole time. They have two time slots, 9:00 (only for resort guests) and 11:00 which also includes the day trippers. Sign up for the 9:00 one if you can. You get to see white tip and black tip reef sharks and they are fascinating creatures. Although we found most of them were shy, some can be curious and swim close up to you to check you out. We hope these pictures inspire you to learn more about sharks as they're often misunderstood and stigmatised. There was a healthy amount of nerves at the start but we felt safe in the water and found the experience exhilarating!
Accommodation & shared facilities
Score: 5/5
The largest and most comfortable room we stayed in and we really enjoyed it. It felt like luxury.
The room was fan only, so quite warm inside
The dorms and double room with shared facilities did not look great. If we would've stayed in there we would've probably scored it a 2/5. They were basically big tents which are not great for temperature control on a tropical island.
Wifi connection was only available in the restaurant/lounge area and was better than at Blue Lagoon and Octopus resort but still unstable.
Best suited for:
Solo travellers, couples, group travellers, families to a lesser extent (due to lots of daytrippers coming in).
Food
Score: 3/5
Breakfast, lunch and dinner were buffet. The dinner is usually a la carte (less options than at Blue Lagoon and Octopus) but we came on the traditional Fijian Lovo night which is buffet style. The meal package here is cheaper but the food was also not as good as the other resorts.
Nadi
As mentioned at the start, when you fly into Fiji you will most likely start your adventure from Nadi. We booked a hotel one day before our 5 day trip to the Yasawa Islands and one day after. It would be great if you could go straight from and to your flight but the reality is that you want to have a bit of a buffer. Our transfers went smooth every day, with only minor delay (30 minutes max). Just remember that it's one ferry every day travelling up and back down the Yasawa Islands. If there is bad weather or delay at the resorts for some reason it will affect the timing of the ferry.
Where to stay:
Fiji Gateway Hotel - This hotel was conveniently located 5 minutes away from the airport, it's literally on the opposite side of it. They offer a free transfer but you could easily walk it if you're packed lightly. What we liked is that the rooms we stayed in were newly refurbished, had complimentary water and good A/C. There was live music every day in the restaurant/lounge area. They have a large swimming pool and a smaller one near to the restaurant. The gym could be a lot better, it's small and there were only 3 machines in there. The downsides are:
Close to the airport means not close to the centre or beach, there is a supermarket and two restaurants walking distance away but not a huge amount of options.
Free wifi only works in the restaurant/lounge area. It's paid in the rooms.
For the purposes of our stay, this place checked all the boxes.
Conclusion: was it worth it?
This may be the first destination where we're torn. As it's basically the only way to do the Yasawa Islands, yes. Would we book our accommodation through Fiji Awesome Adventures again? No. The 'awesome standard pass' includes accommodation in addition to the island transfers. If you choose a double/twin room, it's almost always shared bathroom facilities (except for two resorts). This is priced at 1169 FJD (485 EUR) per person. Yes, you read that right. This makes it just under 100 EUR a day for accommodation and ferry transfer per day per person. A dorm is priced at 761 FJD (315 EUR), which makes it 63 EUR a day. This is excluding food, and the meal package is mandatory. For 3 meals a day, we paid about 70 EUR per person/day and there is no difference if you're staying in a dorm, double or en suite facility. You all eat the same food!
So for the articles we've seen online where it says Fiji (and the Yasawa Islands) can be done on a backpacker budget...those are some rich backpackers who can live on 130 EUR/day. Our budget for our sabbatical is 150 EUR/day for two people and we don't consider ourselves backpackers. In Fiji we definitely exceeded this budget.
For those who are interested in more numbers, the Bula Pass which is transfers only for 5 days costs 509 FJD (210 EUR). This is 42 EUR per person per day. If you go back to our Awesome pass pricing, that would make the accommodation approx. 58 EUR per day per person. The cost for two people in a double room with shared facilities is 116 EUR per day and quite frankly, for that money we would expect more. If you only want en suite facilities (and ferry transfers), you pay 1809 FJD which is 750 EUR per person for 5 days which is a 55% increase in price from the double room with shared facilities.
Is Fiji worth going to? Yes!
Are the Yasawa Islands budget friendly? No.
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