I have been lucky enough to attend a wedding in Fiji for my lovely brother and sister in law this year. This was my first trip to Fiji and I wasn't sure what to expect - there are so many resorts and islands, flights and ferries to navigate. I was guided by my sister in law (Fiji veteran) and had a really great time. I will share with you our experiences, although we were fairly limited in terms of exploring Fiji due to time constraints.
Getting There
Fiji is an easy 4.5 hour flight from Melbourne (6 hours on the way home). I would recommend paying the extra $ to fly with virgin because the Qantas/Fiji airways coshare flights were very average. We did an overnight flight which wrecked everyone for the first 24 hours so I wouldn't recommend that either. From the airport you can grab a taxi to wherever you are going fairly easily, just negotiate before you get in. We paid $35FJD to Port Denarau approx. 35 mins (little cheaper than taxi prices in Australia). Coming back from the port, you cannot get a public taxi (illegal because Denarau is a private island) so you need to get a private taxi/car - which is more expensive (ie/ $50 FJD for same trip).
If you are going to the islands, most of the boat transfers leave from Port Denarau. To get to Malolo Lailai islands, we had to take the Malolo Cat ($140 FJD return). It only left four times per day so be careful that you don't miss the last boat transfer if you are on a late flight.
Geography
Fiji is split into nine groups of islands; Viti Levu, Vanua Levu, Taveuni, Kadavu, Yasawa Islands, Mamanuca Islands, Lomaiviti Islands, Lau Islands and Rotuma Islands. The capital is Suva and the second largest city is Nadi ("Nandi") which is close to the airport. There is a small market and it is worth a drive through but not much to do there. Denarau is a small private island near Nandi which is home to many of the large resorts, golf courses, Port Denarau etc.
75% of the visitors to Fiji come for a holiday at 50% of these are Australian. It is a popular destination for honeymooners and families.
Accommodation
There is a myriad of resorts in Fiji and facilities vary immensely as does cost. The experience you will have will depend on what you want to do, and how much you have to spend. If you can afford it, the islands are much nicer and are a completely different experience to Denarau. Conversely, on an island your activities are limited as are your options for accommodation and dining. In summary- do your research carefully and book whatever suits you.
On Denarau, many of the resorts are side by side. The Sheraton and the Westin allow guests to share facilities. Our family stayed here and the rooms were nice but without the Fijian feel. The resort was extremely busy, food average and pricey (pretty standard for Fiji though). Accomodation is not cheap but there is lots to do for kids. Options include mini golf, blow up water park, softball batting cage, water sports etc. The Denarau Golf Club is next door and many come to play golf here. My partner tells me the course is hard with lots of water traps. Price of a game is $160 for 18 holes, club hire $65 and cart hire $50 (eeek!).
We stayed for 3 nights at Sonasali Island Resort off Viti Levu (the main island) which is the closest resort to Nadi. Sonasali is a tiny island 100m off the mainland- guests travel over via a small boat that runs back and forth 24/7. This resort was really tired and we had issues with cleanliness. The resort has recently been sold to a large chain so things may improve in the future. At this stage I'd advise against staying there. Food was very average and fairly expensive (as are most resort restaurants in Fiji). The pool was a good size but chipped in some areas and the sun beds were either so uncomfortable you couldn't lie on them (cheap plastic ones without cushions) or were just chairs in a fixed position so you couldn't lie down on them. There were plenty of activities for kids and a kids club. We did enjoy kayaking and tennis whilst we were there. The beach is swimmable but it is black sand (as are most of the resorts near the mainland). It was not worth being isolated on this tiny island - I would recommend staying on Denarau at one of the big resort complexes or ideally- invest and stay on an island to make the most of your trip.
Malolo Lailai Island
We spent the majority of our trip on Malolo Laiali Island, part of the Mamanuca Islands group.
Malolo Lailai island is home to three resorts and a number of private houses and villas. We stayed at Lomani Island Resort, sister resort to Plantation Island Resort.
Musket Cove Island Resort is just around the corner from Plantation Island. In terms of quality and cost, Lomani is by far superior the other two resorts, and is an adults only resort (16+). Musket cove has nicer rooms than Plantation, but Plantation has more activities for kids and is best suited to families. Because Lomani and Plantation are sister resorts, it means you can use the facilities/restaurants of the other resort and charge back to your room.
We found Plantation to look very tired and couples would tend to come to Lomani for dinner then want to change resorts when they realised how much nicer it was (but weren't able to as it was heavily booked). At the same time, for families with young kids it would be the perfect stress free holiday with so many things for kids to do- there was every sport you can think of- tennis, volleyball, bikes etc., a blow up water side/ trampoline out at sea etc. Plantation is also significantly more affordable in comparison to Lomani.
Lomani Island Resort
We stayed for 5 nights at Lomani Island Resort for a family wedding. Overall the resort was excellent and the staff did an excellent job arranging the laid back beach wedding ceremony and reception.
At Lomani there is a choice between three levels of accommodation. The majority of the rooms are beachfront bures- we did not stay in one of these but family did and they were absolutely fantastic. Save up and splurge on a bure- they have their own balcony backing right onto the beach, a lovely spacious room and an outdoor shower. Room 14 is the best (the bride and groom stayed here) and as the room numbers go up you are further away from the pool/restaurant.
The next level down is the hibiscus suite. These rooms are only about 50m from the beach and are quite large. We stayed in the deluxe suite which is still only about 50 metres from the beach and 50m from the main building/restaurant.
We had a sea view from our room, and it was handy being on the bottom floor so you could just wander down to the beach or pool. The deluxe room was huge with a large couch and balcony. The television had a hard drive attached with lots of movies you could watch whenever you liked at no cost.
In terms of price, we had a package that included breakfast, two course lunch and three course dinner along with complimentary activities that were on each day. The deluxe suites were $490 per night, the hibiscus $520 per night and the beachfront bures $610 per night.
Dining
There is one restaurant at Lomani that serves all meals. Food quality was excellent and they were happy to alter meals (eg/ to vegetarian for me). The one major criticism at Lomani was the service received at the restaurant. Firstly travellers need to accept the phenomenon of 'Fiji time' - Fijians are extremely laid back and often service is equally laid back. This isn't a problem for most travellers. In this case though the restaurant was working on Fiji time ... in slow motion. Lunches took > 2 hours to arrive, dinners even longer. Orders were lost and every meal one of the guests had to eat a meal they didn't order. All things considered this is a small price to pay at a really lovely resort.
This is one of the cons to consider when staying on an island and most resorts do not have good reviews in terms of food. Local dishes and seafood options are usually the tastiest and safest bet. Although it was possible to dine at Plantation, tripadvisor reviews suggested it was not worth the effort. We did have delicious cocktails at Musket cove on a few occasions (peanut butter & bourbon milkshake is out of this world $19FJ).
Activities
As part of our accommodation package we were able to participate in free activities daily. There was a list of activities given to us at the start of each week showing what day each one was running. The activities included:
- snorkelling trip (excellent)
- dolphin safari
- handline fishing
- cooking lesson
- local village tour
- Fijian cultural activities eg/ wood carving
- trip to Cloud 9 ($50FJ to visit floating pontoon bar/ restaurant with wood fired pizzas + food at own cost)
There was also free water sports (can only go at high tide due to the reef)
- kayaking
- stand up paddle boarding
- windsurfing
- hobby cat sailing
- vu boards (boogie board with glass panel to look though)
- snorkels & fins
- free bike hire - there were good bike tracks to ride around on and this was an excellent way to explore the island
- 9 hole golf course (very rough but cheap by fiji standards and lots of fun)
- fitness centre (fairly well equipped with a treadmill, bike, cross trainer and weights machine)
I went jogging whilst we were in Fiji but was warned multiple times to take a stick to protect myself from the wild dogs on the north of the island (eeeek again). I didn't see any wild dogs and the view from the top of the island over the water and coconut plantation was stunning - well worth the risk ! Be warned the hills at the back of the island are very steep- we had to push the bikes up there (no gears).
The snorkelling was one of the highlights of our trip- it was only about 10-15 minutes from Lomani (on the reef directly across from the resort) at a sandbar. There was life vests for those who are not strong swimmers and we saw amazing fish. It is possible to do diving trips from the island and because there is good snorkelling/diving so close, it doesn't take up the whole day. It is also possible to do surfing at the off shore breaks- wilkes and cloudbreak are close to Lomani. Cloudbreak is known as one of the most challenging waves in the world (not for the inexperienced).
The Wedding
If you are considering a no fuss destination wedding Lomani is definitely the place. The setting was gorgeous and Lucy the manager did a fantastic job and catered to the bride's wishes really well. Communication in relation to the wedding was often delayed and very casual but the end result was perfect. The bride took most of her decorations with her and welcome bags for the guests. The couple also held a welcome cocktail night before the wedding which was enjoyed by all.
Fiji recommendations in a nutshell
- definitely stay on an island if you can afford it
- pick a resort that matches your interests (adults only vs kids club, activities vs. seclusion/ relaxation etc.)
- suits travellers who enjoy a stress free holiday without need for planning
- for those who appreciate beautiful beaches
- limit your expectations in regards to dining
- great holiday for families with young children
