Fiji holiday

[tregs]

My partner and i are thinking about going to Fiji later this year we had our minds set on a ship cruise but now we are thinking of going to Fiji . We have heard a few good reviews about it but the more people I talk to I'm hearing more complaints about the resorts and the prices .

So if any one has been there what did you think about it where did you stay and would you go back ?

Also we will be taking our 5 yr old son as well so it needs to be family friendly ..

Thanks tregs

[DBourne]

I went to Denaru Island and found it to be great.

Landing in Nadi then the ~20min bus ride to Denaru Island made me think "oh crap what have I done", but once you pass the security gates on to Denaru it is all good.

Basically the Island is one MASSIVE golf course which has a whole bunch of resorts down one side and residential down the other.

There is a "Bula bus" that just does run after run after run between the resorts taking you in to Port Denaru which is the main area if you like. Restaurants, activities blah blah.

I stayed at the Sheritan and found the prices to be fine, place was well furnished, staff are insanely friendly (All Fijian's are.. though try to avoid the Indians, but I won't go on about that).

The resorts cater for most budgets, so yes there are cheaper places which aren't as nicely furnished, but there are some really high quality ones too.

[WPR1]

If you don't mind travelling a little bit further the Shangri-La Fijian resort on the Coral Coast is a great family friendly plan with a white sand beach (which you wont get in Denaru).

[Charliewool]

Fiji mainland (Viti Levu) is "just" ok, though down around Port Denarau is terrific.
Keep away from Suva, Lautoka and to a lesser extent Signatoka.. Grotty and pretty seedy locals (Fijian Indians)
The REAL Fiji is out on the islands, of which there are plenty from budget to 6 star oppulence.
Most of the "touristy" islands are located just off the mainland in the Mamanuca group.
I've stayed at Mana, Castaway, Treasure, Plantation, Musket Cove and visited most of the others on day trips...
For a family I'd strongly suggest Treasure Island. The local Fijians are fantasic with children and will keep them occupied to the stage they don't want to socialise with Mum & Dad!
Castaway would be 2nd choice (again for families) Plantation is also family friendly though more teenage.
Just be aware that most of the islands were hit pretty hard by cyclone Evan around Christmas and some are still rebuilding.
I know Treasure doesn't reopen until at least December.
Port Denarau, I'd suggest the Sheraton Fiji Resort and the Sofitel. You'll also find you can share meal packages at 3 or 4 of the Denarau resorts, which is better than the same restaurant every day. There are also some awesome eating places around the Port as well as some fantastic day cruises..
You asked.. "Would you go back"?... If I had my way, I'd bloody LIVE there!

[MWTB]

I went to Treasure Island back in the day when I was just a young boy of 5...looking back on the photos I'd LOVE to go back. We went to Naviti (spelling?) when the resort was just being built and that was nuts too but the island atmosphere on Treasure was awesome. The people were so lovely too from what I remember.

[Peuty]

Originally Posted by SgtBourne

I went to Denaru Island and found it to be great.

Landing in Nadi then the ~20min bus ride to Denaru Island made me think "oh crap what have I done", but once you pass the security gates on to Denaru it is all good.

Basically the Island is one MASSIVE golf course which has a whole bunch of resorts down one side and residential down the other.

There is a "Bula bus" that just does run after run after run between the resorts taking you in to Port Denaru which is the main area if you like. Restaurants, activities blah blah.

I stayed at the Sheritan and found the prices to be fine, place was well furnished, staff are insanely friendly (All Fijian's are.. though try to avoid the Indians, but I won't go on about that).

The resorts cater for most budgets, so yes there are cheaper places which aren't as nicely furnished, but there are some really high quality ones too.

I agree with all of this post.

Why not do both and take a cruise to fiji? I did. Best holiday ever! So good I've done it twice in the last 10 months now.

[Charliewool]

Originally Posted by MWTB

I went to Treasure Island back in the day when I was just a young boy of 5...looking back on the photos I'd LOVE to go back. We went to Naviti (spelling?) when the resort was just being built and that was nuts too but the island atmosphere on Treasure was awesome. The people were so lovely too from what I remember.

I do reckon Treasure has "dated" a bit over the years.. My last visit there was 2011, and my first in early 2000's
Some of the Bures would have really benefited from Cyclone Evan flattening them, to speed up a much needed revamp. Treasure Island is MORE than just the bures though.. The locals greet you with "welcome home" when you arrive, and after you've been there a few days you'll appreciate exactly why!

And Peuty.. Yep, A cruise (especially one that takes in Fiji) is also fantastic..
I went on P&O's Fiji Adventure in March last year.. 14 nights of Pacific magic!
Also well catered for child wise...

[Peuty]

That's pretty much the one I did as well charliewool. I'd live on a cruise ship if I could afford it!

[MYVYSS]

As others have said I did Denaru for 12 nights have two kids 13 and 4...They loved it, there is not a great deal to do on Denaru apart from sit around the pool and do nothing, but this is what I wanted from the holiday. Food and drink can be very very expensive if you always eat at the resorts. However the Golf Club does good Pizza's for about 30 bucks fijian and the beer is less than half the price. Also there is a store just outside of the Sheraton that sells most things at a third of the resorts prices....I did 7 nights at Sheraton and 5 nights a place two doors up whos name excapes me...Look for cheap deals we got the Sheraton with dinner and kids eAt and drink free for about 800 bucks for the 7 nights...there are great savings to be had. Also watch the flights we found a 1200 buck plus difference depending on the week or weekday you chose to fly.

Cheers

Craig.

[AndyXR6T]

Definitely stay at one of the smaller islands off the mainland mate.

We stayed at Tokoriki for a week... Best week of my life!! Only catch though NO KIDS lol. There are plenty of islands that are kid friendly and they have heaps of activities that the kids could do to keep them busy for weeks!

[MWTB]

Originally Posted by AndyXR6T

Definitely stay at one of the smaller islands off the mainland mate.

We stayed at Tokoriki for a week... Best week of my life!! Only catch though NO KIDS lol. There are plenty of islands that are kid friendly and they have heaps of activities that the kids could do to keep them busy for weeks!

No kids you say? Sounds like a prime spot to organise a boys holiday with my brother and some mates!

[Peuty]

No kids you say? Sounds like a prime spot to live for the rest of my life!

[Charliewool]

Book me in too...

[xxx000]

Shangri-La is the best family friendly resort in Fiji, staff are even friendlier than some other resorts we visited

Get a meal deal and all food is included plus non alcoholic drinks too

It's huge and has plenty to keep the kids occupied while still having white sandy beaches for you or them to swim or lounge about on

[ebxr8240]

Stop it !!! Too good !!

[SB076]

My wife and I stayed at LikuLiku and highly recommend it - its not cheap - but I figured only do a honeymoon once - you get very well looked after and all meals are included (plus drinks although alcoholic drinks are extra) I would highly recommend it

[Matty4]

We went there last year as a big family group, 8 adults and 8 kids.
We had a week at the Shangri-La resort down on the Coral coast (about an hour by bus from Nadi). Plenty to see and do there and nearby.

Second week we stayed on Mana Island and to be honest it wasn't as nice as I was expecting, a bit dated. The ferry took us past Castaway Island and this looked a lot more promising, maybe next time.

Me personally, I never want to be stuck on a giant floating hotel with no way of getting off for days at a time, but to each their own......

[Yellow_Festiva]

Bulla! Went to Fiji perhaps... hmm 18 months ago now. We stayed in the Worldmark Resort on Denaru Island.

Great resort, friendly staff etc. I'm not very laid back when I travel (as in, I hate being idle) so I hardly stayed at the resort. I caught the local bus (yellow one) into town each day and shopped and ate in Nadi. Yellow bus was 1 dollar as opposed to the Bulla bus which was 7 or 8. From what I saw, the resorts are great for kids, heaps of activities but perhaps 5 is a little on the young side to be left alone with the resort staff for a few hrs??

The port on Denaru has the Hard Rock Café (Decent food and free wifi) and a bunch of other food / touristy shops. When I was there an Ugg boot shop was being set up... ummm in a tropical location of course... wonder if it is still there???

Nadi is a seedy place. If you hate pushy sales people and random people reaching out to grab your hand to force you to shake then don't go there. I got sick of hearing 'Don't worry friend, we are no longer cannibals'... The markets close to the post office were dirt cheap.

If you stay on Denaru, talk to the resort staff (cleaners), if you get friendly with one they will inform you as to where to go to get 'discounted' island tours etc (as opposed to going through the reception desk). Of course, they will remind you several times to mention their name so I'm sure they get a kick back but oh well.

I'm a backpacker, so I look for cheap food, souvenirs bought from open markets, free wifi and supermarkets to stock up on drinks and snacks. All are available in Nadi.

When I was there, the bridge connecting Denaru to Nadi was either very broken or some beams may have collapsed as they had a long steel 'bridge' spanning the total length of the original bridge and say 10 foot wide x 1 foot high sitting on the road to spread the weight of the busses.

Fiji Bitter is not a bad drop, but there is a nice beer bottle with a white turtle on it. I collect crap like that. Don't drink that kava stuff... Think muddy water mixed with more muddy water.

In Nadi, there was a Worldmark info kiosk out the front of a supermarket near the start of the town on the main drag. If you get bored and want a free day of fun casually walk past and allow them to rope you into one of their talks. Let them blab on for 60 minutes in the hope of signing up and then you can choose from a buffet lunch for 2, a dinner cruise for 2 or a day cruise to one of the islands for the day. We took the day cruise.

If they had kept better records they would have realised it was 5th time we have got 'free stuff' off them ;)......

The airport is nothing special but be warned that one of the carriers (Pacific Blue??) is notorious for cancelling or re-scheduling flights. We had no issues, but my sister on her honeymoon got that treatment and boy did they get it... she was needing to join a connecting flight so she wouldn't budge. So, if you are planning around a tight schedule perhaps leave a spare day at the end to account for 'Fiji time'....

It depends on what you like doing, 3 nights on the resort did me fine. There are a whole heap of touristy things to do around the island as well but from what I hear from many people it isn't all that safe if you like to go out and do things on your own. Once you leave the Denaru haven you will quickly learn that Fiji is a 3rd world country.

Vanaka

Ummm may I make a suggestion?? If you are looking for an Island escape look into Samoa. Cheap, safe, friendly and VERY easy to do on your own. Would easily go back to Samoa, but probably would steer clear from Fiji unless I had to go.

[tregs]

Thanks for the locations ill be checking a few of them also ate there any other good places other than Fiji ?

[Yellow_Festiva]

Last 2 lines of my response above yours. Samoa over Fiji any day. Much more relaxed, very safe, very cheap and MUCH less tourists.

[BPXR6T]

I've heard a couple of average stories. First one was ditched by the bus in the middle of town and had to walk miles to the resort. The locals they encountered weren't exactly friendly. Once in the resort they were fine.

Another friend took her family to fiji last year and there was a gastro outbreak at the resort due to poor food prep. Most of the resort spent there holiday hovering around the toilet. She swore she'd never return. I can find out the name of the resort if you're interested...