Fiji Travel Tips

If you have been to Fiji before, please share your experiences, ideas and feedback (Hotel, Excursions, General Feeling,…) in the comments section below, by doing so you will help fellow travellers to plan their next trip

Fiji at night Photograph by 1Nine8Four

Fiji is known for being a Pacific Paradise and it is a destination that is well known as a honeymoon destination. Palm lined white sand beaches, romantic islands and warm crystal clear waters make a perfect backdrop for these romantic getaways. Honeymooners are not the only ones drawn to these items. The barrier reefs with their deep waters on one side and calm shallow lagoons on the other are ideal scuba diving destinations.

The fringing reefs around the hundreds of small islands provide more opportunities, combine these with the culture of the people know as the happiest in the world and you have a vacation paradise for anyone.

In this page you will find practical information to plan a scuba diving trip to Fiji:

Table of contents

Fiji travel
Where to stay?
Activies and Excursions
Best time to visit
Health and Safety
Where is Fiji?
Getting there
Getting around
Photos Fiji
Best dive spots
Scuba diving

Where to stay?

I usually use this website to book in advance my hotels in Fiji as they usually have the lowest rates I find. I like it because it's free to cancel and change the dates.

One of the hardest items about planning a trip to Fiji is settling on where you want to stay. Generally people group the task into three road areas, staying at one of the two main islands, staying on one of the outer islands or staying aboard a Fiji liveaboard scuba diving vessel.

Each of these three choices have many destinations within them. The two main islands have dozens of cities,towns and villages. There are hundreds of outer islands and many have multiple places to stay. Some of them are small and a single resort,often a luxury retreat, will dominate the island. Others are larger with a few villages.

The liveaboards offer the ability to see many places.This is one destination that I would highly recommend an extended vacation that included both land base resort diving with a far ranging liveaboard.

Activities and excursions in Fiji

There are many aspects of life in the Fiji Islands that visitors can enjoy. Some highlights include:

Navua River Village and Kava Ceremony: This tour will give you some insight into the culture that is Fiji and a look at traditional living.
Suva: The Capital of Fiji and located on Viti Levu. This city breaks from our traditional view of Fiji as a beach location and coral gardens. It does show some of the colonial aspects of Fijian life.
Spa Rejuvenation: If you have a long layover or a delay flight check out the Spa Rejuvenation near the airport. Transfers to and from the airport is included as well as a massage.
Island hopping: You can take multiple day trips visiting different islands. You can choice different number of days and destinations. Some are hop on/ hop off where you stay overnight at resorts while others you can sleep onboard.
Fiji Museum: it is a must stop activity for any visitor. It has 3,700 years worth of island culture, art and traditions.

Book an amazing Liveaboard holiday trip or a Dive Resort

Best time to visit Fiji

Sunset on Fiji by Alex Kehr

May to October is seen as the summer season and is also the peak season for tourism. The weather is dry and underwater visibility is at it’s peak. The surface conditions can be windy which can create some surface chop, however, it is not too severe.
December to January and June to September are the most crowded times of the year, a super peak if you will. These months align with Australian and New Zealand’s school holidays. Fiji is a major tourism destination for these countries.
November to late March is considered the rainy season/ typhoon or cyclone season/ winter. While it will rain on most days,the rain is short lived during the day and longer overnight. Typhoons do happen but generally will not ruin a vacation. Many of the resorts may be near empty at times and offer much better rates. This is not a reflection on the desirability of visiting Fiji, more a reflection of the vacation seasons.

Health and Safety

Overall, Fiji gets good marks in health and safety reviews. Visitors are reminded that Fiji has a low crime rate, but like anywhere, low crime does not mean no crime so you should still follow basic safety rules.

On the health side, Fiji is generally a healthy environment, again however, there are items you need to be aware of and act accordingly. Most people in Fiji rely on public hospitals and government services. While these are reasonably available on the main islands with most towns and villages having some sort of facilities available, that might not be the case in the outer islands.

Some of the island groups have no medical support. Medical facilities and public hospitals in Fiji are generally not as well-equipped as hospitals in westernized countries. Most resorts rely on the public hospital system in emergencies and some regional hospitals provide only basic services.

The World Health Organization has no additional recommendations for Fiji beyond what they recommend for all travelers. It should be noted that many health organizations have increased awareness for Typhoid vaccination and the triple vaccination for Tetanus,Pertussis & Diphtheria for visitors going to Fiji after Tropical Cyclone Winston passed through Fiji on 20 and 21 February 2016. Water-borne, food-borne and other infectious diseases (including typhoid, hepatitis, leptospirosis, tuberculosis, measles and mumps) are common, so care must be taken with food and drinks.

While this should not be a problem in tourism facilities or areas, more remote locations or local eating establishments might be a problem for some. Mosquito avoidance should be practiced as there is a presence of the mosquito-transmitted virus, Dengue fever and more recently the Zika virus.

The Colonial War Memorial Hospital in Suva is the home of the one decompression chamber in Fiji. Given the vast area of Fiji, many divers needing emergency treatment are medically evacuated to the chamber. Travel and dive insurance is highly recommended, Hospitals usually require a confirmation of payment guarantee from medical insurers or the payment of a deposit before admitting patients.

If you are planning an upcoming dive trip or travelling to Fiji, it is a really good idea to invest in travel insurance for scuba diving, because you never know what could happen and when you might need it (because accidents do happen!). I recommend this diving insurance as they offer worldwide coverage and focus on providing scuba divers a quality insurance and medical assistance service.

Where is Fiji located in the world?

Fiji is located within Melanesia a subregion of Oceania. That places it near Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. In a more precise term,The archipelago is located between 176° 53′ east and 178° 12′ west. The 180° meridian runs through the country, however, the international dateline bends around it so that all of Fiji has the same time. Being at 180° meridian, means it exactly halfway around the world from the U.K.

How to get to Fiji?

Nadi International Airport is the main gateway to the country and is a hub to several domestic airports scattered throughout the islands. International airlines serve the country from many gateways. Given its location at 180°, travelers from Europe will find the North American gateways as easy as the Asian or Australian gateways. These are the most common international gateways into Fiji:

Auckland
Brisbane
Christchurch
Hong Kong
Honolulu
Los Angeles
Melbourne
Seoul
Sydney
Vancouver

Do I need a visa for Fiji?

The Fiji government website has the official information on visa requirements. Most travelers may enter the country on a visa waiver. Upon arrival in Fiji they will be granted an entry for 4 months provided a few conditions are met.

These conditions are a valid passport with 6 month of validity remaining, an outbound ticket and the ability to enter the country of the outbound ticket. For example, if the outbound ticket is to Australia, the visitor must be a Australian citizen or possess the proper visa to enter Australia.
Citizens of the following countries are offer the visa waivers, others must apply for a visa first:

Antigua & Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Austria, The Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Bermuda, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Cook Islands [NZ passport holder] Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Commonwealth Dominica, Estonia, The federal Republic of Germany, The federated States of Micronesia, Finland, France, The Gambia, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guyana, Holy See (Vatican), Hong Kong [SAR] Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Kiribati, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lesotho, Luxemburg, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Nauru, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, The Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Romania, Russia, Samoa, Serbia, Slovak Republic, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent & The Grenadines, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Ukraine, United Kingdom of great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Zambia and Zimbabwe

Getting Around

some of the smaller airports are served by small planed Photograph by Ed Bierman

There are two international airports: Nadi international Airport, Fiji’s main international gateway with some domestic connections, and Nausori Airport which is also Fiji’s main domestic hub. Both airports allow travel to the 13 outer island airports.

The main islands and some of the larger outer islands have extensive bus routes allowing easy travel within the islands. Many of the islands also have an interconnected bus system using roll on, roll off ferries. Taxis are available on most islands.

Fiji Local Bus Photograph by Stephen Rees

Fiji is a once in a lifetime dream for anyone who loves the ocean. It is the place for white sand beaches and crystal clear waters.

Snorkeling, scuba diving or just wading in the water does not get any better than this. It is said to be the home of the happiest people on earth and it is easy to see why.