Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020 |

# 15 days in Fiji Country forums / Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea / Fiji
bwld 11:43 UTC 09 Aug 2011 | I'll be traveling to Fiji at the beginning of Sept. I was planning on the Awesome Adventures package tour to see the Yasawa islands (A Great Pair tour), does anyone have any input on Awesome Adventures. I am in my early 30's and my friend is mid-20's, we are past the the party every night phase. Should we go with Awesome Adventures tour or just take their boat and make our lodging plans seperate? We were also interested in doing a village stay while on Yasawa, any input? Also we are planning on going to Taveuni. Should we buy our tickets now or can we buy them once we arrive in Fiji (planning on Taveuni for the 2nd week)? Any suggestions or planning tips would be appreciated. |
tch7 01:36 UTC 10 Aug 2011 | Better to arrange your own accommodation. Those packages aren't very good value (a lot of them you have to pay extra once you arrive at certain resorts...), and the places in that particular tour are nothing special. Waya Lailai is a fair bit like a village stay. | 1
Laszlo 05:12 UTC 10 Aug 2011 | Yes, book accommodation as you go. Isn't the accommodation on Waya Lailai on the opposite side of the island from the village? But on Waya itself, there are a few options right in or next to the village facing Waya Lailai. I am pretty sure you can get your tix to Taveuni when you get to Fiji. That's what I'd do myself, anyway. | 2
graymare 11:11 UTC 10 Aug 2011 | I would book accom. separately, especially for just 2 places. When we recently went to Taveuni we were advised to book our flights ahead of time as that way we would get cheaper seats. We booked from the website, not through a travel agent, and sure enough, on the day we wanted to fly the cheapest seats had gone but we got the next cheapest. If you are flying Air Pacific, and book your Taveuni flights on the same ticket, you get a heavier baggage allowance. We booked separately out of ignorance and were only allowed 15 kg Nadi to Taveuni and return. Turned out to be ok, but we were taking our own masks snorkels and flippers so we had to pack carefully. This turned out to be a good decision, by the way. | 3
tch7 01:41 UTC 11 Aug 2011 | "Isn't the accommodation on Waya Lailai on the opposite side of the island from the village?" The main village is, but there's the smaller/older village right beside the resort. | 4
dlj3 02:38 UTC 11 Aug 2011 | Hi, Some of the pre-booked places in the Yasawas are not very good vaue. You pay a lot for basic accomodation - very nice, mind you, just overcharged. If you want to be really adventurous, you could look at getting to Taveuni by the inter-islands ferry, if it is working when you get there. Leaves from Lautoka or Suva, through Savusavu (which is worth stopping for a night or 2, by the way). It's a beautiful trip through the coastal reefs, a great chance to meet the locals, and much cheaper than the flight, as long as you can schedule around it. You can get up-to-date info in Nadi when you get there. Have a great trip, Ron and the crew - www.sailbayofislands.com</i> | 5
bwld 16:02 UTC 13 Aug 2011 | Thanks for the input everyone. If I wait to book most things once there, do you recommend booking stuff at the airport once we arrive? I was thinking about taking the Turtle airways flight to the Octopus Resort instead of taking the Yasawa Flyer. Has anyone done that? | 6
Taimarilyn 22:34 UTC 13 Aug 2011 | It is unlikely you could get Turtle Airways to take you to Octopus. The bay there is not the best for landing a plane - although I did see one land there years back. There is a helicopter service that regularly lands there - or Octopus has its own boat as an alternative. | 7