Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020 |

# never been to fiji Country forums / Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea
jules1664 01:54 UTC 01 Oct 2007 | hi all, my first time in here. i'm going to be in Fiji in mid june2008. Will 2 weeks be long enough to see stuff and what are the highlights of fiji. thannks |
raro 04:49 UTC 01 Oct 2007 | Well, one could spend a month there and not see all the diverse areas of Fiji. But two weeks is a good start. I'd hit the main island of Viti Levu for a few days, then go to a couple of outer islands for the rest of the time. Lots of tourists hit the Mamanucas and Yasawas off the W and NW, more adventurous ones go to Ovalau, Vanua Levu or Taveuni to the E and NE of Suva. As you have plenty of time before you go, get David Stanley's Fiji Handbook for lots of info. | 1
jules1664 05:23 UTC 01 Oct 2007 | thanks raro. is it easy to get from one island to the next and what would be a sensible daily budget? | 2
raro 06:08 UTC 01 Oct 2007 | There are pretty quick boats to the Mamanucas and Yasawas each day. Ferries to Ovalau, Vanua Levu and Taveuni. But if you can afford it, you might fly to the latter ones. Daily budget is pretty variable. Backpackers can do it on maybe F$50/day, but that's at the very low end. Mid-range all depends on the cost of your accommodation. If it has kitchen facilities you can save a lot by cooking for yourself. The all-in-one resorts are the highest, esp. on small islands where you are kind of trapped, and have to eat at the place you are staying. But in general, Fiji can be one of the cheaper destinations in the South Pacific. | 3
chase189 10:55 UTC 01 Oct 2007 | Sorry to hijack your thread, jules, but I have a quick question about budget - my accommodation is paid for and I've budgeted about FJD150-200 per day. I want to do some day trips, some shopping, and I don't drink much. I think I've worked out a fairly sensible budget, but someone please tell me otherwise if I haven't! My accommodation worked out to be about AUD$132 per day and that's staying in private rooms in backpacker resorts. | 4
raro 13:13 UTC 01 Oct 2007 | chase---Are you giving correct figures??? AUD$132 per day for a private room at a backpacker place????? should be closer to AUD$32, a hundred less per day!!! If, not counting accommodation, you still have FJD 150-200/ day (about US$100-135/day) for food and other things, you won't have many problems, moneywise!! | 5
chase189 13:56 UTC 01 Oct 2007 | Sadly, those figures are correct. I'm staying at Mango Bay which isn't cheap, but looks very nice. I didn't look very hard for cheaper places as I had to do everything in a hurry (jules, at least you've got plenty of time to look around!). But I'm glad to hear my budget will be okay, thanks for that Raro! | 6
raro 15:51 UTC 01 Oct 2007 | Chase---I'm guessing that figure includes three meals a day? | 7
chase189 15:59 UTC 01 Oct 2007 | Um...no. Breakfast for seven days I think. I get the feeling I've over-paid. | 8
bulabear 23:54 UTC 01 Oct 2007 | Mango Bay is a so called flashpacker resort, from the brochure it looks certainly nice, with beautiful pool and outdoor cinema, and you pay for this (I have never been there), but it certainly has nothing to do with what we call the real Fijian culture But you still find the cheaper places for F$ 50 including 3 meals per day, like Caqalai island, which is not so posh, but therefore offers a much nicer beach than Mango Bay. | 9
jules1664 00:27 UTC 02 Oct 2007 | thanks raro, thanks chase | 10