Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020 |

# Fiji Transport Suggestions Country forums / Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea / Fiji
worldtraveller1986 06:56 UTC 21 Nov 2011 | Hi everyone We arrive in Nadi on 1st March and leave on 12th March, and we are thinking about the best way to spend that time. We want to spend a bit of time on the main island but the majority island hopping. I have looked into the Awesome Fiji Bula Pass but it seems really expensive, are there any cheaper companies doing the same sort of island hopping ferry? We were thinking of probably doing 1st March and 11th March in Nadi, then doing 2 nights on 4 of the Yasawas islands, then hopefully 2 nights on Robinson Crusoe. Is this rushing it too much? It appears that Awesome Fiji don't go to Robinson Crusoe, am I correct? If so, are there return ferries that I can get there for cheap? We have yet to decide which specific islands we want to visit as they all look amazing, any recommendations? Another thing, if we do end up going with Awesome Fiji, is it cheaper/easier to book the pass with or without accomodation (and then booking it on our own)? Thanks in advance! |
milos76 23:31 UTC 22 Nov 2011 | I did the Awesome Adventures island hopping a couple of years ago, and it was great. At the time no-one else was doing anything like it, and it's the most convenient way to do island hopping in the Yasawas. I would recommend Mantaray island, Octopus (quite luxurious) and the further north (away from the mainland) the better the snorkelling/diving is. There's another one up north that has a great beach, but I can't remember the name of it (most of the beaches are coral, not sandy). Beachcomber is the "party island", one night max if you want to go there. As well as snorkelling with mantarays, the cave trip up north is well worth doing. Get a waterproof camera, I wish I had one. I booked my pass without accomodation and had no problems booking accomodation from the boat (except Octopus which is frequently fully booked) at roughly the same price if the ticket had included accomodation. The pass including accomodation was usually used by people on a RTW ticket who are having a 2 week holiday before flying home from LA and want their time in Fiji mostly paid for in advance. However it can limit choices then because there's a surcharge for more expensive places (like Mantaray or Octopus) and they frequently end up staying on cheaper islands instead because they hadn't budgeted for it, although all the islands are pretty good. You'll get more up to date information by chatting to people on the boat and on the islands, everybody has been travelling up and down the islands and it's easy to get info on where's good from people who've just been there, and there shouldn't be a problem with making last minute changes to plans. You can literally get on the boat and say "I want to stay on this island" and they radio ahead and book it for you, then you get off the boat there, no probs. I didn't go to Robinson Crusoe, I heard good things about it, but whether it's better than the Yasawas I'm not too sure, it's up to you where you want to spend your time. Spend as little time as possible in Nadi, it's not great, it's all about the islands. Other places on the mainland could be worth a visit, but I think you'd enjoy the islands more. For something different I went to Levuka on Ovalau, the old capital. It was quite charming and more ex-pats and locals than gap year backpackers. I doubt you'll have time to get over there, and there's no beach to speak of, but I enjoyed it and maybe someone else reading this thread might. Enjoy! | 1
hardnosethehighway 06:19 UTC 23 Nov 2011 | "Is this rushing it too much?" Yes indeed-you're on holiday not in a race. | 2