Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020 |

# Travel in and around Fiji Country forums / Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea / Fiji
mnayman 11:15 UTC 17 Nov 2013 | Hi, I've got a month next July/August to have a look round Fiji and hopefully Tonga and Samoa. Any recommendations about how to travel this the cheapest. Also, any ideas on places to go to and avoid! All help welcome before I start to plan. Cheers |
tch7 19:51 UTC 17 Nov 2013 | Fiji Airways is the main option for getting between the countries. I don't recommend Samoa, and since you only have a month I'd just limit it to Fiji & Tonga. Fiji has a lot to offer and is as cheap as the South Pacific gets. Public buses on the mainland are cheap and efficient, but unfortunately the outer islands are much nicer places to be and more costly to get to. Nonetheless, you can still travel around places like the Yasawas without breaking the bank. | 1
travelmaven 00:43 UTC 18 Nov 2013 | Just returned from Fiji last month. Spent all of our time on the main island, Viti Levu. We took a bus from the airport to Pacific Harbour. It was a 3 hour ride, and costs about $FJD 12 or $6 USD. We enjoyed our stay there. We also visited Sigatoka and Suva but bus. Buses are large a/c coaches with entertainment, i.e. movies or music. It is an easy and cheap way to get around the mainland. We didn't venture out to any of the outer islands, mainly because of the costs. When I did research and found out the costs of transfers and stays on some of the islands, they did not fit into my budget. We did not go to Fiji for snorkeling or diving, and just wanted to relax. We ended up having a wonderful cultural experience just where we were. | 2
anillos_de_saturno 18:22 UTC 18 Nov 2013 | and hopefully Tonga and Samoa. Be aware there aren't non-stop flights from Samoa to Apia, AFAIK. You would need to change planes in Fiji. | 3
Laszlo 12:49 UTC 19 Nov 2013 | Well, Apia is in Samoa already! There are no direct flights from Samoa to Tonga. However, I think 2 countries are enough to fill a month without rushing, and like #tch7, I also recommend Tonga, rather than Samoa, as a side-trip from Fiji. | 4
anillos_de_saturno 15:51 UTC 19 Nov 2013 | There are no direct flights from Samoa to Tonga. That's what I wanted to say. However, for some reason I had a lapsus and typed Apia instead of Tonga, sorry. | 5
nztourist 19:42 UTC 21 Nov 2013 | the cheapest way to travel around the main Island of Fiji, Viti Levu is by bus. It is very easy to travel by bus. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHRsrj0sIgk The cheapest accommodation would be to stay in Villages as you make your way around Viti Levu http://www.fijihomestays.com/ | 6
travelmaven 04:49 UTC 28 Nov 2013 | Thirdworldaway - I think you are making a lot of generalizations in your posting. I found the people of Fiji to be very friendly. | 7
watsoff 17:17 UTC 28 Nov 2013 | I do all my travelling around the main two islands in Fiji by local bus, although sometimes I use a share taxi or minivan if I need to get somewhere fast. Unlike post #7, I've never encountered any problems. Been there 15 times already, on my own; a few of those times for extended stays. IMO, Fiji is one of the safest places in the SP. The witch burning in PNG is dreadful, but it isn't common, nor is it a threat to visitors. Fiji has nothing like the crime in Port Moresby, that's like comparing apples to oranges. | 8
travelmaven 01:45 UTC 29 Nov 2013 | Watsoff - I agree with you. We did all of our traveling via public buss too, and had no trouble whatsoever. We stayed in Pacific Harbor and took the bus from Nadi Airport, to Suva to Sigatoka and to Lautoka. The bus is an inexpensive and comfortable way to get around the island. I would go back to Fiji in a heartbeat. | 9
Laszlo 04:12 UTC 29 Nov 2013 | Ditto. Been to Fiji several times and have never had any safety issues even in the cities at night. More remote rural places are as friendly and hospitable as any in Polynesia. Note that the author of that strange scaremongering post has only registered to make 2 posts of the same nature. I guess he or she has a personal grudge. | 10