Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020

17yr travelling to Fiji

Country forums / Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea / Fiji

Hi,
My friend is wanting to travel to Fiji alone at the end of the year, shes 17 she asked me if there was any issue with this, and to be honest, I have no idea! Does anyone know the rules and restrictions?
thanks!

No issues and restrictions in Fiji.
Well, I think in theory some stores don't sell booze and cigarettes to minors, but I'm sure they'd waive that for tourists, and if she heads for tourist areas like the Yasawas no one will care.

1

thank you for your help!! :)
Ill let her know

2

I gather you are in Australia. The main issue would be to have her parents' or guardians' permission to leave Australia and travel overseas, as she is under 18.

3

Amazingly old-fashioned regulations OG!
We in Europe need no permits whatsoever to go abroad under 18.
I visited several (European) countries by myself or with same-age friends when I was still in secondary school.

4

Europe these days is different, as you don't need papers to cross borders within Europe.
However, I needed parental permission to take a group of teenagers to Solomon Islands, and a friend nearly couldn't take her son there, as his father wasn't going to let him go. (The parents are divorced).
Personally, knowing the teenagers I work with, I think it is an excellent idea for parents to have some say in where the young people travel.

5

Unfortunately my "under 18 years" are nothing like "these days" and were definitely back when papers, even visas, were still needed for a holiday to Greece, for example! ;-)

6

Another issue - check the accommodation provider allows you to book accommodation if you (or at least, they) are under 18.

7

The Nadi travel agents in Fiji (in most cases they do the bookings, not the accommodation providers) ask no Qs. All they want is your $$$! :-)

8

Laszlo- I used to need written permission from my husband to travel without him- also back in the dark ages!

9

OMG, did you live in Saudi Arabia back then? ;-)

10

Nope- going into Canada. Who woulda thunk it.

11

I had to have my ex's permission to take my son on holiday to Mexico from Canada; I had no problem the previous year, but this time I couldn't buy a ticket without it, so we went to Disneyland instead.

I also needed the ex's permission to get my son a Canadian passport (he was born in the UK), but when I accused the Canadian Immigration services of being sexist they said the ex would have needed my permission if he had been the one applying. I didn't need his permission to get my son his Canadian citizenship, though.

12

A 17 year old white girl alone in Fiji...is this a joke?! {:"}

13

Pago - USA

A 17yr old white girl in Fiji - is this a joke.

Is this a racist remark? Do white girls in USA get molested only by Black guys. I dont think so!!!

14

Go have fun, no one will care in the slightest or ask I'm sure if you aren't needing childcare ;) or acting like one.

15

Fiji is a pretty safe place, but common sense should prevail in any situation. There are plenty of 17 year old white women here who feel perfectly safe (except around alcohol-charged young men).

John

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