2 Weeks in Fiji, stay on main island?

Hi guys,

I know this has been asked a million times but we're really confused and undecided as what to do on our two weeks in Fiji in October. We're a bit disappointed that everything is so expensive there (we booked it as part of a round the world trip and didn't look into it much before).

We've looked into the Coral coast and plan to spend a week there, does anyone have any suggestions for the other week?

I know a lot of you will say the Yasawas but it's just completely out of our price range I'm afraid, the Bula passes/packages and resorts are about 5 times what they cost on the coral coast.

Does anyone have any other recommendations? We're a young couple, we'd rather not sleep in dorms if possible as we'll both have 2 suitcases and we need to keep them locked up in a room (in a dorm we'd only get a locker each).

Thanks!

I'd stay at the Beach House on the Coral Coast, if you use buses to go around the island, the fares are cheap and you can take your suitcases, and you could stop off at a couple of other places as you go around, eg Suva just to say you have seen the city and Raki Raki, you should not find prices that expensive when you compare the FJ$ to the pound., Taxis are very reasonable.

Unless you're spending most of your RTW trip in SE Asia, you shouldn't be finding Fiji that expensive.

How closely have you looked at the Yasawas?
For instance, a double at The Beachouse is FJ$189 (incl breakfast), whereas it's $160 at Wayalailai (incl. 3 meals), or a treehouse bure at Mantaray is $145 (excl. meals). The island transfers are certainly much more expensive than using the bus on the mainland, but once you're out there the accommodation and meal costs are comparable.

If you can't make the Yasawas work with your budget, then just circumnavigate Viti Levu.

Bula Telecaster, Type in "Two Week Holiday on a Budget" in the Search All Forums box on the upper right hand
side of this page. It will take you to a 1/29/13 post by HugoBussell which may give you a LOT of ideas. Rather than
reinvent the wheel, check out that post. Cheers!

When you write:
>We're a bit disappointed that everything is so expensive there
> the Yasawas ... it's just completely out of our price range

I also have to wonder where you are collecting your information, and what sort of holiday you have in mind. I also visited Fiji as part of a RtW trip, and I was travelling at the usual low-budget end, backpacker style. Naturally, all-inclusive holiday resort packages are on the expensive side. And any small island resort will only have a meal plan as your only eating option. But I found alternatives to fit my low-end budget.

#2 mentions Wayalailai as one option. I stayed at the next-door island of Waya island. You just have to look around a bit. There are also some less expensive islands/resorts to the east. Ovalau island, for example, with a couple of lagoon island resorts.

Yet another alternative is to skip the holiday resort option entirely. Stay in guesthouses in the towns and take day-tri0p excursions. It really depends on what you want to do.

Wayalailai is a great budget suggestion on the Yasawa Island of Wayasewa. The budget-busting part of it these days
is that return boat fare to get there is around $US150. Factor in boat fare for two and you're already at $300 which is
daunting for any backpacker's budget. It's too bad Fiji doesn't have its own oil supply as Indonesia does. It would keep
the cost of petrol low for visitorson a budget to get to the offshore islands. Ditto for airfares.

Yes the Yasawa flyer is a killer - they have the monopoly - i'm not sure why someone has never tried to capture some of that market with a more reasonable fare - i'm sure there would be a reason