Fiji

Hi

I am a 19yr old guy planning to meet my girlfriend and her sister in Fiji around the 7th of June 09 for about 2 weeks. I am extremmelly new to the traveling scene and it is purely likely to be a one way 'holiday' to see her as she is on a RTW trip. I have been quoted £884 return from Heathrow (UK) to Nadi via Korea.

I am just looking for any advice really, regarding travel and accomodation and any recommendations.
I have been told about the 'Bula Pass' as this is what she has purchased; is this really worth purchasing beforehand from the travel agent or even at all?? or is it simply cheaper to just go out there and haggle individual fares. and the same goes for accomodation, is it worth pre-booking or just getting out there?

Im sorry if this has been asked in the past but i am really new to all this.

all help is extremelly appreciated, many thanks

Zac

If your friend has already purchased the Bula pass then you should do the same. There is no way you can "haggle" individual fares - it's a big company & they have no opposition in the area, so you are stuck with them if you want to travel with her.

Purchase the bula pass (which is just the ferrry no accomodation) if you plan on staying at more than ie 1 or 2 places - cos then it would be cheaper than individual fares unless your really good at haggling (ie seasoned traveller). the ferry is safe, reliable and good value. finding your own water taxi would be time consuming and not worth it (in my opinion).

In terms of accomodation, the accomodation pass which goes with the bula pass from awesome adventures is good if you like to take the simple road. You buy your nights then just get off the ferry at your stop (booked accomm). You can do it night by night - so no booking ahead just staying at a particular joint until you dont like it anymore (often opinions are formed by the food which is always included in the yasawas). Most of the places that take the pass are therefore partially filled with young (mainly european/australian) backpackers. You can use the ferry time to hear feedback on resorts & make friends etc.

Now id dont know this for sure (you could find out by googleing) but i dont think you save a whole lot of $$$ by usimg this pass (whether you buy it at home or once you get there). You can do the exact same thing just buy paying straight to each resort individually, but using your bula pass for transport. This is what i did becasue one place i wanted to stay wasn't on the list of eligable resorts. But either way is the same really - the accom pass is simple and means you almost dont need to plan anything prior, but if you choose not to buy it you can still do the same things as your girlfriend and it may/may not be more expensive.

Lastly, make an investment of a little time on these forums before you go - just follow your nose and read posts, especially about resorts. It will give you a sence of familiararity and allow you to choose wisely so you dont ghet stuck somewhere too loud/quiet/expensive/dirty whatever. Think of what you want and search for it.

By the way i stayed at octopus (most highly recommended on here and deserves it - it was our 'spurge' accom and wasn't too $$ for privacy and (sort of) luxuryif you stay in a bungalow- me and boyfriend loved it) and flying fish (cheap, rustic, authentic and amazing - made great friends with locals, though get used to insects, no bar, no hot showers, no 'party atmosphere' etc. But worth every second)

good luck

Thankyou for your advice so far, it is very appreciated.

In addition, are the Yasawas and Mamanucas all their cracked up to be or is it worth investing my time in the smaller more remote islands?

And regarding the 'welcome pack', worth it? Is it worth doing all these pacckages advertised or just chill out and take what comes?

thanks again

#2's advice is pretty spot on.
The ferry is really the only way to travel the Yasawas, unless on unlimited budget (in which case use seaplanes). Booking on the boat is easy and you will find that many passengers do just that. One problem is that many places are rather small and the better ones (Octopus and Oarsman for example) might be booked out

"are the Yasawas and Mamanucas all their cracked up to be" - yes

yes - if your on a budget then by buying the ferry pass, you can stay on many islands without paying $$$$$ for water taxi's or spending hours on boats, If you want more remote islands just pick your yasawa accom accordingly ie not beachcomber (flying fish - very remote/not "resort" at all) And yes #4 has a point the best may be booked out - consider prebooking those if you have your heart set on them ie octopus esp. For something different & if you dont mind small planes then consider taveuni - big beatuful island to the north known as the 'garden island'. Some amazing waterfalls and the best snorkelling i did in fiji at the marine protected area. but the flights there were about $400 fijian i recall, but worth it in my opinion. Nadi isn't nice (no offence!), no one i met liked it there - so just use it to pass through to other areas of the mainland/islands. once again, put your google skills to work and look up these places we mention! see if you like it, dont just take advice blindly. the beauty is you can find heaps of info these days on the web. and google earth is handy to get your head around the geography of the place

i dont know what the welcome pack is, I dont do tours. if your a first time traveller it may be worth it purely to meet ppl though if you stay in hostels/budget resorts/hotels the bar usually serves this purpose well enough.

dont book it in advance. all of the travel agents online or in fiji will have 10-20% on top of the normal prices. just board the yasawa flyer and ask the conductor the radio in for availability on the resort you want. we did it this way during the high season and the brochures are always so good looking but the ambiance isnt. dont worry if it is overbooked, there is usually another resort right next to it, if not the resorts have their own boat to transport you to a nearby resort for min. $.

our fav was long beach, nacula. worst was the party islands of the mamanucas group (just before waya and wayalailai chain)