Fiji - Feedback on what to see and do

Here is a list of things I'm interested in. I have 12 full days there in November and I get the sense I don't have enough time to do everything (isn't that always the case). Hoping to get some feedback on which are must-sees and which maybe aren't as great as I think they are.

If there is anything else you'd like to recommend feel free to do so. I just pulled things for the LP Fiji book so I'm sure there are tons of other things to do.

Additional questions:

-Would it be a crime to skip the Mamanucas and Yasawa group? It's not that I don't want to go there - the list just seems too long without them.
-What beaches would you recommend to someone from Hawaii that has super high standards for beaches?
-Does anyone do multi-day river expeditions combined with village stays, say in Sigatoka or elsewhere?
-Is it possible to sea kayak in November?
-Which hikes are not-to-be-missed?
-Recommended snorkel or dive sites considering geographic location of my other interests?

Asterik indicates things I'm super interested in doing - pls warn me if I'm disillusioned.

Viti Levu
Garden of the Sleeping Giant
Sabeto Hot Springs
Lautoka Sugar Mill
Koroyanitu National Park* (recommended hikes? how long to stay?)
Sigatoka sand dunes (and would like to see some farms in this area)
Tavuni Hill Fort
Kula Eco Park
Namatakula village stay
Navua village stay
Fiji College of Agriculture*
Fiji Museum*
Suva Municipal Market
University of South Pacific*
Colo-I-Suva National Park*
Government Crafts Center
Korovou > Dama scenic road

Uru's waterfall
Wailotua Snake God Cave
Navala village visit
Monasavu Dam
Ba River dams
Rafting the Navua river* (update: just committed to Rivers Fiji Upper Navua gorge tour)

Lomaiviti
Colonial architecture
Pidgeon post
Levuka Public School*
Mission Hill
Royal Hotel*
Lovoni village, Bobo's Farm*

Vanua Levu
Waisali Rainforest Reserve*
Nukubolu ruins*
Tunuloa Silktail Reserve
Kioa island - double hull canoe fishing* - is this something a tourist might be able to do?
Labasa sugar mill
Crested iguanas
Wainunu Bay

Taveuni
Paddle bilibili*
Bouma National Park*
Bird watching
Pearl farm tour*
Vatuwin Farm Resort
Waitavala waterslide
Tagimauca flower*
Des Voeux Peak
Qamea - When exactly in "late November" does the crab "migration" * happen?

Many many many thanks for just reading this whole thing, and many more for offering insight.

Edited by: prioritymail

Edited by: prioritymail

If you can do half of that in 12 days you will have seen 3 times what we have in 3 months.
Looks like a crammed study tour, not a holiday....
How do you propose to get to Taveuni? The flights are expensive or it takes 30 hours odd (from memory) by boat from Suva.
Sugar mills? Special interest there? They spend a fair bit of time broken unfortunately. I live in Lautoka next door to a sugar industry executive.

Lautoka has the best local produce market in Fiji. Friday afternoon or Saturday is the time to visit. There is a handicraft section there too. There won't be a tourist in sight, but they will see you coming from across the street :-)

Cheers,
Peter

Thanks for the reply Peter. When I want to holiday, I go home to Kauai not abroad to a foreign country :) But I agree there is way more to do here than I have time for. In fact that was my motivation to post (I need to eliminate some things).

Re Taveuni, flying is an option, but I prefer boat travel. From what I understand, there are three companies that connect Suva to Savusavu to Taveuni so I was thinking going from Viti Levu to Vanua Levu to Taveuni and then back would be the way to go, and then I could cut out Taveuni or both if time does not allow.

Sugar mills - I am a horticulture student so basically anything remotely related to farming I am interested in. I also happen to have a degree in mechanical engineering so from that perspective, the sugar mills and hydro dams are interesting to me. In fact, I'd be really interested in seeing how and where Fiji Water is bottled.... Also, Hawaii used to be a hotspot for sugar cane production so that's another angle. I don't need to see all of them, just one would be enough, even from the outside, but getting a tour....that would be awesome albeit seemingly unlikely.

Thanks for the tip on the Lautoka farmer's market. I was going to skip Lautoka and drive from Nadi to Koroyanitu and then down towards Suva, but maybe I'll have to rethink that.

I was thinking 5 days on Viti Levu and 2 days on each of the other three islands with one extra day for wherever I don't want to leave. That seems a little rushed though.

One big question I have is how do all the national parks / reserves compare? Koroyanitu, Sigatoka, Colo-I-Suva, Waisali, Bouma? Sigatoka sand dunes I will definitely do because it sounds unique, but what of the others? Which are the best? Which one(s) should I skip?

Also, can I see something similar to the Nukubolu ruins on any of the other islands? This was one of the main reasons why I wanted to go there. And the crab migration was one of the main reasons why I wanted to head towards Taveuni, but that seems like it might be hard to plan around...

Your list of sights is good. So good that you should cross post this in FAQs.

I have actually organised myself a tour of the Labasa sugar mill. There is an Ozi guy there, trouble is I don't have clue when it might happen. Fiji time, some time....
There is great potential for improvement in the sugar industry, in fact agriculture generally. They can use lots of help. Perhaps you had better get a job here?

Cheers,
Peter

It looks as though the local sugar industry is in trouble. This is not helped, of course, by the severe drought which is affecting Fiji at present.

http://www.fijivillage.com/?mod=story&id=061010e8bf5465725d5f05533cd9c5

Its also not helped by the inept and corrupt Military Government, leading to inefficiencies in Fiji eg the the total lack of availability of ANY available cement for weeks anywhere in the country (when I was there in July last year) and the ruction with potential customer nations.

RE Levuka - the Royal Hotel was fine, but nothing special. Levuka is nice to see, but doesn't take long and the smell from the tuna processing plant is a little overpowering.

Bobo's farm on the other hand was amazing. Great accommodation, great location, great food and Bobo himself is fantastic... he'll happily take you on hikes in the mountains, out to beaches for snorkelling etc. and is a fountain of local cultural and environmental knowledge. I'd recommend doing Levuka as a day trip, and staying with Bobo.

See this link about the military entering two of the sugar cane factories.

http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=157561

Mandja - re the lack of concrete. I read a few weeks back that a couple of chinese companies are wanting to open cement manufacturing facilities in Fiji. As you know, the Fijian authorities have been courting Chinese investment in Fiji so it will be interesting to see what happens.

@mandja Thanks. I am pretty new to this forum but maybe after I leave Fiji I will post a list....Is cement made in the country (I think I read there is a plant somewhere?) or is it imported? Just curious.
@Peter If/when you go, take lots of pictures and post :) You are right about Taveuni transport being very difficult. I looked further into it and decided it wasn't worth the cost given the time I'd have actually on the island. Potential boat delays, high cost of flying, and transport schedule that cuts up the day caused me to postpone this to a future trip. I actually hope to volunteer for Peace Corps after I am done w/ my studies to do farming work. I have been thinking Africa is where I'd like to go (govt pays airfare so best deal), but knowing more about Fiji now I may change my mind.
@aquarian Thanks for posting those links. Interesting stuff.
@becks I took your advice and am trying to book Bobo's for 4 days. Thank you!

Thanks everyone for the posts. Here's what I'm thinking now -

Day
1 - Fiji Water plant tour (?), Garden of Gods, Sabeto Hot Springs, Koroyanitu Natl Park
2 - Lautoka (farmers market, sugar mill, etc), Navala village, Bulou's Eco Lodge
3 - Naihehe Cave, farms, pottery villages, Sigatoka Sand Dunes
4 - Namatakula Village Stay
5 - Upper Navua Gorge rafting
6 - Colo - I - Suva Natl Park
7 - Suva (Fiji Museum, USP, Govt Craft Ctr, etc)
8 - 11 Ovalau
12 - North route, Suva to Nadi

Now I have some new questions -

1. What is the likelihood that the inland road from Ba to Sigatoka will be passable with 4WD in November given the rainy season? Does Budget car rental allow you to drive this route? Seems like they should since they have offices conveniently located in both Nadi and Sigatoka. If not, which car companies do?
2. Is there any way to get in touch via email w/ Abaca Visitor Center and Bulou's to arrange accommodations in advance? I have only been able to find phone numbers. Or, will I be okay just showing up?
3. Is Colo - I - Suva worth doing? The pictures I've seen don't have me in awe, although it does look like a nice spot. How does this Park compare with the village stays in Navua or other options in the area?
4. What stops should I make along the north route from Suva to Nadi? Should I rent a 4WD for this drive or an economy car? Are there village stays on this side?
5. I have a morning flight out of Nadi and don't want to miss it. Would it be feasible to spend the night in the Ba area or farther away or should I spend the night in Nadi?

Even reading your amended list makes me gasp! I hope you are accustomed to steamy heat!
A question - are you proposing to have a hire car for the whole time? It does not seem possible otherwise - public transport is not so easy to coordinate and you are going to some out-of-the-way places.
1. Inland road Ba to Sigatoka - definitely 4WD, and you may find that Budget may prohibit this route. We've done it in good weather in an ordinary car but had to get out & push in several places, and get assistance from locals once. Try local firms like Sharmas or Khans.
2. Probably best to contact them in advance. If you are the only one wanting to go at that time you may miss out.
3. Have been to Colo-i-Suva a few years back. While it is a lovely place, with your rushed schedule you may find it easier to leave out. Rainforest Lodge was a reasonable place to stay back then.
4. 4WD would be better for the unsealed bits, again have driven this several times in an ordinary car, but with the likelihood of rain in November I wouldn't take the chance.
5. I would stay the night in Nadi. You would have to rely on more than an hours drive from Ba.

Thanks for the reply. I live in Hawaii so accustomed to hot and humid, but it sounds like Fiji is even MORE humid :O So that will be interesting.

I was planning on hiring a car at Nadi and returning in Sigatoka, then catching a bus to Suva or somewhere in between before meeting up with the river tour. Then having the river tour drop me hopefully in Suva, somehow get to the ferry stop to catch the boat to Ovalau. In Ovalau, Bobo's Farm I think would be able to pick me up and I'd pay for tours for transportation. Then once back on Viti Levu, I'd rent a car in Suva for the drive back to Nadi. How does that sound?

1. I definitely do not want to get out and push since I'll be by myself. I tried contacting Sharma and Khans but no response via email. May have to call. Not sure about Budget's 4wd terms....I'll have to call them too I suppose or just chance um. If it has been raining very hard, is this route still drivable w/ 4wd?

2. Okay thank you. If it is not possible to do this I wonder if it is a better idea to skip the drive and spend the time in the Mamanucas or Yasawas? I figure I could trade my plans for Days 1-4 for a trip to one of the Mamanucas. Being from Hawaii, though, I wasn't sure this is a good idea. It would be super interesting to see a comparison of the Fijian islands to Hawaiian islands.

3. I was planning on staying one night in the Lodge then spending the next day in Suva. Is it hard to get between the Lodge and Suva? My impression was that the park is right next to the Lodge and that a bus runs between the Lodge and Suva fairly frequently. I wouldn't have a car. Can you get to the hikes in the park without one?

4. I didn't realize there were unsealed sections of road along this route...thanks for the tip. Hate to pay extra for 4wd but perhaps it is better than getting stuck midway...

5. Thanks that is what I thought.

"tried contacting Sharma and Khans but no response via email. " - this is very common with Fijian and indeed small Pacific countries. They often take a long time to respond to email , if at all. I suggest phoning them.

Hiring in Nadi/returning car in Sigatoka - you will probably have to pay an extra fee to have the vehicle picked up - even if they have an office in Sigatoka. Check that first. Why not bus between the two? Local buses are frequent & cheap & an experience in themselves! You will probably have to stay a night in Suva, I can't remember what time the ferry to Ovalau goes, but I think it was early afternoon. There is a bus that takes you to Natovi Landing where the ferry leaves from, takes over an hour from memory.
#2 Rather than the Mamanucas, (which are tourist only areas in the main, so you would have to stay at a resort & not get a look at how locals live), consider the Yasawas. Takes a little longer to get there, (not much) but most resorts have village visits and staff generally live locally, you will see how the locals live - and I imagine will be different from the Hawaiian islands in infrastructure (virtually none!) and standard of living.
#3 Not hard to get from Raintree to Suva - there is a bus. But from memory, it took a lot longer than they suggested on their website! There is a park entrance very close, you can walk there.

TaiMarilyn said..... "But from memory, it took a lot longer than they suggested on their website!"

Everything in Fiji "takes a little longer than they suggest". That is Fiji time. If you don't understand and accept that you will become very frustrated very quickly. Make allowances.

We took a "3 hour" bus trip recently that took 4 1/2 hours and that only included one flat tyre.... :-)

Cheers,
Peter

I loved Fiji time. It reminded me that the world doesn't run to my timetable. I can imagine it is frustrating at times though.

Thank you all for the replies. Thank you Tai! Your memory is correct I think it leaves 1 or 2 pm. I may fly one way to save some time. Regarding car rental, I don't think I'm being charged a one way fee, but it is still not cheap at 400+ FJD. Checked with Budget and they do allow driving the backroads with their 4wds. However, I'm reconsidering. I haven't been able to contact any of the places I wanted to stay along the way (Abaca, Bulou's) although Fiji Water did confirm they run tours on Wed and Thurs but that it depends on availability. And it sounds like the rains have arrived so I'm uncertain about driving conditions out there. Driving on a road that is more like a river would be around the limit of my comfort zone (not sure what to expect?) and getting stuck out there by myself in the middle of nowhere sounds like it could be a real drag. What do you think? Am I thinking it is worse than it really is?

" I haven't been able to contact any of the places I wanted to stay along the way"
sadly this is the norm in Fiji (and elsewhere in the Pacific islands).I suggest phoning the places thast you need info from.

Thanks for the tip mandja. I did try calling Abaca Visitor's Center. It didn't work for me. It might be because you have to dial 4 digit codes to reach different people and I was using Google Voice (VOIP) not a regular phone....not sure. I'm not opposed to chancing it unless someone will get mad if I end up sleeping on the side of the road or its not safe. I really don't want to get swamped though - do you know about road conditions out there now?