Fiji in 5 days and not much of a hotel/package/guided tour person?

hey there,

im planing to go to fiji with my boyfriend soonish, in order to extend our visa for australia...5 days and ive never been on a short holiday like that...terrifying, as im usually more of an indulge-in-the-culture-and-travel-around person! so anybody similar-minded who would like to share experiences? i really dont know how to spend 5 days in a hotel with pool and beach view, not speaking the language and not doing anything but working on my sun-tan!! argh! help!

;-) mipsi

People speak english on Fiji.

If you don't want to spend 5 days at an upmarket hotel around the pool, then you can take an excursion to an upland national park outside Nadi/Lautoka (Lautoka is a better 'local' experience than Nadi). Do some hiking, stay at a homestay, visit a 'traditional' village or two.

Or go to one of the Yasawa or Mamanuca island resorts. Spend your days snorkelling etc.

That should be enough for 5 days.

thanks for the tip! staying at a homestay sounds fantastic, i`ll see what i can find out about that!

We spent 9 days ocean kayaking in Fiji - around the Yasawa islands. A simpler option which will allow you to indulge in the culture would be to hire a 4 wheel drive and travel through the hinterland of Vitu Levi. We did this for 5 days staying in small hotels in small towns where the other guests were Fijians. There are other thing beyond the usual touristy snorkel and sun bathe that you could do. I know that there are some really good hiking options.

Ocean kayaking in the Yasawas sounds wonderful - 9 days though? Wheredid you stay?

We kayaked with a company called Southern Sea Ventures. There were 5 of us - 2 guides, myself and husband and another guy. We kayaked around a number of Yasawas islands - sometimes staying in island villages and we also camped on an uninhabited island which was great fun. Sometimes the kayaking was through huge, beautiful lagoons and then we went through reef passages into the open sea to get to other islands. The kayaking started on Tavewa island and we returned there at the end of the kayaking expedition about 7 days later. The first and last days were spent getting to Tavewa by ferry.

bula,

thanks for all the tips! we´re back...more details soon!