Octopus Resort and also Lautoka area hotels

Fresh from our July visit to Oarsmans in the Yasawas (trip report still coming!) , we (2 failies each of mum, dad + 2 teens) have now booked to go again next year - this time to Octopus.

Couple of questions

1. I know from TTers that the food is great (and plentiful ) at Octopus and that the water is ok to drink, but given that we are taking 2 teenagers, is there stuff we should take? Snacks?What a bout snorkels etc?

2. We are considering staying 2 nights in or near Lautoka after the Octopus boat returns us there.Not having been to Lautoka, Im looking for suggestions. Budget is say $300 pn per family. Id like somewhere with ensuites, can be inland , maybe somekind of eco-resort?Weve been to Nadi and Coral Coast many times, so pref not there - any ideas?

At Octopus - we always stock up on snacks on the mainland before going out there. You can get them there but knowing how much teenagers eat.....
Snorkels & masks - they have them available but better to take your own & then you are sure of getting a good fit - nothing worse than a leaky mask. We take our own fins but you can get them there.
If you want to see photos PM me with email address. When are you going?

We are going on 1 July 2009.

Oarsman had snorkles too but charged for them - we took our own for that reason.When each family member uses them each day it becomes expensive - in our case it was 4 people x 5 days x $7 if we had to pay= $140.Oarsman did however have free canoes

Do Octopus charge for snorkles/canoes?

As for snacks, we did stock up last time at the "supermarket" at the Denarau Port - but it was nearly as expensive as on Oarsman, so not worth it.

You could look into Bekana island resort, it is just off the coast (1 or 2 km) directly in front of Lautoka city. Most (not all) people I have spoken to say its a good place to stay, I have no idea about the rates, must be a website somewhere.

Otherwise there is the Lautoka Hotel, just a midrange motel with a nice little pool, should fit the budget, or there is the Waterfront Hotel but I have never stayed there myself.

There are a number of resorts closer to Vuda point where the Octopus boat comes in, I can't vouch for any of them but you could look into First Landing resort. There is only one decent beach in the area, Saweni, and that will certainly be several steps down from the beach at Octopus.

The food at Octopus is definately nice, and servings are adequate by Australian standards, but smallish by Fijian standards. They do charge for snorkelling gear, $10 per day from memory. I don't remember there being kayaks...

We stopped in at Harris-Hedrum Supermarket in Lautoka to stock up before heading out to the island - great selection and good prices! We found that we did not eat a lot of extras while at Octopus (actually preferred to get a coffee and cookies after dinner, even though we had to pay a little extra) as the food was ample for us. Water was always available - we would just refill our bottles whenever we wanted. I don't recall any kayaks either and we also brought our own snorkel gear. There are also daily activities(usually a fee) that can keep you occupied.

If you decide to stay at the Lautoka Hotel make sure you get a room by the pool as they are the best. you can expect to pay about $75fj a night for a double bed and a single so for $150fj you could get 2 rooms next to each other . Rooms have always been clean and tidy the many times our family has stayed there. There restaurant is cheap but the food and the service can be very average at times. If you want something a little more up-market the Waterfront hotel is the place to go. The super market Morris Hedsrom is very close to the Lautoka Hotel and I think it always pays to take a few snacks to these resorts and if you don't use them just give them away.

Thanks to all for the replies. I'm still unsure abouit Lautoka and believe that it might be better to go elsewhere - maybe somewhere inland, given that we will have had 7 nights on Octopus?

BTW we've decided to replace our snorkles/fins and take them with us. We usually do take them (as last time on Oarsmans ) but theyre getting a little old and worn.

After Octopus you should check out Stoney Creek Resort. It's a little eco-resort between Nadi and Lautoka up in the foothills of the sleeping Giant mountains. There's a pool, mountain biking, hiking, horseback riding, etc. Should be able to find it on the web.