One month in Fiji.

I have four weeks in June to use on vacation to forget about the real world and was looking at Fiji. Is it a good idea to get a one month rental and do day trips or the odd overnight stay? Or would it be better to just find places as I go? I know about the beaches and snorkelling but is there lots of good hiking, intermediate surfing, biking to fill my days as well? What am I looking at for costs per day? I'm not a backpacker but looking to save where I can? Appreciate any feedback any might have. Thanks in advance.

Fiji is big and spread-out.
You'd really be limiting yourself by staying in one place for a whole month.
There are plenty of activities, mainly on the bigger islands, of course.I actually found the hiking to be better than the snorkeling in Fiji!
A minimum/backpacker budget would be ca US$ 30 per day, so plan to spend upwards of that amount.

i have to agree with Laszlo reply above.

there is too much to do and once you get to Fiji and meet people and find out all the places you can visit you will be very upset that you have committed to stay in one place for 1 month.

with a planned one month stay

you have to visit the Yawsawa Islands

you have to visit the coral coast

you have to do a round trip around of the main island Viti Levu

you have to visit Beqa Island

etc so staying in one place is not the best thisng to do

I would recommend arriving at Nadi and booking into Smugglers cove for two nights and in the evening meet as many people as you can and ask questions about Fiji.

http://www.smugglersbeachfiji.com/fastpage/fpengine.php/home_page.htm/1

here you will meet lots of people who have spent time in Fiji and they will tell where to go and where not to go.

if you want cultural experience

Danny's on the Coral Coast

http://www.fijihomestays.com/fiji_homestays_photos.htm

and in the Yasawas

http://octopusresort.com/

hope this helps

When I am in Fiji I mainly stay at a place called Sunrise Sunset holiday homes on the coral coast. I book it through the travel maxia website and it includes rental car and transfers. Its a bargin for where and what it is. From memory its around $800 FJD per week for the car and house and transfers.

I then do day trips from there as I have the car.

I also suggest you spend some time on the islands as a month in one spot is a long time but dont forget it only takes 8 hours to driver around the main island, so the place is not that big.

Here are some things that I like doing on the Coral Coast

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=1882156

If you also do a search on Trip advisor I am under the same name and I have given some detailed reports on road trips around and through Viti

Have fun :-)

If you're there for a month it may be worth it to rent a car. The buses run on time and are reliable, but they mostly run during the day. The taxis are absolutely outrageous.

Guess you are already in Fiji. If your down the Coral Coast way (Pacific Harbour) I do a bed & breakfast at a very reasonable rate. If you're interested ring me on 3450303 and I'll give you more info.
I see you like hiking. At Pacific Harbour we have a Hash House Harriers group which meet every Saturday and venture into the bush, beaches, rivers bog and roads. Very enjoyable day followed by drinks and nibbles at a different venue every week. Great way to meet and talk to people. Hope you enjoy your stay in Fiji.

hey Laszlo, can you share some more info on hiking options? I've only got two weeks there in July and would love to go hiking for a few days. Any suggestions of good places that are not too hard to reach, perhaps close to good diving spots, would be much appreciated!

Marion

Probably your best bet is Taveuni, which has Fiji's most pristine naure and also diving possibilities, though hikes there are basically day-hikes. I also liked a day-hike to the interior on Ovalau a lot.

For a longer hike, the interior of Viti Levu is the most obvious choice.
The Moon Fiji Handbook describes a multiday hike there, but I haven't done that myself.

When we were there we used the Bula Pass to island hop around the yasawa islands for a few weeks - we loved this as it was a discounted pass plus you could stay longer at any of the islands you particularly loved or only stay one night at anywhere you weren't so keen on. We met some great people along the way and really saw some of the most beautiful sights!