Prebook accommodation in Fiji? Travelling with children!

Hi all experienced travellers in Fiji,

I was wondering if we have to prebook accommodation in Fiji or can we just show up and will basic to midrange resorts/hostels have accommodation available? I have been to Fiji before and we did book in advance then, but this time we would like to drive around Viti Levu with a rental car and just stay where we find a place that we like for as long as we like and then move on. As we did have some problems doing this in New Caledonia (most accommodation was booked out!), I was wondering if it will work in Fiji? We are travelling with 2 children and time of year will be April. Anyone has some advice?

Thanks a lot for your replies!
Brenda

We live here and think you will be OK, most towns have more than one place to stay, if you decided to take the ferry across to Ovalau you may need to book something there if it was weekend, and there are safe parking places where people will mind you car for a small charge, if you want to visit some of the small islands, eg Leleuvia, Naigani for an overnight

thanks, that was very usefull to me as we are indeed planning to stay on Ovalau and Leleuvia as well! Do you have any recommendations for Ovalau? On Leleuvia there is only one resort, right?

As long as you do not plan on going to a one-resort island (or, for example, a multi-resort Yasawa island that you'd have to get to by boat) then there's no need to make reservations. That said, if you have a list of accommodations there's no disadvantage to calling a day or two in advance if you want a particular place.

Ovalau: the main town is Levuka, and the Royal Hotel is an old world experience you should try, if there. Leleuvia is a small lagoon island with one resort. You can walk around it in 20 minutes. Caqalai is similar, but smaller. If you're in Levuka anyway, it will be easy for either of the lagoon resorts to pick you up there.

Bibi's hideaway is also a popular homestay on Ovalau. Probably you'd need to make a reservation. At least contact in advance and ask them what the vacancy situation is.

Links, if you don't already have them:
http://levukatourism-com.webs.com/
http://www.leleuvia.com/index.html

Go for it.
We did it twice. Once by local bus and once by taxi.
The bus was great in itself.
Hire car has some different risks that you may choose to avoid by using local transport.

Cheers,
Peter

We did it in June last year which is probably busier than April. We didnt get the nicest room at Aquarius in Nadi but liked the hostel so booked ahead on our return and got a better room. We really enjoyed Nananu i ra ( near raki raki ) but the budget cottage was booked so paid slightly more for a nicer one ( and couldnt extend our stay when we wanted) we were disapointed in the room available at The Royal Hotel on Ovalau (and hated the bus ride to get to Levuka)but heard about Leleuvia while there ( and their pick up avoided having to take the bus back) we loved Leleuvia and were able to extend our stay....have since read about Vatia eco place which I will check out next visit, the weather in the south was quite cold in June and we wished we had stayed longer in the North. So a mixed bag, it was good to be independent and we were glad not to have pre booked when the places werent so nice - The Royal Hotel, Mana Island Backpackers, but we wished we had booked in the places we liked so we could have stayed longer - but of course you dont know if they suit you till you try. We are going back this June and will book on Nananu i ra but not at Vatia .....just in case. I think it will be less busy in May, things seem to get busier june / july august when it is cold in NZ

Thanx everyone for your very helpful experiences and advice! We have decided not to take a rental car but travel around by bus and we will travel to the coral coast, Ovalau and Leleuvia. We are looking forward to it very much - not so long now :-)

This topic has been automatically locked due to inactivity. Email community@lonelyplanet.com if you would like to add to this topic and we'll unlock it for you.