Price in Fiji

Hi,

How expensive Fiji if compared with Australia and New Zealand ? I plan stay in homestay/guesthouse ,eat local food and use public transport and will avoid resort ala Maldives at all. Is there any place to do village to village trekking ala Baliem Valley in Papua ?

It is cheaper than AU or NZ.
The cheapest country in the region, thanks to the Indian population.
No such treeking in Fiji though. Most villages are either on the coast or road-accessible. And most consist of ugly tin shacks.

Thanks Lazslo,

Any recommendation for trekking in Fiji either volcanoes/mountain or national park ? How about Nausori Highland , i check the houses there quite traditional in google image and the green scenery remind me of Papua scenery

http://coastalrentalcars.com.fj/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/nausori-1024x513.jpg

There is just one traditional village there.
Can't recommend multiday hikes in Fiji.
More day hikes.

The only genuine multi-day trek that I can recall was across Viti Levu, north to south. However, even that seems to have been phased out as a possibility, judging by most recent guidebook report. Much of the trail has been replaced by a road/dirt track, and there is only one section connecting north and south roads that can be walked in less than a day.

I enjoy a hike, but everything I found on Viti Levu, Vanua Levu, and Taveuni was of the day-hike variety from a base. I can't exclude possibilities for hikes/treks with a guide (they'd be needed), but this is probably not what you're asking about.

In Fiji, if you want the least expensive, then you will have to stay in at least a small town .. this is mainly for the eating possibilities. Island resorts, even backpacker budget, will have meal plans, because there is no other option. The villages/hamlets very rarely have any public facilities at all. So, the irony of the situation is that, if you had to trek between villages then there'd be no facilities anyway. Courtesy sort of expects you to pay "normal" costs for whatever food/lodgings are provided.

Guesthouses in towns likely to be lower cost than hotels. But out of towns the guesthouses/homestays will be more likely the only option available (also tourism target and advance reservations might be advised at certain times of year) and cost-wise more expensive than corresponding accom in the towns.

Thanks bthdth,

I find good itinerary via web Talanoa trek which climbing highest mountain and some traditional village there but the price is very prohibitive. Do you know it is possible to go to Visit Nabalesere’s waterfall, and climb Mt Tomaniivi independently ?

Sorry, don't know details for that area.

The key word is "possible". Personally, I would not underestimate the difficulty of jungle trekking. I did some casual wandering around in a couple of places and it was very easy to get disoriented even if on a path .. and jungle paths are not easy to see and follow. I did go on a hike with a guide and I still had a hard time figuring out where I was.

I had one other curious encounter on Taveuni, just to give you an idea of the sorts of things you can come up against. I was following some trails in/near the Bouma park, not the ones to the waterfalls, just some other trails I saw and I followed one to see where it went. At one point I came across a local villager from somewhere. He was polite enough, asked me what I was doing there, then politely suggested I turn around and go back to where I came from, since this was not trail to a park waterfall. I don't know if he was concerned for my safety or, just as likely, whether I was in his eyes trespassing on private property.

I met a couple of people who had gone up to a homestay in the Koroyanitu Park area, near Lautoka. They claimed to have tried to hike up a peak with a local guide .. and got lost! Well, not exactly lost, but somehow got off an easy trail to the summit and the trip ended up an unsettling ordeal.

Just some stories ...

It's up to you, how ambitious you want to plan, given whatever experience you believe you have. Koroyanitu, by the way, might be an option. It is not, as far as I know, a multi-village trek area, but still may have some possibilities for relatively independent day hikes.

Hi Lazslo,

If i have 2-3 weeks better to spend in Fiji alone or i should move to try Samoa since i want feel the different between Melanesia vs Polynesia, i find flight to Samoa quite expensive about 500 USD return to Fiji, but if its worth i dont mind. I find in Samoa forum that it is your least likeable country, mind to elaborate why ?

Thanks again

I found Samoans the unfriendliest and most dishonest people in the Pacific, regularly stealing from their own guests (like, out of 3 of us randomly sharing a dorm in Apia, all of us had money stolen by our hosts elsewhere in Samoa), plus being such a small country, it has no really off the beaten track islands.
Tickets to Tonga tend to be cheaper and the country much more interesting and the people nicer.
Tickets to Vanuatu are also cheaper and the people the nicest anywhere.
Fiji doesn't feel Melanesian anyway. Though physically looking somewhat Melanesian, culturally Fijians are more like Polynesians. So for contrast, head for Vanuatu, not Polynesia! Vanuatu also offers the multiday inter-village trekking you are looking for, and very traditional villages/people.
To really feel the contrast between Polynesian and Melanesian culture, visiting Vanuatu and Tonga is the best and cheapest combination. Fiji, with its hybrid culture and large Indian population, isn't really representative of either region.

Laszlo, I think stealing is more an island thing, having lived in Fiji, I had things stolen from high end to lower end hotels I stayed at as well as places I lived.

Over several visits to Fiji, I didn't lose anything and only met one tourist who claimed to have had money stolen. In fact the only South Pacific country besides Samoa where I experienced theft was the Solomon Islands. Even in Samoa I would have written it off as bad luck had it not been for 3 out of 3 of us staying together by pure chance all having experienced it separately.

Thanks Laszlo,

How about Vanuatu/Solomon price compared with Indonesian Papua. We talk about accommodation, food and excursion which in general Papua is quite expensive especially transport in general (both land and boat are quite expensive )

Bearing in mind tat I visited them several years ago, I'd say they are still more expensive than Papua, and of the two, Vanuatu was more expensive than the Solomons. However, Vanuatu was much nicer and more interesting, too. The Solomons are my least favourite country in Melanesia.

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