Yasawas April/May, necessary to book accommodation ahead???

Hi all,

We (two of us) are planning to visit Fiji from end of April to early May and we decided to do some island hopping on the Yasawas for 2 weeks. Now there's the question: is it recommended to book the hotels ahead or is it very easy to find accommondation when we arrive on the islands by the Flyer?
Would be really happy if you have some advice for us :)

Thanks,
Sigi

Depends. You'll always be able to find a bed somewhere. If you're picky, require a private room, or want to stay at the best places, then you should book ahead.

Tch has it right, if you are going the dorm route and don't care too much about the place you're staying at,
then you can just wing it. On some islands, there are only a few lodgings to choose from, so if the better
value ones are full- you will need to partake of the leftovers. The Octopus on Waya and the Blue Lagoon
on Nacula are getting great press and people book them up. Both, by the way, have great dorm rooms as
well. Happy Travels!

Yes, Octopus and Blue Lagoon are highly recommended - and you need to book both ahead if you want to go there. As well as air-con dorms, they also have private rooms which use dorm facilities.

I think you can't just get off the Yasawa Flyer at an island without having your accommodation booked.

Graymare is correct! The Yasawa Flyer (awesomefiji.com) requires that you have pre-booked accommodations before they will let you off the boat. May as well get busy on Tripadvisor and figure
out now where you want to stay in the Yasawas.

Back in a day some of the Yasawa Resorts-- in Fiji every accom is called a "resort" ranging from a
backpacker lodging to a 5-star luxury place-- ran their own boats to Lautoka's harbor. You could
take these boats to their resort or be dropped off at a nearby resort. Today, some of the villages and locals run their own
resorts- such as Wayolailai Ecohaven on Wayasewa (next to Waya). and Oarsman's Bay Lodge on Nacula. Pack in some good kava from the Lautoka marketplace and you have instant friends-- These days
the Yasawa Flyer seems to dominate the transport business to the beautiful Yasawa Islands. If you want to
see them before going to a few, take a tour on GoogleEarth-- the entire island chain can be viewed.

Hi,

thank all of you so much for all the replies, it's getting a bit more clear for me...

But one thing: I think I read at the Lonely Planet Guide Book, that on the Flyer is also a desk for booking the accommodations on the following islands??

Greets,
Sigi

Bula Sig! The Flyer will book some of the lodgings but you will be limited to the ones they work with and there's not any significant savings on prices. Also,
the fine print says they can change your pre-booked lodgings at the last minute. You're better off
booking them yourself.

Alright,
that's what I'm going to do, some booking research the next few days :)
Thank you for your help! :)

you can book accom from the travel desk on the boat but if its busy sometimes the cheaper accoms go and places do fill 100%, but once at a place its easier to extend usually. You can usually find a resort to get to if you do it on the fly just maybe not your choice if left last minute or you risk it by trying to book from the boat. And if they are busy and you do get off the boat there will be nowhere at all for you to stay.

The Yasawa Flyer rules require pre-booked accommodation these days. So you really MUST pre-book.
You'll see the requirement on their website: awesomefiji.com

you might require a first night somewhere prebooked so they know what to charge you for the intial fare but beyond that you are fine, the tour desk onboard makes arrangements and bookings all the time for those with Bula passes and others travelling on the hop.