Fiji - Nadi or Suva?

I'm treating my mum to a trip to Fiji for her 80th birthday. She used to work there and was married there, but left in 1956 and hasn't returned since. I've never been there, so am curious to see the place where she used to live.

We're not into resorts, it's going to be a trip down memory lane for my mum and for me just a few relaxing days in the sun. Because my mum used to live/work in Suva, I thought about basing ourselves there, but the hotel reviews for Suva aren't particularly good and I'm also a little worried about safety (as in political unrest etc). However, I'm also not relishing the thought of a 2.5 hour drive each way from Nadi to Suva each day.

We arrive into Nadi at around 7pm - should we spend the night there then travel on to Suva the next day? I've heard some scary stories about driving in Fiji, and really don't want to have to cope with that and a strange road at night.

Any info appreciated.

Not sure how to advise you since you're so badly mixed up.

"a 2.5 hour drive each way from Nadi to Suva each day."

What in heaven's name are you talking about?

the hotel reviews for Suva aren't particularly good

Unfortunately, I'm not familiar with the reviews you're reading, so I don't know what's scaring you off.

A few thoughts: Suva isn't a tourist town .. at least, not for the beach/holiday resort people who go to Fiji on holiday. For that reason Suva tends to get a thumbs down. But Lautoka (near Nadi) is also a great Fijian town and I've seen some stinker reviews of hotels there because they don't meet the standards of the beach resort crowd.

Another thing about Nadi. As a town it's not so interesting, and I'd guess that the 'good review' hotels aren't literally in Nadi anyway but spread over several km around the Nadi area.

If your Mom has lived and worked in Suva, let alone Fiji then I figure she can handle the non-tourism side of Fijian life.

The safety issue is nonsense. Don't pay attention to the news broadcast sensationalism.

Put all your fears and concerns away in storage. Everything else you say points to Suva as the place to go to.

A couple more thoughts:
> I'm also not relishing the thought of a 2.5 hour drive each way from Nadi to Suva

If the idea here is to commute from a better-quality resort accommodation, then you will be better off staying somewhere closer to Suva. I'm not familiar with those types of properties, but I do recall there being resort-level places within a half hour of Suva. Surely they can't be that bad, and will save you a lot of driving time.

Your other worry -- you do worry a lot ;-) -- about driving at night. If it was me, I'd stay near the airport for the first night, not out of fear of night roads, but simply to relax and unwind from the flying.

Thanks for the info. I've decided we will stay in Nadi for the night we arrive, then spend the rest of our break in Suva. Neither of us is looking for the 'lay around the pool in a resort' type holiday I'm aware that Suva isn't really a resort town, but that to me makes it more interesting.

you are better staying in Nadi overnight, as it takes longer than 2.5 hours to drive from Nadi airport to Suva, I just did it this week, and if you are intending to drive yourself its not that nice if its raining and dark. There is a good bus service between the two places. there are different hotels in Suva, and not sure of your budget but I would be happy to stay in most of them. certainly they are not like the resort hotels, the sunset bus takes the Kings and Queens road, so you could go right around the island as well. and in the many times I've visited Suva and Fiji in general there has been no evidence of any political issues. I walk around the streets by myself with no sense of fear. Your Mum will love it.

We've decided to spend our first and last nights in Nadi. I realised (fortunately before booking Suva accommodation) that we have a flight home from Nadi that departs at 9am, and it would be too much of a rush to make it from Suva. Our choice in Nadi will probably be the Raffles Gateway Hotel; a co-worker has stayed there and highly recommended it (as have others) but the only problem I can see is that they don't seem to have any rooms with 2 beds?

The Deluxe Rooms have two beds (or even three). Not just two Single beds, but separate beds, i.e. one Double bed and one sofa single bed or one Double bed and two Single beds).