Fiji or Vanuatu for exploring / photography and beach time !

Hi all,

We are looking at going to either Fiji or Vanuatu for a week in December. We have done a bit of research but we were hoping maybe someone who has experienced both places could help us decide which one may suit us the best. We've done a lot of travelling and are used to staying in backpackers but as we are only going for a week we would like something maybe midrange, not a big garish resort but somewhere comfortable, quite and and away from the crowds - location is key !

We of course want the obvious beautiful beach beach with great snorkelling on our doorstep

We would like the option to go off and explore independently, and we are keen photographers so we would like to experience scenery, local life and culture !

We love our food so would like to eat well.

I'm taking my rod so would love to do a bit of fishing and other activities.

From our research Fiji looks like it may win when it comes to beaches and snorkelling, theres a few more accommodation options and it's slightly cheaper. But we are concerned we need to go out to to an offshore island which would be lovely but may restrict our options to explore. A

We have been looking at Santo in Vanuatu, looks like it could be good to hire a car and explore and the food sounds good to. But does it have the same wow factor as Fiji?

Basically we are not asking for to much we just want somewhere that has it all !!!

Anybody know of any hidden Gems ? we were looking at Oyster island resort http://www.oysterisland.com/gallery.html just off Santo, anyone been there ?

Any help appreciated !

That resort looks awesome! If you like the looks of it, you might like Fiji's Blue Lagoon Beach Resort
on Nacula Island in the Yasawa chain. A less expensive place on the same great beach is Oarsman's
Bay Lodge. Waya Island, also in the Yasawa's, would tick a lot of your boxes-- great skin diving at both
places but Waya is a volcanic island with a peak in the island's center which makes for great hiking and
there are 4 Fijian villages on Waya. I've not been to Vanuatu but understand the airfares from Port Vila,
where your incoming international flight will land out to Santo will run something like $400 each. Factor
this into your trip cost. (bluelagoonbeachresort.com octopusresort.com) Cheers!

Nowadays, before I go anywhere I check out the geography on Google Earth.com

massive oversight thanks Kenko I had no idea the flight to Santo would cost that much, that could swing things. We were looking at Waya Island it sounds great could tick all the boxes, I will check out those resorts, thanks so much !