How long should we stay in Fiji?

Hi, this is my first post on this forum but I've been reading it for a while now and would like to ask for your opinion.

I'll be travelling to New Zealand with my boyfriend - we're both in our mid 20's. We arrive in the end of November and we travel back home to Europe on February 3.
We are going to be as far away from home as you can possibly be, so visiting Fiji on our way back was the only logical thing to do :)

We don't know how much time should we spend on Fiji. Does 17 days sound good for our plan?
We would like to visit the Yasawa islands and possibly some of the Mamanuca islands. We would also like to go to Robinson Crusoe island (not a must) and see Natadola beach.
Are there any resorts or other areas in Fiji you would recommend?

We are mainly interested in snorkelling, swimming, taking great photos and relaxing, it will be more like a pre-honeymoon :)

Thanks a lot for your answers and suggestions!
Best regards

17 days would give you plenty of time to explore those areas, although you'd be there at the wrong time of year and the weather might not be so great. Therefore I'd probably shorten it to 10-12 days, and give yourself a little more time in NZ. Generally 2 nights is good length at a resort/island, or 3 nights at the better ones like Octopus and Blue Lagoon.

Natadola Beach and any of the beaches on the mainland will be underwhelming, especially if you visit them after you see the islands (or even NZ's northern beaches). Nonetheless, if you stick with 17 days total, you should spend a day or two seeing the sights on the mainland, like the Sigatoka sand dunes, the Coral Coast, and the highlands.

Thank you for your answer, tch7! I bought the tickets a week ago and was thinking about it and really doubted my decision...

The weather was on my mind the whole time, LP says that the Yasawa's are drier, but still...
Our main point by far is New Zealand and Fiji is more like the cherry on the cake :)

And I've changed the dates today :)
We're spending now 55 days in New Zeland and 12 days in Fiji.

I was thinking of spending 2 nights in one resort and on my wish list are:
Octopus resort, Blue lagoon resort, Nanuya island resort, Oarsman's resort, Manta ray island resort, Naqalia lodge, Coral view resort.

Are there any other you would recommend? Or are any on my list that aren't really that good?
Is there anywhere that you found snorkelling extra amazing? :)

Thanks and best regards

Another option is rather than spend all that time in Fiji, use the Bula Pass to visit another country, such as Samoa. This assumes that you booked with Air Pacific and can add the bula pass onto your existing reservation.

Octopus is quite good, but it's big. Go here, but do it before Blue Lagoon.

Oarsman's is right beside Blue Lagoon, and Blue Lagoon is undeniably the superior of the two (and possibly the best place in the Yasawas). Awesome beach, great snorkelling, new facilities, delicious food, friendly staff. Oarsman's is good if Blue Lagoon has no vacancy.

Nanuya gets rave reviews, though it's a couples kind of place so I personally can't comment.

Manta Ray is nice and has some of the best snorkelling, but it has a party atmosphere with a lot of young boozing backpackers. Not the greatest beach at the resort itself, but if you walk to one of the secluded beaches that nobody goes to, they're much nicer.

Don't know about Naqalia, but it has good reviews, and it's on Wayalailai which has some very nice hiking options.

Coral View is visible from Blue Lagoon & Oarsman's, but it is cheaper and of a lower standard, but generally considered to be good. Mainly attracts the backpacker crowd. If you're doing Blue Lagoon & Nanuya, I'd probably skip Coral View and stay at those places longer.

Hi, thanks again for your answer!

Does this itinerary sound good?

Day 1: we land in Nadi at 10.am - at 12.00 we go to Bounty island resort
Day 2 an day 3: Octopus resort
Day 4 nad 5: Manta ray resort or Botaira resort (any recommendation?)
Day 6 and day 7: Nanuya island resort
Day 8, day 9 and day 10: Blue lagoon resort
Day 10 we arrive in Nadi at 6 p.m, spend the night there (any good idea where?) and
Day 11 we see the temple in Nadi and Giant's garden and fly to NZ at 8 p.m.

Would you change anything?

Is it possible to buy a bula pass from Yasawa flyer for 10 days? Do you think it would be cheaper to book a pass or each connection separately?

Are there lockers in these hotels, where you can leave valuables (camera, passport,...) when you go on a snorkelling trip for example? Or is it better to keep it with you at all times?

Thank you again for your help :)

That looks good. Bluewater Lodge in Nadi is a nice place to stay. You'll be able to do more on day 11, because the temple, for instance, only takes 5-10 minutes to see.

There are no 10-day bula passes. Your best bet is probably to take a single transfer with SSC to Bounty on day 1. Have your Yasawa Flyer 7-day bula pass come into effect on day 2, which will then last until day 8 - getting you to Blue Lagoon. Then book a separate connection on the Flyer from Blue Lagoon to Nadi for day 10.

Lockers are uncommon in the islands, as is theft. Locals don't steal because the consequences of them being caught pretty much destroy their life as they know it. There's a very slight chance a fellow tourist would steal something, especially if you leave it just lying out in the open, but you should find overall that the Yasawa islands are one of the safest places you'll ever visit.

Thanks again for your help :)

I found on Octopus's website that they have their own transport to the resort. We were thinking of starting at Octopus and finishing in Nadi - I'm not too sure about Bounty island... What do you think? Should we stay there for a night?

When you were in Fiji, where did you find really good snorkelling spots? Is it going to be difficult to snorkel or less visible in January, are there waves?

Do you find 4 hotels in 10 nights too much?

I really have to stop going through it all and just make the reservations :)
The thing is that we're going to be in New Zealand for 2 months and don't have any plans or reservation, we plan to take it as it goes... but with 12 days in Fiji, I think we have to book everything now, coz some private rooms are already full...

Thanks also about your reply to my safety&transport issues :)

Greetings from Slovenia