Fiji and Island Hopping the Yasawas

After our few days in L.A. and the hectic schedule of South America, we were both super excited for the week we planned island hopping Fiji! We had booked and already paid for an open 7-day island hopping pass that would cover the Yasawa and Mamanuca islands. We booked the pass through STA travel, on the basis that it was completely flexible and enabled us to jump between the islands via boat day to day.

After a bit of a restless overnight flight, we arrived in Nadi, the mainland of Fiji. We flew with Fiji Airways, and the service was great, the Fijan people are renowned for their caring and welcoming hospitality, and they certainly showed us that on the flight. They had nice patterned pillows, jazzy blankets, free full sized alcoholic drinks and a huge chicken burger for dinner... Okay, it wasn’t gourmet cuisine, but it was probably one of the best in flight meals we’ve had on our travels so far. Once again we panicked at the array of films and music they had on offer, and they also had a short feature film on Fiji, full of surfing, snorkelling, fishing and everyday beach life. Tom watched it twice whilst fidgeting with excitement, while Steph fell asleep watching 'Gone Girl'. We had all this, always served with a giant Fijian smile, and one flight attendant even came over and tucked Steph in, and turned off the film to stop it waking her up.

 Even as we landed and emerged off the plane, the arrivals lounge was filled with the soothing sounds of the Ukelele as 4 large Fijan men sang to everyone in bright green floral shirts. The only time we didn't feel the Fijan love, was at the immigration desk, where, when asked our address for our time in Fiji, we had no answer, as we were planning to sort our accommodation on the Yasawa flyer, the boat that takes you to each island as well as an on-board travel agent. This didn't sit well with the man behind the desk, and he marched Steph to the immigration office even though Tom had been let through by another man. This was a little nerve racking, however the woman took one look at us and let us go. Emergency avoided!

We were pretty happy with the way Paul, our travel agent, had planned the flights as we landed in Nadi at 5:30am, which meant we had time to get to the Yasawa flyer before it left for the day at around 9.30AM. This meant we could avoid a potentially wasted day in Nadi, where there is not much to do, and could commence straight into the island hopping and really make the most of our time there. Despite being tired, this is definitely something we’d recommend, as you might as well get all the travelling done in one day and then be free to relax.

It was only when we arrived in Nadi, that we suddenly realised we had absolutely no idea how the island hopping pass worked. We knew we had paid for it, for how long and at what level, but we didn’t know how it actually worked. We had turned up to Fiji with no accommodation confirmed, no transfers arranged and no idea who we were meant to be waving our booking confirmation at. We found the 'Awesome Adventures' desk at the airport, which is the company we bought our passes from, where a kind lady told us we could get a free transfer to the port which was an expense spared. As we waited for the bus, we saw the sun rise over the islands of Fiji, and we craved desperately to be sitting on a beach, witch a cocktail in hand!

We arrived at port, Denarau, and jumped straight onto the Yasawa flyer, a giant yellow catamaran, and found the travel desk on board. They gave us a little book which contained a map, and briefs about each of the island resorts you could visit.

Mamanuca islands covered with yellow route, and the Yasawas the red route

The Bula combo pass we had bought, lasted for the duration of 7 day stay, and also included all food which we had forgotten about, so once again, we had an expense catered for! The accommodation is graded not using stars but using coconuts (of course, this is Fiji), so we purchased a double private room pass at a one coconut level. This meant that we’d have our own room, but the facilities such as toilets and showers etc. would probably be shared. It ranges in standard and price from one coconut dorm rooms all the way to 3 coconut private rooms, for those big time travellers or honeymoon lovers. 

As it was still only 10am, we thought we'd aim big and hop to the furthest island possible, so we could gradually make our way back down the islands to get back to Nadi in a weeks time. The ladies on board the travel desk were really helpful, and gave us their honest opinions about which islands would be best for us. We didn't want to go to the major party islands as we wanted to save our money for New Zealand, plus we were more interested in relaxing and seeing the pretty beaches and marine life. They suggested avoiding the Mamanuca islands, as they had more of a party reputaution, however from those islands you could go on a day trip to see the island where the famous Tom Hanks film 'Castaway' was filmed on, which we would have liked to have done.

In the end, we all decided to stick to the Yasawa's and to go to 'Long Beach' resort on Matacawalevu Island, 'Nabua Lodge' on Nacula Island and 'Barefoot Manta Resort' on Drawaqa island. The last resort was a bit more special and had a surprise bonus (the clue is in the name), so we upgraded for a slight extra cost, as we didn't have to buy food which was a relief. 

The first boat ride to get up to the tip of the islands was going to be about 4 hours, so we sat back and relaxed and tried to catch up on some sleep. This said, the bouncy Catamaran made Steph feel slightly sea sick, so it wasn't the most relaxing start to our trip. After a bumpy ride, the tanoy said the speed boat for the 'Long Beach resort' was approaching, and to grab our bags and head to the back of the boat.

At first it felt like a terrifying act of piracy, as these 2 men sped up beside the boat and attached themselves on whilst one climbed aboard. However both men where extremely helpful, and did all the lifting onto the boat of our heavy bags. They offered us a hand to jump on board, and welcomed us with a "Bula". 

We sped off, away from the Yasawa flyer, and bounced over the most amazing blue sea, and headed towards our first stop in the Fijan Islands.