Hi girls,
So I have talked about part one of my big trip, visiting Australia, now I’m going to talk about my time in Fiji; one of the most beautiful countries in the world and I’ll tell you why…
Fiji (if you’re not entirely sure as I wasn’t last year) is a small island in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean. Nadi is one of their largest cities and the international hub as it holds the only international airport, this would be where you’d fly into. If you are flying from the UK then the best route is London Heathrow to Los Angeles (10 hours) and then Los Angeles to Nadi (another 10 hours) – it’s a long way but definitely worth it!
Overall we spent a week in Fiji, staying in the DoubleTree Hilton Resort on the island of Sonaisali, just off the mainland and about 40 minutes drive (+5 minute boat ride) from Nadi. We landed at the airport in the evening and easily managed to get a taxi to the hotel. The hotel itself was amazing, on arrival we received a huge welcome from the staff and a freshly baked and still warm chocolate chip cookie, I was sold!!
We had a double bedroom that was very large for 2 people with 2 separate double beds and included a balcony over looking the sea. Shout out to the shower in our room also which was amazing, proper power shower stuff!
The hotel housed many ‘bures’ (bures being stand alone huts/chalets over looking the beach) or large double rooms in apartment blocks, again looking out over the sea.
The hotel served up 2 restaurants (one on the beach where your table is on the sand!) or a larger restaurant in the main building. The food was excellent in my opinion with a lot of traditional dishes (mainly seafood) as well as meat and vegetarian options, or lighter options if you’re not hungry for a main meal.
The hotel had a large pool that looked out over the sea as well as lots of beds, a games room with table tennis and snooker, a lovely friendly spa and lots of activities – some of them free such as paddle boarding and kayaking; horse riding and sailing was available at a small extra fee. Overall our room cost around £560 (£280 per person) for 7 nights and I feel was definitely value for money.
While we were in Fiji, apart from swimming, reading lots of books, napping and sunbathing, we did lots of activities (I fell off the paddle board a few times, oops!) and treated ourselves to a spa treatment, of course! At the hotel spa I had a 30 minute facial and a 30 minute massage in a peaceful wooden hut on the beach where all you can hear is the ocean waves against the shore – it was the most relaxed I have ever been! The facial itself and the massage was really good quality and the products used were vegan and very good for the skin.
After a few days lounging round the pool of the hotel and now fully relaxed, we decided to venture out to sea other islands in Fiji (Fiji is home to 38 islands overall including the mainland). Port Denarau (20 minutes from Nadi) is a built up area packed with a golf course and beautiful houses/hotels as well as the main port from the mainland to the islands. Our hotel had a tourist guide desk and helped us figure out what adventure we want to book. You can then book with the tourist guide in the hotel or (like we did) go away and find the deal cheaper, sshh!! A lot of websites are selling the same day trips and tourist attractions but at a cheaper price.
So we decided to go on a day trip to a very small island, so small in fact that nobody lives there, it’s just a beach club! The day trip we booked included pick up from the hotel, boat trip to the island from the port, a day at the club (called MalaMala Beach Club FYI) and back again. The views on the boat were incredible and when we stepped off onto the island, WOW! The WHITEST sand I have ever seen and the BLUEST sea I have ever seen, it really was something I’ll remember forever. The beach club had a large pool, a good restaurant, lots of sun loungers, good music and free activities such as snorkelling, kayaking etc. It was my favourite day in Fiji by far. We went snorkelling and saw beautiful bright violet starfish and lots of colourful coral.
On another day, we ventured out to another island, again a package deal where they pick you up from the hotel and this one in particular included a boat trip from the port to the island and free alcohol, food and activities all day; we were sold on free booze for sure! This island was completely uninhabited apart from the day trips visiting each day. The boat ride took an hour from the main island but the crew/hosts kept us entertained with constant free booze put in our hands and the crew singing songs to us like a camp group on their guitar and mini drums, it was so lovely and special! When we got to the island, we went snorkelling, kayaking, fed baby sharks, had a gorgeous lunch and danced around to music, it truly was a moment of pure freedom.
On our last night in Fiji we decided to hit the town and see what the nightlife was like. We did some research and spoke to the receptionist at our hotel and found a good bar/club that will suffice called Ed’s Bar. We were strictly warned by our hotel staff to not enter this club called White House as it is not safe and is for locals who will not be accustomed to having tourists there. We did as we were told of course; must always be safe and clever in foreign cities. We got ready like girls do and arranged a taxi to pick us up and drop us off outside the bar. When we arrived, we were slightly concerned as the party didn’t appear to have started yet but after a few drinks it soon got going! We made friends with these air hostesses, originating from New Zealand and work for AirFiji, they were stopping over in Nadi for 1 night before they fly back. There were a lot of Australians there also so we felt almost right at home; as you can imagine there were not many British people as (like everyone kept telling me while I was out there, ‘you’re a long way from home!’) haha.
The night escalated quite quickly and we ended up staying out to the early hours of the morning. We then made friends with this group of Australians and went to their gorgeous luxury holiday home in Port Denarau where we then carried on partying until the morning, I recall going to bed around 6 am? Whoops!!
That was such a fun night, as was our day trips to the islands and I am glad we ventured out to experience other parts of the country and their culture rather than just staying in hotel, which could easily be done as it was so lovely!
Overall, my time in Fiji is one I will treasure and remember forever, everybody is so friendly and happy and it makes you realise how much we take for granted in a more developed country. I felt very safe and felt prices overall were good value for money. Everybody is on ‘Fiji time’ which is actually a saying out there, as we soon realised after the first couple of nights where we spent a long time for our food to arrive, but we soon discovered is the culture of Fiji; everything is chilled and no one is in a rush, a mantra I decided to take home with me; FIJI TIME!
So if you’re thinking of planning a big trip or want some inspiration for a new country to explore then I really recommend Fiji, you won’t regret it!
If you have any questions at all about my trip then please get in touch via email, Instagram, Facebook or by making a comment below.
Lots of love! Xx
It’s A Girl Thing 