Things to do in Fiji
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Fiji
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Dry season: lower humidity, calmest seas and best dive visibility.
Sweet spots in the dry season, before and after the peak school holiday crowds.
Driest, busiest and most expensive, with Australian and New Zealand school holidays.
Wet and cyclone season: hotter, humid, afternoon downpours, lower prices and emptier resorts.
Peak cyclone risk. Boats and domestic flights can be cancelled for days.
What's on
- Hibiscus Festival Usually August to September
Fiji's biggest town carnival in Suva: a week of parades, food stalls, music and pageantry.
- Bula Festival Usually July
Nadi's western counterpart with parades, charity events, pageant and street food.
- Diwali 9 November 2026
National public holiday. Towns and temples light up, sweets everywhere and fireworks in Suva and Nadi.
- Holi March
Colour throwing in Indo-Fijian communities.
- Fiji Day 10 October
National day with parades and ceremonies, strongest in Suva.
- Palolo rising October to November full moons
Edible sea worm rising, a delicacy event in coastal villages.
Best things to do in Fiji
Malamala Beach Club
Island beach club with infinity pool, cabanas and snorkelling off the jetty, 25 minutes from Port Denarau.
South Sea Island
Tiny budget island with snorkelling, a semi-submersible coral viewer and lunch on full day tickets.
Village Visit
Sevusevu presentation, kava ceremony, village walk, lovo feast and meke dance done respectfully with locals.
Sawa-i-Lau Caves
Limestone caves you swim into, with an optional duck under a ledge into a dark second chamber.
Garden of the Sleeping Giant
Twenty hectares of orchids, boardwalks, jungle and lily ponds under the Sleeping Giant profile.
Sabeto Hot Springs and Mud Pool
Coat yourself in warm mud, rinse through natural hot pools, then add a Fijian massage.
Bouma National Heritage Park
Three Tavoro waterfalls climbing into rainforest, the first an easy walk to a swimmable pool.
Fiji Museum
Small excellent museum with Lapita pottery, a drua canoe and honest colonial and indenture history.
Where to stay in Fiji
Mamanuca Islands
best overall base, most travellers
Closest real Fiji: white sand, swimmable lagoons and house reefs, 25 minutes to 2 hours from Port Denarau.
Yasawa Islands
island hoppers, backpackers and repeat visitors
Bigger scenery, smaller resorts, mantas in season and Sawa-i-Lau caves, reached by the daily Yasawa Flyer.
Denarau Island, Nadi
families, golfers and short stays
Gated enclave 20 minutes from the airport by Port Denarau marina, but grey brown sand and murky water.
Coral Coast, Viti Levu
best mainland base
South coast family resorts on reef lagoons, Natadola beach, rivers and villages, 1 to 1.5 hours from Nadi.
Pacific Harbour / Beqa, Viti Levu
best adventure base
Shark diving, Upper Navua rafting, rivers and ziplines, about 2.5 hours from Nadi and 45 minutes from Suva.
Taveuni + Savusavu (Vanua Levu)
best nature and dive base
Waterfalls, rainforest and Rainbow Reef with small owner run resorts, by short domestic flight.
Think twice about
- Nadi town centre
Noisy dusty working town with no beach, hassle from some souvenir shops and taxi touts, and nothing at night.
- Downtown Suva at night
Bag snatching, pickpocketing around market and bus station, and muggings on quiet streets after dark. Taxi door to door.
- Denarau Island
Not unsafe, but grey sand and murky tidal water will disappoint anyone who booked Fiji for a swimmable beach.
- Isolated mainland stretches without a car or resort transfers
Lovely small properties with nothing walkable, unlit roads and infrequent buses on the Coral Coast and Suncoast.
Best restaurants in Fiji
Kanu by Lance Seeto
Fiji's flagship kitchen: contemporary indigenous cooking and a Chef's Table with storytelling.
Nadina Authentic Fijian Restaurant
Full traditional Fijian repertoire at the marina, kokoda, curry, ota miti and slipper lobster.
Wicked Walu Seafood Restaurant
Adults only seafood on its own jetty island, six fish six ways and a platter for two at sunset.
Eden Bistro and Bar
White tablecloth garden bistro loved by Suva professionals, order the rourou soup and crab curry.
Tu's Place
Small unpretentious Nadi institution for generous Fijian and Indo-Fijian plates at town prices.
Bonefish Seafood Restaurant
Marina seafood workhorse: crab curry, platters, mahi mahi and prawn tempura, sunset facing.
Cardo's Steakhouse and Cocktail Bar
Long running port steakhouse with proper steaks, wood oven pizza and cocktails over the marina.
Govindas Restaurant
Pure vegetarian Indo-Fijian thalis and sweets at Garden City, part of Suva's best cheap eating.
Outdoor things to do in Fiji
Rainbow Reef
Soft coral walls in purple, orange and white in the Somosomo Strait, including the Great White Wall.
Beqa Lagoon
Managed baited shark dive with bull sharks and often tigers, run on set days from Pacific Harbour.
Drawaqa Island
Snorkel at the surface while reef mantas barrel roll below in the Drawaqa channel, May to October.
Sigatoka River Safari
Jet boat up the Sigatoka River to a rotating riverside village for sevusevu, kava, lovo and dancing.
Cloudbreak
One of the world's great left hand reef barrels off Tavarua, powerful and for advanced surfers only.
Upper Navua River
Raft or kayak a narrow black rock gorge with waterfalls, jungle and a riverside picnic with Rivers Fiji.
Yasawa Flyer
The big yellow catamaran up the Yasawa chain is the journey itself, hopping islands on a pass.
Natadola Bay Championship Golf Course
Fiji's signature par 72 round, 15 holes with ocean views above Natadola Beach, tough in trade wind.
Best hotels in Fiji
Likuliku Lagoon Resort
Adults only overwater and beachfront bures over a protected sanctuary, the honeymoon benchmark.
Tokoriki Island Resort
Adults only boutique with about 72 guests, plunge pool villas and no TV or in room Wi-Fi by design.
VOMO Island Resort
Luxury family island with villas and residences, a serious kids programme and an adults sunset bar.
Beachcomber Island Resort
Historic party island with dorms and cheap doubles, basic facilities and a young crowd.
Bounty Island Resort
Budget Mamanuca dorms and bures for a cheap island stay near Port Denarau.
Treasure Island Resort
Budget Mamanuca island option with dorms and budget bures in the backpacker tier.
Yasawa Island Resort and Spa
One resort on the chain's largest island, 18 bures and 11 private beaches with deserted beach picnics.
Paradise Cove Resort
Small well run Yasawa mid range resort with a strong house reef in the sweet spot tier.
Is Fiji expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | FJD 200 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | FJD 440 a person |
| Splurge | FJD 2,200 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Malamala Beach Club: a few days ahead
- South Sea Island: a few days ahead
- Village Visit: a few days ahead
- Sawa-i-Lau Caves: weeks ahead
- Rainbow Reef: weeks ahead
- Beqa Lagoon: weeks ahead
- Drawaqa Island: weeks ahead
- Sigatoka River Safari: weeks ahead
- Good Mamanuca and Yasawa resorts sell out weeks to months ahead in dry season and school holidays.
- Book Yasawa Flyer sectors, manta season beds and Sawa-i-Lau trips with the resort or pass, not on arrival.
- Reserve Beqa shark dives, Upper Navua rafting and Sigatoka River Safari before you fly or on day one.
- Domestic flights to Taveuni, Savusavu and Kadavu have few seats daily, book ahead year round.
Is Fiji safe?
- Crime is low overall and urban where it occurs. Door to door taxis after dark in Suva and Nadi.
- Reef passes carry strong currents. Snorkel and dive with operators, never alone off a pass.
- Cyclone season is November to April. Follow resort and boat operator instructions in bad weather.
- Dengue is the mosquito risk, no malaria. Use repellent at dawn and dusk and reef shoes on flats.
Fiji travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Compulsory island meal plans add FJD 120 to 180 per day. Compare room plus meal plan plus transfers, never room alone.
- Denarau beach is grey sand and murky tidal water. Use pools and boat days there.
- Nadi handicraft shops may carve your name on a kava bowl then hard sell it. Buy at markets or marked price shops.
- Cloud 9 is a pontoon bar, not a snorkelling trip. Malamala or a South Sea cruise is the reef day.
Getting around Fiji: public transport and more
- Everything western starts at Port Denarau Marina, 20 to 25 minutes from Nadi airport.
- Yasawa Flyer runs once daily up the chain, about 5 hours end to end. Miss the boat and you lose a day.
- Fiji Link domestic flights have small planes, strict baggage and wet season cancellations. Never connect same day to international.
- Drive on the left on Viti Levu. Agree taxi fares before you get in, taxis are unmetered.
Who Fiji suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Fiji your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
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