Fiji Holidays

Forums › Travel (planes, train, cruise) › Fiji Holidays

gcorgnet

1078 posts

Uber Geek

#240888 1-Oct-2018 13:32

Hello,

Just looking at booking a Fiji Holidays for next winter (probably during school holidays around July 2019 although we could possibly push the flights one way or another outside of school holidays if flights were much cheaper)

The specs are:

- 7 Days
- 2 families (Mum and Dad + 1x4yo + 1 6yo in each)
- separate accommodation but close to each other
- Resort with Pool and Kids Club
- Happy to move island maybe once but would rather avoid to much messing around.
- Midrange budget (half way between cheap and nasty and obscenely expensive, I guess)

I guess that's about it... Never done Fiji before so not sure what's good and what to avoid.

Any help or advice would be appreciated.

Cheers

PeterReader

6019 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#2099331 1-Oct-2018 13:32

Allow me to introduce you folks to our new travel community: TravelTalk NZ.

We hope to see you there!

I am the Geekzone Robot and I am here to help. I am from the Internet. I do not interact. Do not expect other replies from me.

gbwelly

1243 posts

Uber Geek

#2099357 1-Oct-2018 14:06

gcorgnet:

I guess that's about it... Never done Fiji before so not sure what's good and what to avoid.

Don't go into Nadi, but if you do, anyone who approaches you or says hello on the street is gonna try and hustle you.

I don't believe there are any swimable beaches on the Fiji mainland, certainly none around Nadi.

The good:

I did a day trip to a desert island, did some lovely snorkeling. The hosts brought free unlimited beer on the boat... but no water!

Rum was crazy cheap.

networkn

Networkn
32358 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2099474 1-Oct-2018 15:02

I disagree, Nadi is a wonderful place full of lots of colourful personalities, it's part of the Fiji experience not to be missed. Of course, like in any location, keep your wits about you, and show wariness if someone approaches you unsolicited.

One of the common practices from a few years ago in Suva, was to ask your name, then carve it into wood, and insist you pay for it. I had a run-in with a local who tried that with us.

noroad

953 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#2099480 1-Oct-2018 15:10

gcorgnet:

Hello,

Just looking at booking a Fiji Holidays for next winter (probably during school holidays around July 2019 although we could possibly push the flights one way or another outside of school holidays if flights were much cheaper)

Best Holiday we ever did with the kids was to https://www.radissonblu.com/en/resort-fiji?s_cid=os.apac-FJ-blu-FIJDEN-gmb Simply awesome, the kisd could play in the pool while we relaxed as they had fantastic lifeguards/general amuse the kids people taking care of everything.

mentalinc

3240 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#2099515 1-Oct-2018 16:08

https://www.iamat.org/country/fiji/risk/zika-virus

Do not take girls to Fiji, it's not their choice to understand they may be impacting their ablity to have a safe pregnancy in many years time.

Zika is still not very well understood.

#notADoctor

CPU: AMD 5900x | RAM: GSKILL Trident Z Neo RGB F4-3600C16D-32GTZNC-32-GB | MB: Asus X570-E | GFX: EVGA FTW3 Ultra RTX 3080Ti| Monitor: LG 27GL850-B 2560x1440

Quic: https://account.quic.nz/refer/473833 R473833EQKIBX

timmmay

20587 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2099516 1-Oct-2018 16:12

I've been to Fiji half a dozen times, but not with kids. The islands are nicer than the mainland, but it takes an extra 1-6 hours to get there after you get off the plane - sometimes you have to stay overnight on the mainland. If you go mainland best go to the south coast rather than anywhere near the airport.

Denarau "island" is a peninsular that's about 10 minutes taxi from the airport, so really easy to reach. It's really easy with kids, tends to have good kids clubs, you can easily go to other resorts for meals, and the area has things to do. Resorts on islands have less to do for kids, better for adults, but there are no doubt some that are good for kids. When we go, when our son is a bit older, I'll tend towards easy / Denarau.

OldGeek

899 posts

Ultimate Geek

ID Verified

Lifetime subscriber

#2099522 1-Oct-2018 16:24

Fiji holidays best suit those who are prepared to stay exclusively in a resort. Outside the resort there are a few cities/towns (Suva, Lautoka, Nadi) but there is no infrastructure for tourists - restaurants are few and far between. Suva has some shopping options but in towns such as Ba the locals know you are a tourist and give you a wide berth. In Suva, be ready for 'helpful' locals trying to steer you into tourist-trap shops.

For a family holiday though these limitations could appeal - provided the resort has all the facilities you and the kids would enjoy, staying put is relaxing and enjoyable. Many resorts are isolated but transport to/from the airport at Nadi is easy. Denerau Island is the one place (its a district - not an island) where you have many resorts/hotels in close proximity and this gives you dining options (in particular) outside the specific resort you are staying in. Whatever you do choose carefully. For stand-alone resorts (we stayed at the Shangi-La Fijian resort on the Coral Coast) make sure they have the catering and entertainment options you need.

Enjoy!

--

OldGeek.

Quic referal code: https://account.quic.nz/refer/581402

Sharesies

Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Sharesies (affiliate link).

Handle9

11401 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2099523 1-Oct-2018 16:35

We were in a similar situation last year. We were convinced we wanted to go to Fiji but once we looked at the various options we decided to go to Thailand instead.

We loved it and other than the long flight are really pleased we went somewhere a bit more interesting. It was also much better value than Fiji. We did it with a 3 year old and a 5 year old and the travel was pretty easy for them. YMMV but worth considering.

richrdh18

210 posts

Master Geek

#2099524 1-Oct-2018 16:35

Fiji is a great place to holiday. Fly into Nadi and then transfer straight out to one of the Island resorts. Such as Plantation Island or Malolo Island resort. They have Kids clubs which entertain the kids with all sorts of activities during the day. Safe and friendly. Resorts are smallish ie 50 - 150 people at any one time, we stayed 7 days at Malolo and there were no queues at all, chilled and relaxed, we did one major family activity each day. Half price happy hours, so beers ended up at approx $4 nz. Honestly, I lost track of time and didn't know what day it was until we left.

I spent my childhood in Fiji, so have some background in this and have been back multiple times.

We also spent a week at Denarau Golf Terraces, which was a self contained apartment. Not flash like the other bigger resorts, but spoke with a guest who had popped into to do some washing at his parents room, and I asked what it was like at the other resort, and he said it was like feeding time at the zoo, people everywhere and had to pay for everything.. Golf Terraces, we had the pool to ourselves most days and just came and went as we pleased.

Take plenty of sunscreen and insect repel-ant.

itxtme

2102 posts

Uber Geek

#2099558 1-Oct-2018 17:38

mentalinc:

https://www.iamat.org/country/fiji/risk/zika-virus

Do not take girls to Fiji, it's not their choice to understand they may be impacting their ablity to have a safe pregnancy in many years time.

Zika is still not very well understood.

#notADoctor

I would be inclined not to spread that kind of information as you have oversimplified a more complex issue. Based on no travel then you should not visit South east Asia, South America, Central Africa, the lower parts of North America, Mexico or any Caribbean islands as all have Zika virus, or the capacity to have it. Men can also be infected and then pass back the infection. There was a conservative suggestion when the flair up happened in South America, in regards to being pregnant or trying to be pregnant to not go, or avoid getting pregnant for 6 months. To say a female should not go to these places doesn't really take a sensible evidence based approach.

dgashby

71 posts

Master Geek

#2099645 1-Oct-2018 20:29

We took our (then) 4 year old and 6 year old to Fiji this time last year. We had a few nights at the Sofitel on Denarau and then about 6 nights at Plantation Island. The huge pool and water slide at the Sofitel was awesome for kids, going from paddling depth at one end very gradually through to quite deep at the other end. We didn't really have the oppotunity to try the kids club there.

We did venture into Nadi but had been tipped off by others about what to expect. Sure enough within about 100m of exiting the bus a very friendly local introduced himself and encouraged us to visit his uncle's traditional souvenir store. We excused ourselves and ducked into another shop but he was very persistent, waiting for us outside. We indulged him and followed him to the store which was only a couple of doors further down the main street. Shortly after we set foot inside the shop his uncle asked our names and insisted we sit down for a traditional welcome, we made a polite excuse and headed for the door, leaving the young guy who was already sitting cross legged on the floor in front of the kava bowel with a slightly worried look on his face :-) The irony was that if they hadn't been so full on it was the kind of shop we would have probably picked up some nice reminders of our holiday.

Plantation was nice, they don't claim to be 5 Star but we had a really nice, recently refurbished, two bedroom garden bure about 30m back from the beach. The pools were a little on the deep side for our kids, but the beach was much more swimable than the beach at Denarau. The kids club was good, our kids went along for 2-3 sessions, made some new friends, and especially enjoyed making the tie-dyed t-shirts. We made use of the free hobie cats and kayaks most days. We also did a guided trip to the local village and school, we had packed a selection of supplies from Warehouse Stationery before leaving home specifically for this. We've had other friends visit Plantation and have issues sea lice so swimming at the beach wasn't possible, I'm not sure if that's a regular occurrence or maybe depends on the time of year.

Next time we might look at Mana Island as an alternative. There are also a lot of good comments and information on Trip Advisor for the various resorts. Views can be quite varied depending on what peoples expectations are so read a few and draw your own conclusions.

gcorgnet

1078 posts

Uber Geek

#2099773 2-Oct-2018 07:23

Thanks everyone for the information, that helps a lot...

We'll do a bit of research on all those places you guys mentioned...

doublek

13 posts

Geek

#2099780 2-Oct-2018 07:48

I can endorse what has been mentioned so far around;

- Stay on Denarau if you can afford: The Raddison has a wonderful pool and great entertainment for the kids. Dependent on how well you and the other family get on (i.e. how close you are prepared to hang out together) you could rent what is called a two bedroom which essentially combines a one bedroom with fold out in the lounge and a next door studio. They join them by allowing you to use a common entrance at the front. The Westin next door is also nice, but a large chunk of it operates as a Timeshare which I'll tell you about a little later.

- You can catch a Blue Bus, a tourist bus or a taxi into Nadi and it is good for getting the standard tourist keepsakes. You will get hit up "Hey Kiwi!" and then a pretty hard sales pitch to come around to their store. Meh - it happens, so just be polite and resolute.

- At Denarau, you will get offered awesome free or extremely cheap activities. The hook is that you have to sit through a two hour presentation on Timeshare. These are hard sell - like "salesperson crying and their manager threatening to fire him them because they obviously didn't explain the benefits" hard. We found a day cruise operated by a Fijian family on a twin hull. At first it didn't look as polished as the other cruises but they made up for it with just genuineness and friendliness. We ll worth the money - Cruisin' Fiji. If you deal direct he will give you a reasonable discount and cash works well! https://www.tripadvisor.co.nz/Attraction_Review-g612490-d11766981-Reviews-Cruisin_Fiji-Denarau_Island_Viti_Levu.html

- We haven't done an island for ages, but you need to go out to one if you want to snorkel or sea swim. The water around Denarau is good for boating activity pretty much...

- Look at some self catering options if you have a kitchen in your room. There is an IGA? or similar on your way from the airport to Denarau and this is a good place to stock up on bottled water, breakfast and lunch stuff. It helps keep your costs down. The breakfast buffets are pretty awesome though.

A really great place to go during the middle of the Kiwi winter.