by Bonnie Quarrier, May 2015
Bula!
Recently I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to visit Fiji for a short but action packed week. When offered the trip I was very excited, as I had never been and it is such a popular holiday destination for Australian travellers.
Fiji is a tropical country, made up of over 300 islands, has a great climate, beautiful beaches, spectacular snorkelling and the locals are wonderful. The Fijians have big personalities, and everywhere we went we felt like we had known them for years, the stories are never ending and I can see why Australian children adore them and have no hesitation about spending hours at the hotels kids club. In fact some children just never wanted to leave – there were even tears at some hotels.
We arrived into Nadi Airport and had a one and a half hour drive south to the coral coast where we stayed the night at the Outrigger on the Lagoon.
This area has some beautiful hotels, but as the name suggests, no white sandy beaches but rather rocky coral sand. However, the Hotels have such amazing pool areas that a nice beach is almost not required.
After night one on the coral coast we travelled out to the islands for 3 nights. The Denaru marina, where the launch transfers depart from has a great range of shops, souvenirs and a supermarket for anything you have forgotten.
The islands are perfect for families and couples. Great pool areas, magnificent crystal clear waters, child friendly restaurants with elegant adults only restaurants right next door, and the food is always fresh and varied. We stayed and visited a number of different resorts including Castaway, Malolo, Matamanoa and the adults only resorts Tokoriki and Tropica.
One morning we had the chance to go out snorkelling and it is certainly a must do, in fact go every day, you will always see something different. Most of the hotels include free non-motorised water sports.
A big thank you to Island Escapes and Virgin Australia for hosting such a fantastic trip!