Stop just dreaming about a trip to Fiji. We just spent an amazing week there and are sharing all the deets so you can now go do the same. The post Steal my itinerary: Fiji appeared first on StudentUniverse...
Hey fam! I’m Libby your resident content writer here. And I just took a trip of a lifetime to Fiji with Fiji Airways! And honestly, I cannot stop talking about it to everyone near me. So now I’m going to talk about it to you, too! That way you can also plan an amazing trip to Fiji for yourself (or at least live vicariously through what we got up to).
So here it is! My one week trip to Fiji itinerary, including everything from flights and resorts, to what we did, where we went, and what we ate.
Day 0:
Travel to Fiji
If you’re coming from the US and you want the most direct route possible, you’ll need to connect through either LAX or SFO as those are the two US airports with flights to Nadi (NAN), the international airport for Fiji.
In our case, we flew through LAX. The timeline of the trip is a little silly because you’ll be crossing the international date line on your flight. So you’ll leave the US at night on “day 0” and arrive just 11 hours later but it will be morning time on “day 2” (don’t worry you’ll get that time back when you fly the return flight home – you’ll see!).
Fiji Airways is a really nice airline. From the cabin lighting, to the music, food, and stewardess uniforms – the flight really sets the scene for your tropical vacation adventure you’re heading out on.
Day 1
This day is the day that doesn’t exist. Thanks international date line!
Day 2
Arrival in Nadi, Fiji
When you’re flying in from the US, you’ll arrive in Nadi first thing in the morning. This is fantastic because it gives you a full day to fill with activities. After getting through customs, we met up with our driver we had scheduled to drive us to our first hotel of the trip. Located only about 30 minutes or so from the airport, Denarau Island is like the peak tourist spot in Fiji. It’s technically a man made island, but you wouldn’t even really notice that it’s not connected to the main island.
Denarau Island, Fiji
In Denarau Island there are a variety of hotel resorts, as well as some activities. So if you’re traveling to Fiji and don’t want to organize driving between a bunch of destinations around the country, this is really your one-stop shop.
Our resort
Like most all hotels, we weren’t able to check into our rooms until the afternoon and as mentioned earlier, we were there first thing in the morning. But our resort was super helpful and well equipped to handle this situation. We were able to drop off our luggage in the lobby and then head to one of their restaurants for continental breakfast.
After breakfast we explored the Hilton Fiji Beach Resort And Spa. It was huge! All these small buildings of hotel rooms in a straight line so that every single room had ocean views. What’s great since it’s so big is that they have continuous shuttles that run up and down the way helping you get around.
There were multiple pools, restaurants, a cafe, a spa, and of course the beach and ocean!
Around 1 or so, we were able to get early check in to our rooms as they were ready for us which was amazing. This allowed us to unpack and relax a bit for our evening activities.
Nacaqara Culture Village
We were picked up right from our resort for a short van ride over to the Nacaqara village. There we were welcomed with a traditional welcome song. Then we were led on a guided walking tour through the village. The tour included the temple building from pre-Christianization by the British days, the Chief’s home where we met the chief and were able to ask questions about the village culture and each got a photo with the chief, as well as a variety of “houses” that were each set up with different skills the members of the village need to do. Things like fire starting, making clay bowls, weaving mats, and using all the parts of the coconut. The walking tour ended at their traditional cooking manner, an oven in the ground called a lovo.
Following the tour, we were served dinner from the lovo. This included lots of traditional Fijian foods like cassava, kokoda, fish lolo, chicken, and fresh fruits like pineapple and passion fruit. With dinner, we experienced a traditional cava ceremony, followed by members of the village dancing and singing for us, including some fish dancing which was very cool!
At the end of the evening we joined in for some dancing and then were sent off with one last song before being dropped off at our resort.
Day 3
After a great nights rest (hello jet lag and busy schedules) we started our morning at the same restaurant as the previous morning for continental breakfast. We sat on the deck out back, overlooking the beach and ocean and it was such a great way to start the morning in fresh air and sunshine!
Cloud 9
A quick van ride to the marina and we were checking in for one of the coolest places I’ve ever gone. First we embarked on about an hour long ferry ride. But even that was a fun experience. There was good music playing, a bra to purchase snacks and drinks from, and you could sit in the main covered portion of the boat, or go stand out on the front in the sunshine.
What we were sailing to was Cloud 9, a floating dock day club in the middle of the ocean. The club was so cool. There was a full bar that had really great drinks, as well as a pizza oven with great pizza! You could jump from the railing of the upper deck down in the ocean below. I’m a bit scared of heights so it was scary but I was brave and I’m glad I did it once! You can also take a small ladder into the water from the lower deck. There are shaded and sunny spots to sit and there’s dj music going. It was overall a relaxing but engaging spot to hang out for the main part of the day. Mid afternoon we all boarded the ferry again to return back to the marina and our group was on to the next activity!
Ziplining
So full disclosure, I was really nervous about this activity leading up to it. I would say I’m not afraid of being up high, but I am very afraid of falling and I had never done a zip line in my life. That being said, once I did my first of the 7 lines, I was literally all smiles and laughing the rest of the course. Sleeping Giant Zipline Fiji was so amazing! You’re right amongst the jungle and the trees, the scenery is so pretty.
Maybe the best feature is that you go out on the course with a few employees and you hand your phone over so that they can capture photos and videos of you out there. This meant that we didn’t need to worry about dropping our phones upwards of 100ft, but we still had all the shots that we’d want to show off on socials and to our friends later. And these guys really know what they’re doing, including getting POV shots and doing transitions on some of the videos.
Dinner
On this evening we ventured to the adults-only restaurant at the resort for dinner. The cuisine was more mediterranean inspired and it was really great! We ordered a selection of appetizers for the table and were honestly pretty filled just from those. But we obviously wanted to be able to try even more great food, so we also shared a few more plates as a dinner course. The atmosphere was classy was still casual and it was peaceful with just a handful of other adults around. There was also live music wafting in from around the corner which really set the vibes well.
Day 4
Travel day to Pacific Harbour, Fiji
After breakfast, packing, and checking out from our first resort we were picked up for about a 3 hour drive further south to Pacific Harbour, where we would be staying for the rest of the nights of the trip. This was great because it allowed us to see more of the country and to be able to day trip from Pacific Harbour for some of our other activities. But it’s also something that could be skipped on a first visit to Fiji if you wanted to check out all the activities in the Nadi area (since there are a lot) and didn’t want to worry about organized a ride down there. However, one of my personal favorite activites was a day trip from Pacific Harbour on day 5…so that would have been missed out if we hadn’t traveled south.
Free time and relaxation
On arrival to The Pearl South Pacific Resort, we were able to check right into our rooms and get settled. Each of our rooms had a nice private balcony overlooking the ocean and we also all got a plate of cut up fresh fruit which was so tasty.
After settling in and unpacking, we strolled about the property to see all it had to offer and of course, to take some photos. This resorts a popular destination for people to stay when heading out for some ocean-based activities like scuba, snorkel, etc. It’s located right on a small marina with a dock. There’s also a nice small, but long beach perfect for walks along the waters edge. The resort had 2 pools with lots of lounging space and two restaurants as well.
Day 5
After a great breakfast at the resort’s main restaurant, we were off to that ‘one of my favorite activities’ that I mentioned earlier.
River tubing
We took a short van ride from Pacific Harbour to Navua where we met with the day’s group and the guides from River Tubing Fiji for our day on the water. We grabbed out tubes for later in the day and boarded boats to sail upstream. Sailing along the river was so pretty as the river cuts into so pretty mountaineous terrain that looms on either side of you lush and green and there were a number of really nice waterfalls to see. Along the day we ditched the tubes at the area we’d come back to for lunch time.
Village visit
We continued up the river until arriving at our destination where we got out of the boats and climbed some steep stairs up the hills into the remote Sabata Village. This village is home to about 30 or so people year round and is only accessible by boats on the river. We were able to get a glimpse of what life is like there and drop off some toys and goodies for the children of the village.
Waterfall and lunch
Then we sailed down stream, stopping at a huge waterfall that’s set back from the river with it’s own pool beneath it. We were able to swim beneath it or even to climb up a little ways next to it and jump in. After the waterfall we sailed just around the corner on the river to get to our spot for lunch. We had some traditional Fijian foods at the riverside lunch spot, included kokoda, chicken, a light salad, some orange juice, fruit, and bread. They were so kind serving us and there was plenty of food to go around.
Tubing
Finally we hoped on our tubes to head back down to our starting location. There were parts of the river that were pretty slow and leisurely, but there were also a few that we’re quick rapids and required us to grab onto each other for stability. The weather was lovely, we got to see all those waterfalls once again, and at one point every one of us gathered together drifting slowly on the river while the day’s guides sang some lovely traditional songs.
Day’s end
At the end of the day we were sun tired, but happy. We went back to our resort for an early evening dinner and then off to sleep.
Day 6
Exploring Suva, Fiji
Day 6 was a fun little exploration day. We drove down to Suva to see the country’s capital. It’s not as much of a tourist spot compared with Nadi, so there’s less like adventure activities to do there. But it was definitely cool to see. The highlight was a stop for lunch at a hotel where we had a genuinely delicious lunch outside and overlooking Suva Harbor. This is almost where the cruise port is in Suva.
After lunch, we journeyed back to our resort in Pacific Harbour and enjoyed the afternoon. This was a real opportunity to properly unwind and relax and enjoy some peaceful time after all the excitement of the trip so far. This was also when I took my opportunity to drink a fresh coconut on the beach. 10/10 would recommend.
Day 7
Get ready for the literal longest day we’ve ever lived through. Literally, not exhaustively.
A relaxing morning
It was a very leisurely morning. We had breakfast at the resort and then went back into our rooms for packing. I had packed a little bit the night before so with my free time I grabbed my book and sat on my rooms balcony for one last time of enjoying the view of the ocean and the island beyond, as well as truly taking in the warm weather, knowing I was returning home to the starts of winter weather.
Travel back to Nadi, Fiji
The afternoon of this day was a three hour drive back to Nadi. We stopped in a shop along the way in Sigatoka just to look at souvenirs and stretch our legs. Then we continued on to the airport to check in for our flights. Post security we shopped the souvenirs in the airport, picking out goodies for ourselves and our loved ones back home. We awaited our flight in the Fiji Airways lounge where we were able to eat dinner, charge our devices, and relax.
Fly home to the US
Our flights took off at the end of our Day 7. Around 9-10pm or so. After a full 10.5 hour flight, full of sleep, two meals, and multiple movies, we landed on the same calendar day in Los Angeles at 1pm. Yup, you read that right. This is where you’re gaining back that time for the lost day 1 thanks to recrossing the international date line. And now as the trip came to an end, we worked our way through customs into the US and boarded our connecting flight home.
It was literally a dream trip that was well worth it. And now we’ll be scrolling our camera rolls of all the mems for the next 6 months.
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