This country in the South Pacific has been in my bucket list for years. Having live in New Zealand made it more possible for me to set my foot in Fiji. The day before my last day at work, I called Flight Centre to see what they can offer me for a short getaway. The representative gave me a great deal to Fiji to leave in 3 days. How great is that? I grabbed it. This is my first time to use a travel company. For a roundtrip flight, 6 nights resort hotel accommodation with breakfast and airport return transfers, I paid a total of NZ$1,724.84 which for a last minute trip I think is such a good deal.

I had to use Fiji Airways which has a direct flight from Wellington to Nadi. The flight was average. There were shared overhead screens which showed a movie I already watched at the theatre. I wish there was a seat-back TV. Although, I guess it’s okay not to have it for a flight that’s just about 4 hours. My airport transfers was through Pacific Destinations. Someone was waiting with a board that says the company name instead of mine so I just approached and followed them. The driver was nice, he stopped at a store for people to buy supplies as everything at the resort will be more expensive. Although, they are most likely getting commissions there. I did bring my snacks from NZ so I didn’t need to buy any food. I did buy a bottle of water though but my hotel has drinking water available at the restaurant daily so I didn’t need to buy water anymore. My accommodation was at the Fiji Hideaway Resort and Spa on Coral Coast Sigatoka. I was at a Frangipani Bure room 74 which was close to the main restaurant and bar and pool. I love the big room, bathroom and outside bath. I was going to upgrade to sea view room the next day but I didn’t like the room as it was smaller. Yeah, I chose bigger space for myself rather than an ocean view. The ocean was literally just a minute walk from my room anyway.

All the staff at Fiji Hideaway Resort and Spa were amazing. They were so friendly and they remember your name even you only had one interaction with them. They were always smiling and everyone says “Bula” (Hello) to everyone. The events staff has something going on daily for the guest like quiz night, shows and movie night. The buffet breakfast was a good addition, although, during my 6 days stay there, the selections didn’t really change so you kinda get sick of it after couple of days. The fruits were fresh and delicious specially the papaya which I indulged on daily. The bar has a good selection of cocktails. The restaurant food? I tried their steak which didn’t impress me but I loved their curry.

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I kept checking the weather prior and it always says thunder but I was blessed to have beautiful weather all throughout my stay. The sunrise and sunset were pretty every day. The blue sky, the clear water, the comforting breeze all made my stay pretty sweet.

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I availed two group tours. The first one is called The Jewel of Fiji Day Tour for FJ$194. Got picked up at the hotel around 9am. I think it was an hour and a half drive to get to where we took a boat to cruise the Navua River. The boat was at least 45 minutes. We past through villages, farm lands, tropical rainforests and numerous waterfalls. The main destination is the Navua River’s Biggest Waterfall which was just about 5 minutes walk from where the boat dropped us off. A little bit of bamboo rafting was also including in this package which was interesting. The last part was the Fijian Village Tour where I experienced an age-old customs and traditions specially the customary welcome yaqona (Kava) ceremony. I unfortunately didn’t have the courage to try Kava. I know it’s a sign of respect to try it but I’m glad they also respect that you don’t need to try if you don’t want to. We witnessed food cooked underground, women plating Fijian mats, war dance performance, women folk dances, painting and singing. I arrived back at the resort around 5pm. This tour is definitely worth it for people who likes to explore culture.

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My second tour was the highlight of my trip. It’s called the Whale’s Tale for FJ$229. The package included unlimited drinks, lunch and snorkel at the private island. We got picked up at exactly 7:20am. We had to go to Port Denarau which was couple hours drive from my hotel. The schooner has a length of 100ft, a beam of 20ft 4 inches and weighs 90 tons. We were greeted with drinks and breakfast. It was an hour and 45 minutes beautiful cruise. As we approached the island, it’s like arriving at a paradise. I enjoyed snorkeling and just relaxed. I was lucky to find a group of 7 Australians who invited me to join their group since I was traveling alone.

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I spent around NZ$2100 for this 6 days trip including my souvenir and the FJ$70 Vodafone sim card which gave me 22GB data during my stay. Getting this sim card is definitely worth it as the signal was better than the hotel’s wifi.

What a wonderful, relaxing, spontaneous trip. I love the people of Fiji. I love this paradise. I didn’t get to explore more of their nature but I’ve seen enough to fall in love with this country. I will surely come back when I can. Bula!

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