FIJI!! I hope that this post gives a little taste of paradise. This is part 1 of part 2 to come tomorrow! I can't believe that we were there less than a week ago. When you think of pristine waters and white sand beaches, Fiji is probably one of the first destinations that come to mind and rightfully so. It seems to be one of those places though that backpackers sometimes avoid because they think it might be expensive. In reality, it’s not too bad but you definitely have to be a bit more budget conscious while planning a trip there. Why? Fiji is a collection of 333 islands…and you won’t want to stay on just one island the entire time! Which means lots of boat rides. Which isn’t cheap. It’s arguably one of the most expensive things in Fiji.
When we first planned our trip to Fiji it was sort of on a whim (rough life right?). Our adventures in New Zealand were coming to an end and we wanted to visit one more place before hopping on a flight back home to Canada. Using our googling skills we picked the cheapest place to fly to from Wellington, which just happened to be Fiji. So we packed up our backpacks and prepared for a relaxing beachside vacation.
Accommodation
If you follow our travels you probably know that we usually take the hostel route, it’s cheap and an awesome way to meet people. If you’ve never stayed in a hostel you can find our Ultimate Hostel Guide here.
Naturally, when we planned our (very) last minute trip to Fiji the first thing we looked for was a hostel. If you’ve never stayed in a hostel before we have a guide for what to look out for here. In Fiji, they are certainly not in short supply! We stayed in two hostels, one in Nadi and one on Mana Island. Our Nadi hostel was Bamboo Backpackers. The hostel was located right on the beach, had a nice little restaurant, and the private rooms were great. We stayed in a private room and paid the slightly higher cost for one main reason, the dorm rooms have like 18 beds in one room. It’s also right beside the one bathroom almost everyone staying in the resort uses. So people were constantly going in and out of the room.
Transportation
Being a collection of islands there are really only two ways to get around, boat and plane. Most people aren’t going to take water planes everywhere for cost reasons, so boats are the go to. This is arguably one of the most expensive things about visiting Fiji. Mainly due to the cost of fuel in Fiji. Everything has to be imported to the island so that increases the cost of a lot if not all of their items. There is a list of prices for transfers through a company called South Sea Cruises website, which will give you an idea of boat transfer pricing. If you did take a look at that page you’ll see prices are not cheap. Which is why you should try and find accommodation with transportation included. Package and save!
Fijian Food and Drink
Part of the reason we love traveling so much is different cultures foods! I mean who doesn’t love to eat? If you say no you are probably lying. Being an island it should be obvious that there are fish dishes everywhere. Bamboo Backpackers in Nadi has a restaurant attached to the main part of the hostel. The food at the backpackers isn’t included in your stay you will have to pay for that separately (if you stay there specifically of course). But the prices for food in Fiji are extremely reasonable so don’t worry too much about that. We also found the portion sizes were pretty good too. We could share one dish and be full.
If you love beer, then Fiji’s got the goods. They have two well-known beers that are made from Fijian water. Fiji Bitter and Fiji Gold. Since we aren’t really beer connoisseur you can find a really good review of the two beers here. Their other famous and more traditional drink is Kava. However, a lot of people say it doesn’t taste that great but is still a Fiji must-do. Kava is usually consumed ceremonially or socially.
Some selfies (Captured using a Cell Phone camera)
