Fiji

Understand

Fiji is the product of volcanic mountains and warm tropical waters. Its majestic and varied coral reefs today draw tourists from around the world, but were the nightmare of European mariners until well into the 19th century because of brutal tribal warfare and cannibalism. As a result, Fijians have retained their land and often much of the non-commercial, sharing attitude of people who live in vast extended families with direct access to natural resources. When it came, European involvement and cession to Britain was marked by the conversion to Anglicanism, the cessation of animist beliefs, and the immigration of a large number of indentured Indian labourers, whose descendants now represent nearly half of the population, and there are smaller numbers of Europeans and other Asians. Today, Fiji is a land of tropical rain forests, coconut plantations, fine beaches, and fire-cleared hills. For the casual tourist it is blessedly free of evils such as malaria, landmines, or terrorism that attend many similarly lovely places in the world.

Internal political unrest since 2005 has reduced tourism. The Fiji tourism industry has responded by lowering prices and increasing promotion of the main resort areas that are far removed from the politics in and around the capital, Suva.

While the 180-degree longitude line crosses through Fiji, the international date line passes east of all of Fiji, making it one of the first countries to enter every new day.

Get around

Fiji has a variety of public transport options, including buses, share taxis, and private taxis. Rates are very cheap: $1-2 (Fiji dollars) from Colo-i-Suva to Suva bus station by bus, $17 from Nadi bus station to Suva by share-taxi (share-taxis are usually white mini-vans that congregate and set-off when they reach their capacity of 6-8), or approximately $80 from Suva airport to Sigatoka by private taxi. On the main road circling Viti Levu buses run every half hour and taxis are a substantial proportion of traffic, while on western Taveuni buses make only a few runs per day and very little traffic is present. If the taxi has a meter, ask the driver to switch it on - the ride will be lot cheaper than with the negotiated price.

The rate from resorts on Nadi beach to Nadi downtown is $8 per passenger, and $12 to the airport -- you should be able to negotiate this price reasonably easily.

While there is rarely much traffic, most vehicles run on diesel and pollution on major roadways can be severe. A national speed limit of 80 km/h is usually observed; village speed limits are all but entirely ignored, but drivers slow down for several speed humps distributed within each village. Seat belts are advised on taxis but are rarely evident and apparently never used.

Road travel tends to be more dangerous than many people are used to, and many embassies advise their citizens to avoid pretty much any form of road travel. Pot holes, washouts and dilapidated bridges are commonplace. Bus…

See

thumb|A beach at Nanuya Lailai, a smaller island in the [[Yasawa Islands|Yasawa chain]]

thumb|Orchids in the Garden of the sleeping giant In short, the natural treasures alone are worth the trip, but this island nation does have a number of cultural sights to offer. There's the beautiful Garden of the Sleeping Giant on Nadi, once owned by famous actor Raymond Burr who lived here. It holds over 20 hectares full of orchids native to Fiji, many cultivated and exotic plants plus a lovely lily pond. Make a trip to one of the many villages to take part in a kava-ceremony or to see one of the many other remaining cultural traditions. Navala village (on Viti Levu) still maintains its traditional bures, making it an excellent pick. For a deeper insight in the country's history and culture, the Fiji Museum on Suva is an excellent addition to your trip.

Eat

thumb|Taro and coconuts at a market in Nadi thumb|Cooking on a lovo

Drink

thumbnail|A faikava (kava drinking ceremony) A very popular drink in Fiji is yaqona ("yang-go-na"), also known as "kava" and sometimes referred to as "grog" by locals. Kava is a peppery, earthy tasting drink made from the root of the pepper plant (piper methysticum). Its effects include a numbed tongue and lips (usually lasting only about 5-10 minutes) and relaxed muscles. Kava is mildly intoxicating, especially when consumed in large quantities or on a regular basis and you should avoid taxi and other drivers who have been drinking. It should not be consumed alongside alcohol.

Kava drinking in Fiji became popular during the fall of cannibalism, and originated as a way to resolve conflict and facilitate peaceful negotiations between villages. If you are invited to a Fijian village or household, it is the most common gift (sevusevu) offering to bring.

Beer is also popular, particularly the ubiquitous Fiji Bitter. While a fairly new development, some of those sugarcane fields are now put to good use by distilling rum, and the Rum Company of Fiji has a nice range under the brands Bati and Ratu.

Sleep

See towns in Fiji for detailed hotel listings.

Fiji is a popular tourist destination and has plenty of accommodation in all price brackets. Most resorts are near the main airport at Nadi or the nearby Mamanuca Islands. Nadi has backpacker-friendly lodges, while the international big brands are mostly nearby at Denarau Island. Hotels in the capital Suva are geared more towards business travellers.

Most Fiji travel agents will take a commission of 15 and 20% along with your booking, which may be called a "deposit". Since this is an up-front payment, it is often beneficial to only book one night, and then you may be able to negotiate a lesser rate for subsequent nights (if space is available).

Many smaller and simpler accommodations have "local rates" and can give discounts that are simply huge if you can book a room in person (or have a local do it for you) and give a legitimate local address and phone number. In the Suva area, the Raffles Tradewinds is nice and quiet and about a dollar by frequently running buses from central down town. Sometimes upon arrival at the airport in Nadi, you can stop at the Raffles Gateway across from the airport entrance and book a room at the Tradewinds at a good local rate if business is slow.

thumb|The 180th meridian crosses Taveuni

Connect

There are two mobile phone companies operating on the island (Vodafone, Digicel) as well as an MVNO (Inkk) which resells Vodafone's network. Tourists are invited to use prepaid sim chips which can be found free or cheap in the mobile operator kiosks in the Nadi airport. You can top-up the balance online with a credit card, or by visiting a retail store that advertises top ups. The phone number is required to top up and is provided when signing up for the sim chip so please make a note of it.

Buying a SIM chip gives access to cheap data packages for easy internet access using your phone as a hot-spot. It is generally cheaper than resort Wi-Fi, and speed is reasonable with the connections in the tourist areas (1-8Mbps with an objective 2.5Mbps average based on use in Nadi). You can request a data-only sim to get access to cheaper data packages. Some plans offer free social media data. Be sure to ask the sales agent about promotions. Both networks use 900Mhz for GSM and a mix of 800/1800/2100Mhz for 3G/4G.

Vodafone offers a battery powered portable wifi device for $59 branded as "Pocket WiFi". The device can be unlocked for use in other countries by contacting support via email or using the online chat feature on the website. In October 2021 a $15 prepaid plan grants 100GB of data. Digicel offers prepaid "Digimodem" plans. The sim card must be converted to a data sim by the sales rep only after inserting it into a modem. Digicel offers a portable battery powered dual-band Wi-F…