Fiji March 2015: The Land of Bula!

WELCOME TO FIJI, THE LAND OF BULA!

Intercontinental Fiji

I am so happy to share my travel to Fiji with you.  Visiting Fiji has been on my bucket list since I met the wonderful people at Tahiti Legends.  Tahiti Legends assists with travel beyond Tahiti such as Fiji, Australia and New Zealand.  I had heard how friendly and kind the people of Fiji were and am eager to see if this is true.  I also wanted to understand the traveling challenges while in Fiji getting from one island to the other as there are over 300 islands that comprise Fiji.

Fiji Air

Flying to Fiji is VERY easy!  Fiji Air is Fiji's national airline.  The flight leaves late at night from Los Angeles and takes roughly 10.5 hours.  You cross the date line meaning that we left at 11:30 pm on Wednesday and arrived at 5:30 am on Friday.  Not to worry ... we will “catch up” on the return.  Our Business Class seats were comfortable.  They did not recline totally flat but I was so tired, that it really didn't matter.  The food was a 4 out 5.  The staff were friendly and helpful.  My friend mentioned that the economy seats are a bit small and tight so maybe bring something for your neck to help you sleep.

Intercontinental Fiji

Fiji's Airport was small and easy to get through.  They are VERY strict about not bringing food products into Fiji so if you bring a piece of  fruit thinking you might want to have it for a snack, leave it on the plane.  Clearing customs was fast and easy.  Even their customs agents were NICE!

After customs, we were met by Najeer, our driver from Rosie Holidays.  What a friendly guy.  He was so proud explaining the history of Fiji.  Did you know that before Fiji was “civilized” it had cannibals?  Fiji has it's own sovereign government and the people are a mix of Fijians, Muslims and Indians.

The drive to the Intercontinental Fiji took 45 minutes.  Fiji is quite rural with farms that grow sugarcane and tropical fruits.  

Great breakfast & notice the Fiji water

The entrance to the Intercontinental Fiji is very pretty.  You can see the ocean through the entry.  We arrived at 7:00 am and we were told that our room was almost ready.  We decided to have breakfast at Navo, the adult restaurant on property.  After breakfast, we found that we had been upgraded to an Ocean Front King room. (YAY!!)  The view is perfect overlooking the lovely beach and ocean.  Our room has a tub on the veranda and comfortable lounge chairs to enjoy sunset.

Intercontinental Fiji

After a 30 minute power nap, we decided to walk around the resort.  The resort overlooks one of the prettiest beaches on the island of Viti Levu at Natadola Bay.  There are over 200 rooms at the resort with different views ranging from garden views to water views.  There are 3 restaurants and 2 bars.  There is a family pool and an adult infinity pool.  I was impressed with the spa.  Spa Intercontinental has 9 treatment rooms and is located in quiet area of the resort.  There is a small fitness center as well. I saw 4 women at the Children's Club taking care of 7 children.  The children looked to be between 3-8 years old and they were happily making kid size woven baskets from the palm fronds.

View from Breakfast!

The following morning, we had breakfast then rented a car to try to discover a bit of Viti Levu Island.  We visited the closest city to the Intercontinental, Sigatoka – (definitely pass on this) then went through the major city of Nadi (another pass) to Denarau Marina which boasts great views and shopping.  This was a dud too.  We ended up at the Sofitel for lunch at their beach front restaurant, Salt.  It was quite good.  The Sofitel is another large resort with little boutiques and even a Parisian style cafe.  The beach was not as nice as the Intercontinental though.  

We returned back to our room for another power nap.  Dinner was very good at Navo Restaurant.  Our table overlooked the beach at sunset.  The food was delicious with fresh fish options.  I tried their local snapper and Jeff had grilled lamp.  Best of all, they served their bread with coconut oil.  Have you ever tried it?  It is really good.  The service was dicey as the staff seemed understaffed.

South Sea Cruises

Bottom line: I feel that it was important to discover why renting a car is not important on Viti Levu.  I'm recommending staying on Viti Levu only as a way through to visit the outer islands.  Tomorrow, we are of to Tokoriki Resort via South Sea Cruises.  It should take 1 hour to get there.

Stay tuned!

The World is Our Playground!

Mari