Bula! – Rachel’s review of Fiji

Client Review, Fiji, Rachel, South Pacific, Tahiti - Moorea, Bora Bora

A review of my most recent trip – FIJI!

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I have taken a handful of cruises and done a number of ship inspections but I have never had the opportunity to explore a small ship! When the opportunity came to be able to go to Fiji and experience a small ship cruise, I had to go!

We flew with Air Pacific, on their Boeing 747-400. They were very excited to announce that they will be returning to their 1951 name of Fiji Airways in June of 2013. We were greeted at 5am with a warm welcome into Fiji! After passing by here, we proceeded to the customs station to have our passports verified. From there, we went to claim bags.

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It did take a bit of time for our bags to come through, only because of the number of people/size of plane. While we waited, we were able to go over and exchange our currency.

$100 in USD was approximately $166 Fijian dollars.

We cleared customs easily, there were two lines, one for guests visiting (left) and one for Fijians returning home (right). They ran our bags through the Xray machines, verified our documents and we were on our way. As soon as we exited the area, there was a waiting area for those who had shuttles arranged.

We all joined our shuttle and made our way over to Sonaisali Island Resort. Once we arrived, we were taken by boat (with our luggage) over to the resort. It was a nice resort, only 123 rooms (a mix of hotel rooms and bures). They have a lot of activities right on the property which is great because you are literally on an Island and cannot just walk into town. You can enjoy paintball, jet skiing, horseback riding, kayaking or if you are looking for a more relaxing atmosphere you can relax at the spa or lagoon – style pool.

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From here we joined the Captain Cook Reef Endeavor for a 4 Night cruise through the Yasawa Islands. The islands were so beautiful and the snorkeling/scuba was amazing! When they call it the “Soft Coral Capital of the world” they are serious!

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We sailed around the Yasawa Island’s visiting villages, a local school, snorkeling a couple of times each day, enjoying the beautiful beaches and enjoying the wonderful Fijian people!

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You will want to bring a good supply of sunscreen as the sun is very strong! I brought 45SPF and I still managed to get a bit of a sunburn (the one morning I forgot to cover my shoulders) and came back with a number of additional freckles. NO sunscreen left behind!

I would suggest bringing two camera batteries. One for the camera and a back up because inevitably, the battery will die right when you want to snap a great picture!

Along with a spare battery, an extra memory card couldn’t hurt either!

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The crew was fantastic, they performed for us on our last evening. Their songs were beautiful, their spirits contagious and genuine. A wonderful experience and I look forward to going back!

Vinaka Vakalevu!

(Thank You Very Much)