Right now I wish to carry you my itinerary for spending 11 days in Fiji. Should you’ve ever dreamed of paradise within the South Pacific, that is it. Fiji is understood for its beautiful seashores, pleasant locals, and relaxed tempo of life. It’s the proper vacation spot if you wish to get away from all of it. I’m right here now and I’m excited to share my itinerary with you. I’ve included a map, too.
11 Days in Fiji
Fiji is the stuff of desires. With its pure magnificence, heat hospitality, and considerable marine life, this island nation gives a genuinely distinctive journey expertise.
I’ve come right here with a good friend on a ladies’ journey. We’re spending 11 days throughout two totally different resorts, and we are able to’t wait to see what’s in retailer for us.
We’ve purposely booked two very totally different locations to remain, each when it comes to geography and when it comes to measurement. They had been a splurge, however we’re assured they’ll be value each penny. Spoiler alert: they’re.
Day 1
When our flight lands at Nadi airport, we pace by way of passport management. Folks with quick home connections get to make use of a particular lane, and very quickly we’re strolling over to catch our subsequent flight.
Mentioned flight is on a small 5-seater prop airplane. We pile in with our baggage, having fun with spectacular views of the coast on the 30-minute journey.
After touchdown, we’re met by a van that drives us a brief distance to a resort with a marina. From there it’s a 30-minute boat trip to our first resort: Royal Davui Island Resort.
Royal Davui Island Resort
Situated simply south of the nation’s principal island of Viti Levu, the resort is within the Beqa Lagoon. Set on a small island with tropical greenery perched over sandy coves, it’s a bit slice of paradise.
We’re met by the homeowners, who welcome us on the island’s pier. They take our luggage and present us up a flight of stairs, the place we’re greeted with a track sung by a number of the workers. It’s an incredible arrival.
Quickly we’re sipping a refreshing welcome drink on the open-air bar. Once we end, we’re proven to our room. It’s considered one of simply 16 on the island, and it’s a free-standing bungalow nestled within the timber.
Bungalow
As quickly as we stroll in, we fall in love. Room 11 has an exquisite indoor-outdoor really feel, full with floor-to-ceiling home windows that open onto spectacular views of the ocean.
Exterior is a terrace with chairs and solar loungers, to not point out our personal personal plunge pool.
Subsequent to the lounge is the bed room. It’s delightfully air conditioned, and comes with an enormous toilet with a bathe and tub. It’s one of many nicest rooms both of us has ever stayed in, and we really feel like we’ve received the lottery (if one with dear tickets).
Lunch
After getting settled in, we stroll to lunch on the restaurant. It has {a partially} lined eating space within the again, and an enormous deck overlooking the ocean within the entrance.
We settle in on the latter, having fun with waterfront views as we tuck into native fish and different specialties. Whereas we eat, we’re given a menu to order our dinner for the night.
Island Exploration
After lunch we discover the island. Clean paths wind by way of the luxurious vegetation, main us to every little thing from the spa to small inlets with white sand and turquoise water.
We additionally uncover the fitness center, library, pool, and personal eating areas. They’re all spectacular, and we really feel like we’ve picked a winner of a resort.
Dinner
Within the night we head to the bar to look at the sundown. It’s a spectacular backdrop to a personal eating desk on the island, and we get pleasure from cocktails as we take within the colours within the sky.
When darkness units in, we stroll just a few steps over to the restaurant for dinner. The eating room is pleasantly full, and we sit at a desk on the terrace.
The meal is each bit pretty much as good as our lunch was, as is the service (actually, the service at this resort is great throughout). We tuck into native and worldwide dishes, all whereas being serenaded by the workers choir.
Day 2
The following morning our journey continues with breakfast on the restaurant. There’s an a la carte menu with every little thing from egg dishes to pancakes. With a pot of recent espresso, all of it goes down a deal with on the sunny terrace.
As we eat, the workers takes our lunch and dinner orders for the day. There’s a rotating menu in addition to a devoted vegetarian one, so there’s sufficient option to maintain issues attention-grabbing.
Island Tour
After the meal we take a stroll across the island. At low tide it may be circumnavigated on foot.
We spend 20 minutes strolling alongside the white sand seashores, trying out the small coves, taking within the dramatic rock formations, and admiring the views of the opposite islands within the Beqa Lagoon.
We’re shocked how rapidly we make it again to the place we began. The island is smaller than it seems to be, but it surely has every little thing we’d like for a calming keep.
On the finish we sit in an enormous swinging chair on the seaside. We soak up chook life, hermit crabs, and even a small shark swimming proper subsequent to the water line.
Bungalow
Afterwards we get pleasure from lunch on the restaurant earlier than heading again to our bungalow for the afternoon. We sit within the open-air lounge, benefit from the really feel of the breeze on our pores and skin, and take dips within the plunge pool.
It’s the proper stress-free expertise, and a pleasant break from my regular action-packed itineraries (that mentioned, the resort has a variety of every day actions and excursions on supply, so it may very well be busier if we needed it to be).
Cocktail Tasting
Within the night we head to the bar for a cocktail tasting. The resort hosts it as soon as per week, and we’re handled to an illustration adopted by small tastes of three tropical tipples. It’s a enjoyable strategy to kick off the night time.
Crab Race
Much more enjoyable is the crab race. As we sip cocktails, the workers comes round with a bucket of small hermit crabs. We every select one. After drinks we collect round a chalk circle on the ground of the restaurant to look at our crabs scuttle out from the middle.
After three heats, my crab wins. I’m handled to a voucher for 2 complimentary cocktails, and my good friend and I tuck it away for the next night.
After the thrill of the crab race, we head to a desk within the restaurant for dinner. It’s one other wonderful meal, and an effective way to cap off our second day in Fiji.
Day 3
The following morning our journey continues with a scrumptious breakfast of omelets and croissants. It units us up nicely for one more day of rest.
Pool
After breakfast we head to the pool. It’s proper beneath the eating space and subsequent to the island’s exercise middle and helipad.
Lined with lounge chairs, it’s the proper place to chill out. There are nice views of the ocean, too.
Massages
At 1pm we’ve got lunch on the restaurant, then prepare for massages on the spa. Confusingly, they’ve booked us right into a {couples}’ room despite the fact that we booked particular person remedies. We go together with it, and nonetheless benefit from the massages.
Kava Ceremony
Within the night we watch one other spectacular sundown earlier than heading into the restaurant for a conventional kava ceremony. Kava is the nationwide drink of Fiji, and it’s comprised of the bottom roots of the Piper methysticum plant (a member of the pepper household).
Together with workers and different company, we sit on the ground in an enormous circle. The workers walks us by way of the kava-making course of, then comes round to fill our coconut bowls with the brown drink.
It tastes earthy and I’m undecided I like it, however I’m glad to have tried it. They arrive round to fill our bowls once more, and I sip it together with the others.
Afterwards we get pleasure from dinner within the eating room as we’re handled to recent seafood and scrumptious tropical desserts.
Day 4
The following morning we get pleasure from a leisurely breakfast and one other stint on the pool. We’re getting the hold of the relief factor, and I’m loving the gradual tempo of life right here.
Snorkeling
After lunch I head into the water to go snorkeling. I choose up a masks and fins on the exercise middle, then wade out from the seaside to swim with the ocean creatures.
The coral is a mixture of stay and useless, and there are extra fish in some areas than others. It’s good to see a wide range of acquainted and new-to-me sea life.
Stroll
After lunch we take one other stroll across the island. We discover the sandy coves, spot just a few crabs the dimensions of our palms, and take within the views of the islands within the distance. The resort gives free kayak, boat, and SUP leases, and we spot some off the shore.
Dinner
When the solar begins to sink, we make our strategy to the bar for sundown cocktails. There’s a workers choir live performance occurring, too, and we get pleasure from listening to the songs earlier than we discover a desk for dinner.
Day 5
The following morning we get pleasure from a breakfast of omelets and toast. Right now’s meal isn’t a protracted one, although, as I’ve an exercise booked.
Hike
Given my love of strolling and mountain climbing, I’ve booked myself on the resort’s weekly hike. After boarding a ship to a close-by island, my group alights and meets our guides.
They lead us by way of the native village, which is dotted with colourful homes, a college, and a church. From there we head up a hill by way of dense groves of mango timber and different tropical flora.
After the preliminary ascent, the path ranges off and the vegetation clears into an space that’s been burned for agricultural functions. Quickly we discover ourselves taking in spectacular views of each side of the island.
There are seashores and coves galore, and we are able to see every kind of neighboring islands within the distance (together with the one Royal Davui makes use of for sand caye picnics).
Snorkeling
Again on the resort, I meet my good friend for lunch earlier than heading off to go snorkeling once more. This time I’m going to a special a part of the island, and there are extra fish and extra stay coral right here. It’s nice to see all of the marine life.
Dinner
Within the night we head to the bar to look at our final sundown at Royal Davui. It’s a stupendous one, and we observe it with a superb dinner.
Day 6: Journey Day
The following morning our 11 days in Fiji proceed with a fast breakfast and a send-off serenade. We board a ship to the primary island, hop on a van for the short trip to the airstrip, and fly again to Nadi airport.
From there we get a taxi to Port Denarau. A 20-minute drive from the airport, this marina is dwelling to every little thing from homes to resorts and eating places. It’s additionally the departure level for a lot of ferries.
We arrive with half-hour to spare earlier than the boat to our subsequent resort departs. We seize sandwiches at a espresso kiosk known as Lazy Beans and choose up some snacks at an area grocery retailer earlier than queuing up for our ferry to the Mamanuca Islands.
Likuliku Lagoon Resort
The Mamanuca Islands are an archipelago located west of Nadi and south of the Yasawa Islands. Our 2-hour ferry trip takes us previous quite a lot of them earlier than we arrive at Malolo Island, the house of our subsequent resort.
A small boat pulls up alongside the ferry, and my good friend and I hop on together with just a few others. The boat whisks us off on a brief trip to Likuliku Lagoon Resort.
As with Royal Davui, we’re welcomed by a workers serenade. From the pier we’re proven to an out of doors seating space the place we’re given ardour fruit iced tea (scrumptious!) and advised to make use of the resort’s app to verify ourselves in.
Checking ourselves in is a little bit of an odd begin to a keep at a high-end resort, however quickly we’re being pushed to our over-water bungalow (known as a bure in Fiji) on a golf cart.
The bure itself is considered one of 10 over the ocean, and it has conventional Fijian decor. There are a number of glass panels within the ground that we are able to watch the ocean life by way of, and home windows searching throughout to different islands.
Whereas not open-air like our bungalow at Royal Davui, it’s nonetheless wonderful to be proper over the water. And that’s to say nothing of the toilet, which comes full with an enormous stone tub.
Exterior the bure is a big deck with lounge chairs and a decrease deck with a ladder going into the ocean. It’s ripe for snorkeling, and I make a psychological word to go when excessive tide comes.
Dinner
After getting settled into our room, we head to one of many island’s bars for sundown cocktails. The bar is on a small island off the coast, full with a wood walkway to get to it. It’s an incredible place for drinks with a view.
Afterwards it’s dinner time. We stroll to the restaurant, the place we study that our night meals every night time must be booked for a selected time. We’re advised we are able to use the app to e book, however like most resort apps, it by no means appears to work.
It’s a little bit of an adjustment from the extra relaxed fashion at Royal Davui, however given this can be a bigger resort, we perceive why they should stagger meal occasions. It doesn’t take lengthy for us to regulate to the brand new routine.
We sit all the way down to dinner on the open-air eating room, having fun with a 3-course meal of native fish, shellfish, and scrumptious sorbet as a pleasant server takes our orders. It’s an effective way to finish our first day on the resort.
Day 7
The following morning our journey continues with a leisurely breakfast at Likuliku. We sit out on the terrace, having fun with views of every little thing from neighboring islands to a hammock within the ocean as we style meals from each the buffet and the a la carte menu.
I really like that they’ve recent coconuts we are able to drink from. The espresso is much less thrilling (a girl on the airplane advised me to carry my very own espresso to Fiji, and now I perceive why).
Island Exploration
After breakfast we discover the island. This one is way greater than the one Royal Davui was located on, however we stick with the world the resort is in. Along with the over-water bures, there are rooms lining the lengthy seaside at Likuliku.
On one finish of the row of bungalows is the spa, which we’re excited to expertise. Within the center is the A-frame reception space, eating places, and bar. In entrance of them is the island bar, and subsequent to them is the pool.
Behind all of it is a backyard, an iguana conservation space, and trails main by way of the luxurious vegetation. There’s additionally an exercise middle, the place we study that the resort has a variety of every day actions and excursions company can e book, to not point out free snorkel, kayak, boat, and SUP leases.
Lunch
After exploring the resort, we settle in for lunch on the restaurant. The meals is scrumptious (I can’t get sufficient of the seafood and sorbets), and we like that the menu adjustments every day.
Whereas Royal Davui had a rotating menu for lunch and dinner, there weren’t as many decisions as there are at Likuliku. It’s probably a perform of the resorts’ measurement, and we respect the higher selection right here.
Spa
After lunch we head to the spa. The resort provides a 15% low cost for spa remedies booked inside 48 hours of arrival, and we’re excited to benefit from it.
As with Royal Davui, they present us to a {couples}’ therapy room despite the fact that we’ve booked separate ones. We ask for particular person rooms, which they comply with, and shortly we’re every off having fun with our massages.
The remedies are each nice, and we agree afterwards that they’re higher high quality than those we bought at Royal Davui. My good friend indicators up for 2 extra earlier than we go away.
Dinner
Within the night we return to the island bar for sundown cocktails and the nightly torch lighting ceremony, then head to dinner.
We’ve pre-booked an out of doors desk on the terrace, and we benefit from the remnants of the sundown as we tuck into one other scrumptious meal.
Day 8
The following morning our Fiji itinerary continues with one other stress-free breakfast at Likuliku. We sip coconut water straight from the supply, benefit from the buffet, pastries, and crab omelets, and take in the turquoise water and white sand within the distance.
Pool
After breakfast my good friend heads off to get one other therapeutic massage whereas I settle in by the pool. With palm timber galore and beautiful ocean views, it’s so stunning and stress-free I lose monitor of time.
Solely when my abdomen begins to growl do I notice it’s lunch o’clock.
Lunch
I meet my good friend on the restaurant. She studies again that the spa therapy was wonderful, and we catch up over a 3-course meal of recent seafood and scrumptious desserts.
Snorkeling
After lunch I choose up snorkeling gear from the exercise middle and wait for prime tide to reach. When it does, I climb down the ladder of our bure and take a look at the marine life.
It’s just like Royal Davui in that there’s a mixture of stay and useless coral. I see extra fish right here, in addition to starfish, sea slugs, and different creatures. I even spot a turtle. It’s an effective way to discover Fiji beneath the water.
Dinner
After one other spherical of sundown cocktails on the island bar, my good friend and I head to a particular dinner at Saluwaki. This restaurant serves Asian tapas made with native substances alongside a hand-picked cocktail listing.
Visitors can dine right here as soon as throughout their keep, and we’ve chosen tonight as a result of it’s my good friend’s birthday. We begin with cocktails, then get pleasure from six small plates of every little thing from sashimi to steak.
On the finish of the meal, the workers comes out to sing a contented birthday track and ship a particular slice of cake. It’s an incredible celebration.
Day 9
The following day is a particular one. We’ve inadvertently booked our journey to coincide with Fiji Day. A celebration of the nation’s independence, it’s an action-packed one.
Likuliku Island Resort celebrates Fiji Day with a variety of particular occasions and actions. It begins with a welcome speech, hymn, and prayer after breakfast. That’s adopted by a Fijian conventional costume parade and flag elevating ceremony.
After lunch there are video games. Volunteers from each the workers and the visitor inhabitants divide up into 4 groups and compete for a trophy. From an egg toss to a sack race, coconut relay, and tug o’ battle, there’s a fierce battle for first place.
On the finish of the afternoon, one staff is topped the winners. Afterwards there’s a cake for everybody to get pleasure from, and a cocktail hour hosted by the administration. The night ends with a conventional Fijian dance present earlier than dinner.
Dinner
Dinner is one other particular one. Each Friday Likuliku hosts a Fijian lovo (earth oven feast) and South Pacific barbecue. As an alternative of an a la carte menu, there’s an enormous buffet for everybody to get pleasure from.
My good friend and I tuck into every little thing from lobster to sushi and rooster, having fun with the environment as a lot as we relish the meals.
Day 10
The following morning our journey continues with a leisurely breakfast at Likuliku. Afterwards my good friend is off to the spa for her remaining therapy, and I head to the pool. I spend many of the day right here, taking a break for lunch when my good friend is completed.
Within the night we repeat our now-loved ritual of sundown cocktails on the island bar, adopted by a shock dinner. The workers has reserved one of many personal beachfront tables for us.
We get pleasure from our night meal at a particular desk on a raised platform proper above the seaside. It’s a memorable strategy to spend our final night time in Fiji.
Day 11
The following morning we’ve got a relaxed breakfast earlier than packing our luggage and trying out of our room. We spend the afternoon by the pool, ordering lunch there as a substitute of on the restaurant.
We try the resort’s reward store and take a fast bathe in a toilet by the reception space earlier than our ferry departure at 4:05pm.
The two-hour trip again to the port is a scenic one, and we arrive with sufficient time to have dinner at one of many eating places earlier than our flight.
We settle in at Nadina, the one Fijian restaurant within the space. We order kokoda, a Fijian dish of uncooked fish marinated in lemon and lime juice and served in coconut milk. It’s scrumptious, and it goes down a deal with as we watch our remaining sundown of the journey.
11 Day Fiji Journey
After a 20-minute taxi trip to the airport, we’re on a airplane and waving goodbye to paradise. We’re already dreaming of our subsequent journey, and I hope my itinerary has impressed you to do the identical.
Fiji Map
As promised, I created an interactive Google map of all of the locations I went on my journey. You will discover it right here. I hope it helps you intend your individual go to.
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