On our way back to Tokyo from New Zealand, we had a 3 day layover in Fiji. We decided with such a short layover that we would base ourselves on the main island of Vitu Levu staying at the Hilton Fiji Beach Resort on Denarau island a mere 25 minutes from Nadi airport. It cost 35FJD to get there and 45FJD to get back by taxi.

We had lots of grand plans for our little trip but honestly after spending 10days living out of a suitcase and 7 days of constantly on the move each night, we committed the ultimate traveller’s sin… we did nothing. We didn’t even leave the resort. We spent the time relaxing, eating, swimming and sleeping with incredible views. It had everything we needed, good food, good coffee and because we went when no other schools were on holidays… it was empty.

Before arriving we were given the option to upgrade our room for 100FJD a night which only equated to £100 for the entire trip. What was even better was that they upgraded us further so that our one bedroom suite had a semi private pool for free. As the resort was so quiet, the room we were sharing the pool with was empty so it ended up being completely private. The entire hotel price, with the upgrade, came to £500. A bargain for what we got really.

We were blessed with amazing weather and even better sunsets and as a picture is worth a thousand words, I will let the photos do the rest of the talking.

Our Room:

The Resort:

The resort is 2.5km long basically sitting on one long stretch of beach. It is that long that they offer a free ‘Bula Bus’ service which drives you from one end to the other and you even get driven to your room in a golf cart. For a couple who have spent their time in motels and B&Bs this was pure luxury!!

Memory photos:

We loved our time in Fiji, the Fijian people are one of the friendliest groups of people we have ever met, from Sam our taxi driver who made us feel instantly welcome whilst bombarding us (in a good way) with tips and pieces of advice whilst driving us to our hotel to Mervin who drove us to our room and sneaked us a 6 pack of Fijian water. The laid back feel of ‘Fiji Time’ is addictive and relaxing and we enjoyed every minute of it. We cannot recommend this country enough.

We hope to one day return and explore the rest of the islands and fully embrace Fiji Time and the Fijian spirit but for now we will leave you with our incredible memories and photos.

SP x