Fiji
Fiji
Three hundred islands and a word for hello you will hear all day
Photo by Hendrik Morkel on Unsplash
Photos by Prem Kurumpanai, Laura Jaeger, Josh Withers and Josh Withers on Unsplash
Best time to visit all of Fiji
May to October (dry season)
Climate month by month
The next sixteen days in NadiOpen-Meteo
Average high and low · °C
Rainfall · mm per month
Best months to visit This month · wettest 375mm in Mar
Where it is
17.71°S, 178.07°E Open in Google Maps
Things to do
A week easily- Island-hop the Yasawas by catamaran
- Dive or snorkel the Rainbow Reef
- Sit through a full kava ceremony without hurrying it
- Swim the Sabeto mud pools and hot springs
- Take the Sigatoka river safari inland
Fiji travel tipsthe general rules
Currency budget Fiji
ExpensiveExchange at a bank in Nadi rather than the airport or a resort desk, where the spread is wide. Resorts quote in Fijian dollars but often accept Australian ones at a rate that favours them. A 9% VAT and a service turnover tax are added at hotels and restaurants, so menu prices are not the final figure.
ATMs & cards
ANZ, BSP and Westpac machines in Nadi, Denarau and Suva are reliable. Island resorts have none — draw cash on the main island before any boat transfer, because village visits, handicrafts and boat tips are cash only.
Avoid these
- resort front-desk exchange
- airport bureaux
Use these instead
- ANZ
- BSP
- Westpac
Island resorts have no machines. Draw cash on Viti Levu before any boat transfer — village visits, handicrafts and boat crew tips are all cash.
Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.
Safety all of Fiji
SafeFiji is relaxed and violent crime against visitors is rare, though opportunistic theft happens in Nadi and Suva town centres. The genuine risks are water and weather: strong currents around reef passages, and cyclone season from November to April. Village etiquette matters — cover shoulders and knees, remove hats, and bring kava root rather than money if you are invited.
Where to walk, and where to pay attention (6 areas)
Comfortable, including after dark
Worth more attention
- Suva — and Nadi town after dark
- Reef cuts and currents in the passages, which is what the clinics here treat
- Cyclone season from November to April, which is a real planning constraint
Our own assessment, not a sourced index.
Entry & visa Fiji visa rules
No visa neededup to 120 days
Granted on arrival, with proof of onward travel and accommodation.
Other passports
Visa required in advance
Entry rules change often and depend on your passport, not where you live — the official page above is the authority, and the airline checks before you board.
Health & emergencies all of Fiji
LimitedRequired to enter
- Yellow fever certificate, but only if you are arriving from a country where yellow fever is present
Jabs worth having, and what happens if you need a doctor
Worth having
- Hepatitis A
- Typhoid
- Tetanus up to date
- Rabies is not present in Fiji, so it is not needed
Getting treated
Adequate rather than good. Nadi, Lautoka and Suva have hospitals and private clinics that handle the everyday, and there is a recompression chamber in Suva for diving injuries. Anything major means evacuation to Australia or New Zealand, so evacuation cover is the part of the policy that matters. Island resorts have a nurse at best.
Dengue, zika and leptospirosis are all present, and typhoid outbreaks follow flooding. Do not drink untreated water outside the resorts. Divers should confirm their insurance covers the chamber in Suva.
Orientation, not medical advice — entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history. Check with a travel clinic four to six weeks before you go.
Food tip
GoodKokoda — raw fish cured in lime and coconut milk — is the dish to have, and a lovo feast cooked in an earth oven is worth timing your stay around. Roti shops in Nadi are excellent and cost a fraction of resort food.
Nightlife
Resort bars and kava ceremonies rather than clubs, and the kava is the one you should not skip.
- Denarau Island — the resort bars and the marina
- Nadi — the town, and the local version
- Port Denarau — where the island boats and the bars meet
Closing: 01:00, and villages much earlier.
Accept kava with both hands, clap once before and three times after, and drink the bowl in one.
Getting around
Limited- inDriveWorks here
- UberNot here
- BoltNot here
inDrive Suva and Nadi
- From the airport
- Nadi airport to Denarau F$25–35
- Against a taxi
- Taxis are metered in town and negotiated outside it. Agree the fare before you leave the airport.
On the outer islands there are no taxis and no roads to speak of — the resort boat is the transport.
Time zone and your working day
Pacific/Fiji — 16 hours ahead of you
0 hours of overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are — — your time, — theirs.
No overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are. Working from here means one of you keeps odd hours — their day starts at 17:00 on your clock.
office hours both at once night
Their 09:00–17:00 is 17:00–01:00 on yours.
The difference from the UK, Europe, the US and ten more
Worked out against America/New York, which is where this request looks like it came from.
Getting online
Getting online: Airalo or Holafly — a data eSIM for Fiji, installed before you fly and working the moment you land.
Source: Ookla Speedtest Global Index · measured June 2026
Must-see
Where to base yourself
You land at Nadi and almost nobody stays there. The decision is which island group, and it is really a decision about how long you are willing to be on a boat.
Denarau
A resort peninsula outside Nadi, and the marina every island boat leaves from.
Not the Fiji anybody pictures, but it is twenty minutes from the airport and the departure point for everything — which makes it the sensible first and last night.
20 minutes by road from Nadi (NAN).
Mamanuca Islands
The nearest island chain, strung west of Denarau.
Small sand islands within a short catamaran ride, so a week loses half a day to transfers instead of two. The busiest of the groups and the easiest.
30 to 90 minutes by catamaran from Denarau.
Yasawa Islands
A longer volcanic chain running further north-west.
Emptier, more dramatic and much less developed than the Mamanucas. The cost is the journey: this is a half-day each way, so it is not worth fewer than four nights.
4h or more by the Yasawa Flyer from Denarau, or a seaplane.
Taveuni
The "garden island" in the east, with the Somosomo Strait beside it.
Rainbow Reef and the Great White Wall are among the best soft-coral dives anywhere, and the island itself is waterfalls and rainforest rather than beach.
1h15 by domestic flight from Nadi.
Nearby day trips
Say a few words
Fijian
- HelloBulaBOO-la
- PleaseYalo vinakaya-lo vee-NA-ka
- Thank youVinakavee-NA-ka
- Thank you very muchVinaka vakalevuvee-NA-ka va-ka-LEH-voo
4 more phrases
- Yes / NoIo / SegaEE-oh / SENG-ga
- Excuse meTuloutoo-LOH
- How much is it?E vica?eh VEE-tha
- GoodbyeMoceMO-theh
Bula is said constantly and means far more than hello — it is a greeting, a toast and a welcome at once. Answering it in kind changes every interaction you have.
Religion
Christian, with a large Hindu minority
Indigenous Fijians are overwhelmingly Methodist; the Indo-Fijian population is largely Hindu and Muslim. Sunday is genuinely observed in villages — expect things to stop.
Do's and don'ts
Do
- Say bula to everyone, constantly; it is expected and it is meant
- Cover shoulders and knees in villages, and wear a sulu if you are offered one
- Take a gift of kava root, not money, if you are invited to a village
- Clap once before and three times after drinking kava, and accept the cup with both hands
Don't
- Do not wear a hat in a village or touch anyone on the head — both are serious breaches, as the head is sacred
- Do not wear swimwear away from the beach or resort grounds
- Do not point at people, and do not stand while others are seated in a formal gathering
- Do not touch someone else’s belongings or enter a home without being invited in
Where to stay in Fiji
No Holistay rentals in Fiji yet — the platform is just opening up. Every listing here will have a video tour and the option to negotiate the nightly price directly with the host.
In the meantime, here is Fiji on the sites that do have the inventory — each search is already filled in:
- Booking.com hotels, guesthouses and apartments — the widest coverage almost everywhere
- Airbnb whole homes and apartments, and the better option for a week or more
How to get there
Fly into Nadi NAN
30 minfrom the airport, roughly
Then a boat or a light aircraft to the outer islands.
Also worth pricing: Nausori, Suva SUV — for the eastern islands.
Google Flights · Rome2Rio for the trains, buses and ferries as well as the flights
