Travelling is something that I LOVE! I absolutely love to travel to different places and experience different cultures and sights. Since having children, travel has been more challenging and with more family members, the cost is more than when we were just a couple.
We went on a family holiday to Fiji during the September holidays last year, with the goal of having a relaxing and enjoyable time together. In fact, I’ve dubbed this trip my ‘stop, drop, plop’ vacation. This is what I wanted to do:
- Stop – and relax
- Drop – leave the luggage in the room and enjoy the resort
- Plop – onto a lounge chair and read a book
I WANTED a simple overseas holiday! I needed rest and relaxation.
Here’s a summary of my experience in Fiji and my thoughts on whether it lived up to the promise of a simple holiday.
Fiji is approximately a 3-4 hour flight from eastern Australia, which sounds super close and easy compared to flying all the way to Europe or Asia. However, you first need to travel to the airport (an activity in itself), go through security, and drop off your luggage (and you must be at the airport at least 2 hours prior to boarding). The pre-flight activities can take almost as long as the flight itself! Once you arrive in Fiji, you need to go through customs, collect your bags, and find your transport to your destination. We stayed on the Coral Coast, and our first resort was 2 hours away from Nadi airport. Our flight was delayed, so we got stuck in Nadi’s peak hour traffic. Overall, it was a long travel day. We left home early in the morning and arrived at the resort at 6 pm. That day was mostly spent commuting – with young children. We had to do the same trip on the way home. That’s two FULL days of my 14 days of annual leave wasted. There was also a lot of pre-planning needed to organise luggage, passports, transfers, airport parking, and flights. Compared to cruising, the travel time is much longer.
Once we arrived at our destination, it was much easier and relaxing!
We stayed at two hotels: The Naviti and the Warwick Fiji.
I really enjoyed to the Naviti (especially the babysitting) and I absolutely LOVED the Warwick Fiji. That resort alone made the trip worth it. It’s my favourite place on Earth. The Warwick is a resort in the middle of nowhere (i.e., not near any major cities). It is surrounded by palm trees, lush forests, and a coral-filled ocean. The part I enjoyed most was being completely removed from city life back in Australia. Most of the staff were from local villages and were incredibly kind and welcoming, especially to my children.
At the resorts, we had a kids eat free offer, which was great and convenient. Babysitting was affordable and easy to book, allowing us to enjoy several date nights with a nanny watching our children. That was wonderful! There was plenty to do at the resorts, such as snorkelling, swimming in the pool, activities, fish feeding, kayaking, soccer, coconut tasting, and happy hour. 😊 All these activities were fun and relaxing, so we didn’t need to plan much aside from choosing what fun we wanted to have each day. The intermittent internet connection was also a blessing in disguise as it provided a tech detox. I just loved relaxing in a hammock!
I also liked being away from advertisements and shopping. Aside from the souvenir shop at the resorts, the shopping wasn’t great. So, there was no need to think about material possessions, aside from deciding which novel to read each day.
The only downfall of our trip was the weather. It rained for several days, and all the activities listed above are much more enjoyable on a sunny day.
Would I go back? Absolutely, yes. I love Fiji.
Would I do things differently? Yes.
- Booking with transfers included would have been more convenient.
- Booking only one resort for the trip would be more hassle-free, although there’s the fun of enjoying different locations.
- I would also go in summer next time, instead of spring. It wasn’t warm enough for me (but I love hot weather!)
The only part I wish I could change (but cannot) is the two long travel days – traveling to Fiji and back home again. It really was 12 days of holidays and 2 days of commuting. If you only have 4 weeks of annual leave a year, those two days are very precious. The alternative to flying overseas is cruising or staying locally.
NOTE: How you travel is a very personal choice. These are only my thoughts. Make your own decisions based on what works for you and your personal circumstances!