The first stop on our trip was Fiji. We used our Virgin America points to fly for free to Los Angeles and then took a direct flight from LAX to NAN on Fiji Airways using Webjet.com. The total cost for the flight was $547 each and took about 11.5 hours.
We arrived at 6AM and took a 20 min taxi to our hotel, First Landing Beach Resort. We stayed for 4 nights at about $74 per night. The hotel was quiet, the staff was friendly and the location was great.
After all the packing, moving and planning stresses it took to make this trip happen we promised one another that the beginning of our trip in Fiji would be low-impact. Our mission was to relax by the beach, read our Kindles and take it all in. We did a pretty good job at keeping to our mission for the first few days. 😉
One of the first things that excited us was the water temperature. The moment I dipped my toe in the near by ocean I couldn’t help but smile. It was bath water warm, and, after living in San Francisco for so long, I have yearned for a nice warm ocean experience for some time.
One thing you’ll notice when you get to Fiji is the lack of long beautiful beaches. I personally have always imagined Fiji to be full of them, but the ones on the mainland are mostly small, short and rough. At low tide the water is pretty shallow in most spots and the water line can be a bit far from shore.
There are magical beaches, though they live on the smaller islands surrounding the area. If you plan a trip to Fiji be sure to make time to tour the Islands. Per our promise to do very little while in Fiji we only chose to cruise to one island on one day. We are so glad we broke our promise to do so.
We took the Oolala cruise to Savala island from our hotel’s port for $100 per person. It was the highlight of our trip and totally worth it. On the way to the island we did some snorkeling.
We were so close to the fish we had a school swim up to us and eat out of our hands. You could feel the little nibbles on your fingertips. Imagine snorkeling in lukewarm water with a beautiful reef below and schools of fish surrounding you. It was a magical experience and ones we will never forget.
Next we hit the island for a BBQ and down time. Many of the islands around Fiji are extremely small and uninhabited, some only 100 meters long. Just being on a private island was an amazing experience. We kayaked and paddle boarded and laid out.
Oh no, the awesomeness of this day wasn’t over yet. We returned to our hotel to get dressed and make our way to dinner. We sat on the beach and ate pasta and pizza. Surprising note about Fiji, for some reason the pasta (and pizza) is really quite good – don’t forget to order it if it’s on the menu. We had a great dish (that had a few different ingredients than listed. Island style I guess) and took a walk to the bridge where a separate tiny island was attached. Long story short, we got engaged that night in Fiji. Like I said it was a pretty awesome day 🙂
Sean Shadmand 