“You were right. We did too much!” That’s what one of my clients told me when he got home from Royal Davui Island Resort, and honestly, I think about it every time I start planning someone’s first trip to Fiji. Some destinations you can figure out with a few articles, a hotel booking, and a list of things to see. Fiji is different, because how you travel there matters just as much as where you stay. I’ve been to Fiji myself, I’m a certified Fiji Specialist, and the more time I spend with this destination, the more I find myself giving first-timers the same handful of advice. Some of it is practical and some of it is about adjusting your expectations before you land. Fiji is incredible, and it gets even better once you stop trying to travel there the way you’d travel everywhere else.
Leave room to do nothing (I mean it)
You can absolutely be active in Fiji. You can snorkel, dive, hike, kayak, visit villages, take boat trips, go fishing, and chase waterfalls until every day is full. But you also flew a very long way to wake up next to ridiculously beautiful water with nowhere you have to be, so leave room for that. Back to my Royal Davui client: the long list of activities there is one of the reasons I love that resort, and when he saw all the options, he got excited and wanted to do everything. His schedule filled up fast. During planning, I warned him it might be a lot and suggested narrowing it down so they’d still have time to actually enjoy being at the resort. He was excited about every single thing he’d picked, so we kept them all. Then he came home and told me I was right.
You should do the things you’re excited about. You just don’t have to do all of them. You might wake up and realize the thing you want most tomorrow is absolutely nothing, or you might hear about an excursion you didn’t know existed and decide to go on a whim. Building in some flexibility lets the trip unfold on its own instead of turning your vacation into a schedule you have to keep up with, and you won’t come home wishing you’d left more time to simply be in Fiji.
Your resort choice matters more than the room photos
I wish more travelers knew this before they start comparing Fiji resorts by room photos and nightly rates. In Fiji, your resort shapes a huge part of your whole trip. The beach, the snorkeling, the dining, the activities, the pace, and how much effort it takes to get there can all change dramatically from one property to the next. Two resorts can look equally spectacular online and still be right for completely different people. One might be secluded and romantic, while another suits someone who wants lots to do and a more social atmosphere. Some have a reef you can swim out to right from the resort, and others need a boat ride for the best snorkeling. Some are an easy trip from the airport, and getting to others becomes part of the adventure. That’s why every Fiji trip I plan starts with matching the traveler to the right property. Pretty pictures tell a story that may not be accurate, and the prettiest resort on Instagram might be the wrong one for you.
Getting there is part of the trip
Looking at a map, it’s easy to underestimate how much your resort’s location matters logistically. Fiji is made up of hundreds of islands, and depending on where you’re staying, getting from your international flight to your resort could mean a car, a boat, a domestic flight, a seaplane, a helicopter, or some combination of them. Some of those transfers turn into a favorite memory of the trip! They also mean the resort and the journey to reach it have to be planned together, never one first and the other figured out later.
So I ask my clients real questions. Would you love a speedboat ride, or do you want something faster, like a helicopter? Are you nervous about small planes? Do you get carsick? (The drive to the dock for Royal Davui is about 2 hours of winding road, and I’m not putting someone who gets carsick in that car.) Arrival times, departure times, transfer schedules, and how much vacation you’re OK spending in transit all go into it. This is also where having an advocate matters. If your international flight is delayed, your transfer company needs to know, and you can’t call them while you’re in the air. I can.
Pack less than you think you need
Seriously, you need less clothing than you think. You’ll spend most of your time in or around the water, so you don’t need a different daytime outfit for every day. Bring a few swimsuits and some lightweight pieces you can throw on over them for breakfast, lunch, or wandering around the resort. Breathable and comfortable is the goal. For evenings, pack a few nicer outfits you’re happy to repeat. You can absolutely wear the same dinner dress twice, and you don’t need 7 different evening looks taking up half your suitcase.
Keep shoes minimal too. Sandals will cover most of the trip, but I’d still bring one pair of practical shoes for an excursion, even if you don’t have one scheduled. You might arrive, hear about a hike or a waterfall, and decide you want to go, and you don’t want flip-flops and dinner sandals to be your only options when you suddenly need something stable. The same goes for clothes: bring at least one comfortable outfit that works for a more active day. I would never give up half my luggage allowance in Fiji for elaborate outfits I’m only going to wear for 2 hours.
Fiji is the people as much as the beach
The beaches are beautiful, the water can be unreal, and you’ll probably take an unreasonable number of pictures of both. But if you only experience Fiji as a pretty backdrop, I think you miss a huge part of what makes it special. Fijian hospitality and culture are a big part of the trip. Take part in a kava ceremony if you get the chance. Visit a village when it’s offered appropriately through your resort or tour provider. Talk to the staff, ask questions, and learn a few Fijian words. You’ll hear “Bula!” constantly, and before long you’ll catch yourself saying it back just as enthusiastically. The feeling of Fiji comes from the people, and that’s the part I’d make time for.
One or two resorts is usually plenty
I get the instinct. You’re going all the way to Fiji, so you should see as many islands as possible, right? Honestly, you probably don’t need to. Every move between resorts means packing, checking out, traveling, checking in, and settling into a new place, and if you squeeze too many into one trip, you’ll spend more time in transit than actually enjoying any of them. For most first-timers, one well-chosen resort or 2 resorts that complement each other is plenty. If you do split your stay, there should be a reason for it, like 2 really different settings or experiences. When I split a stay, I build the trip from the bottom to the top, so the second resort tops the first and you end with a bang. Changing hotels just for the sake of changing hotels usually isn’t worth giving up another full day by the water.
Let Fiji be Fiji
I love Fiji and French Polynesia, and I’ve been to both, but I don’t treat them as interchangeable. Both have South Pacific scenery and gorgeous luxury resorts, but the culture, geography, resort styles, and even the way I design the itinerary are different. In French Polynesia, for example, Bora Bora always goes last so my clients unwind at the end of the trip. That rule doesn’t automatically carry over to Fiji, where so much depends on the resort itself and how you’re getting to it. If your picture of Fiji is basically “Bora Bora, but somewhere else,” let that comparison go before you arrive. Let Fiji be Fiji.
Give yourself permission to slow down
This might be the most important thing I’d tell someone going to Fiji for the first time: you do not need to maximize every hour of this trip. Have the long breakfast. Stay in the water longer than you planned, read half a book by the pool, take the afternoon nap, and have one more conversation with the bartender. Decide at 10 a.m. that your plans for the day have changed. To me, luxury travel includes having the time and freedom to decide what sounds good once you’re actually there, and Fiji is especially good at reminding you of that.
The right Fiji trip is built around you
There isn’t one Fiji itinerary I’d give every first-time traveler. Some people should spend almost their whole trip barefoot at an intimate island resort, and others need adventure mixed in with their downtime. Some want romance and privacy, some want the best snorkeling they can get, some care deeply about food, and some want to be outside every possible minute. That’s exactly why I love planning Fiji. My job is to figure out which version of Fiji fits the way you actually like to travel, and then design the whole trip around that, from the resort down to how you get there.
If Fiji has been on your list and you’re not sure where to start, that’s where I come in. Book a complimentary consultation with me! We’ll get to know each other, I’ll walk you through how Susan’s Travel Services works (including what being a Virtuoso agency means for you), and we’ll talk about next steps.