Fiji islands- Your ultimate Guide to the Perfect Itinerary

Last year I took the most amazing 2 week trip to Fiji and thought I would post our itinerary because it isn't the easiest trip to plan as Fiji has soooo many islands so it can take a while! I would recommend this route for couples or solo travelers in order to see the best of the Yasawa islands.

We started off by spending a night at Bamboo in Nadi before we set off for the islands in the morning.

We decided to go straight to the north of the Yasawa Islands and work our way back (you could also do the reverse of course) so the quickest and most fun way of doing that was on a seaplane!

We used Turtle Airways departing Nadi and headed to Nacula Island as our first stop of our island hopping- taking 35 minutes compared to 5 hours on the Yasawa flyer ferry and were taken directly by boat to 1. Blue Lagoon resort on Nacula Island.

Blue Lagoon was unreal and as the name suggests, I have never seen water so blue! We spent three days there and it was a truly relaxing start to our holiday. They offer free kayaks and paddle boards to enjoy the beautiful water and snorkeling was fun too plus the food there was so good.

2. Barefoot Manta Resort | Drawaqa island 

We headed to Drawaqa island in the hope of swimming with manta rays but unfortunately due to the wind we did not spot any! As this is the main reason for going to this particular island we had only booked to stay there for one night/ two days and kept things moving as other than that, there is nothing else to do on Drawaqa so i'd recommend just a night to anyone whether you see the manta's or not.

3. Octopus Resort | Waya Island for 3 days 

Octopus resort was our favourite place on our trip, reason being that there is the perfect balance of relaxation, activities & excursions on Waya Island.

A highlight for us was visiting a local primary school on the neighbouring island of Wayasewa where you meet the children who have the most amazing dance moves!! You can also donate toys/ equipment or money if you like too. Seeing the kids so happy and interested to meet people from all over the globe was fantastic.

4. Naqalia Lodge | Wayalailai 

Naqalia Lodge we included in our itinerary to truly experience an authentic Fijian home-stay (no wifi!) including home cooking, traditional Fijian dancing and adhoc activities throughout the day; this is a far throw from the luxury we had already experienced but a great insight in to Fijian island life in an authentic family environment.

We booked a shark diving excursion where we were taken out in a small fishing boat and jumped into the ocean to snorkel with reef sharks- none any longer than a meter thankfully! 

The family host a range of excursions from this to night snorkeling, a 2 hour sunset hike to the viewpoint on the island and they also offer a school visit to a different school that Octopus took us to.

I'm glad that we added Naqalia Lodge on to our itinerary as it encouraged us to get involved in activities and get to know the rest of the people staying there- you end up becoming a small family! However it is worth pointing out that we paid just as much to stay here (you have to purchase their cooking in order to stay too) as we did the Octopus Resort so as great as it was to experience this aspect of Fijian culture, we certainly paid for it too!

5. Beachcomber Island | Mamanuca Islands

We chose to end our island hopping on Beachcomber as we had heard that it was the party island so thought we would end on a high; unfortunately the island was actually nearly as quiet as the previous and not as party at all during the particular time that we went (September). 

The island offers a wide range of excursions to places such as Cloud Nine- the floating bar, snorkeling trips and a turtle conservation. The standard of food there isn't the best (school dinner kind of food!) but there is plenty of it and this is a great island to meet people and make friends so I recommend this is a first stop if you are a solo traveler as you usually end up bumping in to people on the next islands!

Beachcomber is a beautiful scenic but small island and attracts a younger (20's/early 30's) crowd compared to the rest of the islands.

From Beachcomber, we headed back to Nadi to the initial hostel that we stayed in and spent our remaining day there. 

Overall Fiji was the best holiday and the most beautiful place I have ever visited; if you are after a relaxing holiday just be advised that this is not a destination for those on a shoe-string budget- but it is worth every penny!