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Fiji has a great variety of tourist attractions and day tours. If sightseeing is your thing, the best place to stay is either in Nadi or along the Coral Coast on the main island of Viti Levu. Our top 10 things to do in Fiji: 1) Mamanuca Islands Day Cruise, The Mamanuca Islands is a collection of over 30 small islands just off the coast of Nadi, about 10 of them with luxury resorts. It is possible to visit many of these islands on a day cruise, whether its to an uninhabited coral island, a luxury resort for the day or simply a cruise amongst them with a picnic stop on the beach. South Sea Cruises operates its fast resort transfer boat to South Sea Island, Mana Island Resort, Castaway Island Resort and Malolo Island Resort with day trippers being able to get off at any one of these for a day in the sun. Musket Cove and Beachcomber offer similar day packages to their resorts. One of the best cruises is with the Coral Cat which takes in dolphin watching, line fishing and snorkelling off Malolo Barrier Reef, and then a beach BBQ at Musket Cove Marina 2) Visit Navala Village, Don't leave Fiji without visiting the most picturesque village in the South Pacific - Navala Village is located about 50 minutes drive into the highlands and is one of the few remaining villages where all houses are built from traditional materials. The houses, locally referred to as bures, have bamboo woven walls and thatch roofs and are single room buildings. Kitchens and toilets are separate buildings out the back. A visit to Navala includes a welcoming yaqona ceremony where guests are introduced and bonded by drinking the traditional Fijian drink mixed from roots of the Yaqona tree. The drive to Navala is a little bumpy travelling along dirt roads but takes in some breathtaking rural scenery along the way 3) Learn to Scuba Dive, Renowned as the soft coral capital of the world, a fiji dive or snorkel trip to the outer reef is an essential element of your holiday. With thousands of coral reefs around the islands, scuba diving courses and daily reef trips are offered by most resorts. For those less ambitious in the water, a snorkelling trip to the outer reef will give an enthralling encounter with marine life and soft corals. There are a few reefs that have exceptional diving conditions for soft corals. Rainbow Reef in the Somosomo Straights between Taveuni and Vanua Levu, the Tasman Straights north of Taveuni, both in the Northern Group and the Astrolabe Reef off Kadavu Island in the Southern Group are outstanding. But even if you snorkel in the popular Mamanucas where coral bleaching has occurred, the experience will most definitely be memorable with outstanding colours and friendly reef fish 4) Yasawa Beach Hopping, Hopping from one gorgeous beach to another along the Yasawa chain of islands is the highlight for many travellers. The Yasawa Island chain is about 2 hours by fast ferry from Nadi. 5) Bouma National Park, The gorgeous tropical rain forest of Bouma National Park Fiji is one of the unexpected highlights of a trip to Fiji. Set in the Northern Group of Islands on the Garden Island of Taveuni, Bouma encompasses 15,000 hectares of forest with 1000ft volcanic peaks, razor edge mountain ridges and cliffs that fall into the sea. There are bush trails throughout the park, but an experienced guide is required to show the way. For those wishing to explore by themselves, the Park offers two maintained trails, the Bouma Falls Trail and Lavena Coastal Walk. Access to Bouma Falls Trail is from the north-east coast, with the main attraction being the Tavoro Falls (three lovely waterfalls between 10 minutes and an hour walk from the main road). At the end of the coastal road on the west coast of Taveuni is the attractive village of Lavena. This is the departure point for the 3 mile Lavena Coastal Walk along the forest edge, passing cove beaches and waterfalls. This coast can also be explored by kayak. 6) Explore Navua River, White water rafting (Class III rapids), motorized canoe cruises and traditional bilibili (bamboo raft) tours are all available on the Navua River in East Viti Levu. All tours pass through stunning rainforest mountains, river gorges and traditional villages. 7) Botanical Gardens, The Garden of the Sleeping Giant sits at the foothills of the Nausori Highlands about 10 minutes drive north of Nadi. The attractive landscaped gardens specialise in Fiji's native plants as well as housing an impressive collection of orchids, some native. A jungle walk takes visitors past a large lily pond and through native forest. 8) Nananu-i-Ra Island Day Tour, Nananu-i-Ra Island is a delightful small island off the north coast of Viti Levu, a two hour scenic drive through rural countryside from Nadi Airport. The island is reached by small boat, taking 10-minutes across the passage from Ellington Wharf. Nananu-i-Ra has two great swimming beaches on either side of the island (it’s a five minute walk over the hill between the two beaches, or a 30-minute beach stroll around the coast). The sheltered beach offers safe sandy-bottom swimming in the lagoon and snorkelling amongst colourful reef fish. The windy beach on the other side of the island offers light body surfing and the chance to experience Fiji’s most exciting wind-surfing and kite-surfing location. 9) Aerial Sightseeing, Island Hoppers helicopters and Pacific Seaplanes and Turtle Airways provide daily sightseeing tours of the very beautiful islands of the Mamanuca Group. These islands are all close together and vary from small but quite rugged volcanic islands to tiny coral atolls. The sea surrounding the islands is very shallow and the view of coral textures and turquoise seas from the air is one of Fiji's greatest attractions. The centre of this island group is only a few minutes flying time from the Nadi. It is also possible to arrange sightseeing tours / transfers to the Yasawa Group. Optional side excursions over the Nausori Highlands inland from Nadi are well worth the trip especially between December and May when the hills are lush and waterfalls gushing. 10) Historical Coral Coast Tour, Whilst the Coral Coast is best known for its large beach resorts, there are three historical sites that make an excellent sightseeing trip. These are the Sigatoka Sandunes National Park, Tavuni Hill Fort and Nakabuta Pottery Village all close together and within an hours drive of Nadi Airport. The Sigatoka Sandunes has managed trials along the sandunes and guides will point out ancient settlements and an amazing quantity of Lapita pottery sherds along the way. Tavuni Hill Fort, slightly inland from Sigatoka, is a fortification dating back to the Fiji Wars of 1800s when the region was wild and cannibalism was rife. There are great views over the Sigatoka River Valley, a good information centre and many stone mounds to see including the famous killing stone where captured enemies met their death before ending up in the cooking pot. Across the river from tavuni is a living traditional village with several thatch homes. The centre piece of the village is an impressive thatch meeting house where traditional pottery making demonstrations are held. The village put on excellent traditional lovo lunches, cooked in an underground oven Sightseeing Tours The majority of sightseeing tours in Fiji orginate from Nadi which lends itself as an excellent base for exploring the region. The most popular tours are to popular Mamanuca Islands which lie right off the Nadi coast. Fast Catamarans ply these waters visiting the resorts and taking day trippers for a day on the beach. There are sailing tours, uninhabited island tours, dolphin watching tours and snorkelling tours. Viti Levu has a the most varied attractions and is the best place to stay if you want to do lots of exploring. There's a great variety of organised sightseeing tours with pick-ups from all the resorts around Nadi and the South Coast, including beach tours to Nananu-i-Ra island, Historic Tours along the Coral Coast, Village Tours to picturesque locations, 4 wheel drive tours into the rainforest highlands and shopping tours. To drive in Fiji you will need a valid driving license from your home country. Car rental companies are available from Nadi Airport, Nadi Town and other towns on Viti Levu. Driving is on the left.Car Hire Companies | |||||||||||||
Sunday 23 June 2013
Fiji Tourist places Attraction
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