Fiji Activities

Most kids like going to the beach or exploring strange and colourful natural environments and Fiji is full of them. They come in many styles and offer a range of activities, from boating excursions to railroad journeys and floating along a river on a handmade bamboo raft. If your kids are adventurous, you’ll find there’s plenty to keep them entertained.

Coral Coast Railway
This interesting old railway network uses two restored sugar cane locomotives to carry passengers on a number of different tours using charismatic narrow-gauge railway lines. The journeys take you through sugar cane fields, across old bridges and along the gorgeous coastline. The most popular trip goes to the stunning Natadola Beach, where you can swim and enjoy a local barbecue lunch. Phone: +679 925 8731.

Kula Eco Park
Fiji’s only wildlife park is located along the banks of a stream surrounded by tropical forest. This is one of the best spots in the whole South Pacific to experience local flora and fauna in their natural setting. The park has an excellent collection of wonderfully colourful tropical birds and an aquarium stocked with wildlife from the surrounding seas. Phone: + 679 650 0505.

Bamboo rafting
One fun and somewhat adventurous thing to do with the kids is take them on a bamboo rafting trip using a traditional Fijian bilibili. Several tour companies offer a journey down the Navua River, which can also include a cultural stop at the picturesque Namuamua village. The river is lovely and full of scenery as it cuts a gorge through the foothills.

Fiji’s main active attractions are its amazing tropical forests, beautiful beaches and clear waters teeming with sea life and coral reefs. Along the sea, you can choose from virtually every kind of water sport, including some of the best scuba diving around and one of the world’s legendary surf-breaks, Cloudbreaker.

If you’re a serious kayaker or rafter, the South Pacific’s best white-water boating is found in Fiji. The Upper Navua River Gorge is an official conservation area and one of the premier sites in the area. All of the rafting trips are long, full-day excursions, but serious boaters will not be disappointed by the virgin scenery and excellent rafting conditions. There are even multiple day adventures of up to a week.

Fiji is deservedly famous for being the ‘Soft Coral Capital of the World’ thanks to its abundant variety of colourful corals. The swift currents of the Somosomo Strait feed these corals which thrive along the Rainbow Reef and other equally stunning dive spots off Taveuni’s eastern coast. The corals attract a huge number of tropical fish, which add to the colour and beauty of the underwater environment. Northern Fiji is home to several of the islands’ most popular dive spots such as Rainbow Reef and Great White Wall. Bequ Lagoon is another excellent site teeming with soft corals and sea life and even the heavily visited Mamanuca Islands off Nadi have a number of decent spots, though you’ll probably have to share the waters with other dive groups.

The waters off of southern Viti Levu are famous for their stocks of big game fish, with a number of world record fish being caught here. January to May is a good time to try for tuna and mahi mahi, while June and July are the best months for the big wahoos. There are several fishing companies that can provide you with all the equipment and guidance you need for either an offshore or inland fishing adventure.

If you need a break from the ocean, there are some great hikes on Fiji’s islands. The popular Lavena Coastal Walk runs for 5kms along a clear, well-marked trail which connects several Fijian villages before climbing up to Wainibau Falls. Also on Taveuni is a trail leading to Lake Tagimaucia, in the centre of the island, which is home to a famous flower that blooms from September through December. The lake is actually the crater of an extinct volcano and is usually shrouded in clouds by late-morning, adding to the ambiance.

For some serious thrills, Jet Fiji will blast you through the mangrove-lined creeks behind Denarau Island. The twisting and turning 360 degree spins are guaranteed to get the blood flowing during your 30 minute ride. These excursions depart from Port Denarau throughout the day.

Visitors to Fiji will find a fairly high quality of food in most of the restaurants scattered around the islands, especially in the more developed towns of Nadi and Suva. There are four main styles of cuisine found in Fiji: European, Indian, Chinese and local Fijian. The local fare is similar to that found throughout the South Pacific, with plenty of fish, shellfish, breadfruit, taro, cassava, yams, coconut milk and rice finding their way into the dishes. Fijian cuisine is typically seasoned only with salt, lemon juice or spicy chillies, which is usually added by the customer after the dish has been served.

Continental cuisine is also readily available throughout Fiji, particularly in the major hotels around Nadi and in some of the downtown Suva and Nadi restaurants. The ubiquitous Indian restaurants are also cheap, delicious and found everywhere. However, the cuisine they serve is slightly different than in India itself, since the Indo-Fijian community has been living here for so long. The curries, which are the most popular dish, are fairly mild and best eaten with roti bread.

While you’re in Fiji, try a meke, a traditional South Pacific feast where the food is steamed in an earthen oven called a lovo. Traditional dancing and a few cups of yaqona, the local stress-diminishing liquor also known as kava, arrive after the feast. Feasts usually consist of pig, seafood, and various vegetables, most of which are cooked in coconut milk. Fijians also make excellent kokoda, fresh fish marinated in lime juice and mixed with vegetables and coconut milk. Many hotels in Nadi have mekes on their weekly schedule of cultural events.

Fijian arts and crafts can be bought from three sources: individual craftspeople, public markets and private shops which include the government crafts centre in Suva. The shops offer the easiest buying experience, but prices will be slightly more expensive than in the outlying villages because they choose the best quality merchandise. The quality of goods at the public markets can vary widely.

Nadi and Sigatoka both have a Jack’s Handicrafts shop, which has a good reputation of fairly priced, quality goods. Prouds and Tappoo are also large and reputable merchants of local handicrafts. In Suva, you can shop at the official government crafts centre, which has some excellent items but tends to be on the expensive side. Most of the municipal markets in the larger towns like Suva, Nadi and Lautoka have sections that sell handicrafts, but make sure that your Fijian kava bowl was actually made in Fiji and not somewhere else in Asia. The main advantage to buying at the public markets is that you can bargain the prices with the Indo-Fijian vendors, but the quality is invariably lower than in the private shops. Haggling is not, however, acceptable in the shops run by Fijians.

Fiji artisans produce excellent masi, or tapa cloth, as well as beautiful carvings which include bowls and replicas of traditional Fijian artefacts. Black pearls, which are raised in the waters of Savusavu Bay, are another good buy. Woven goods made from kuta, a locally grown reed, also make interesting purchases.

Fiji has the most developed duty-free shopping scene in the South Pacific. So if you really need a new Rolex or Sony camera, you’ll find plenty in Nadi Town.