18 days in Fiji (#13) From Denarau Island to Nadi International Airport

Bula! Welcome!  We've been in Fiji now for 18 days. And sadly it is almost time to say good bye to this beautiful tropical isle with its fabulous people.

Bula! It's a cava ceremony (Photo copyright Maria Ngo) 

I hope you've enjoyed hanging out with me and picked up a few tips and tricks as well as saved yourself some bucks for a smoother holiday.

Deep fried crispy fish (Photo copyright Maria Ngo) 

Today I'm going to be talking about the journey from our resort to Nadi (pronounced Nandee) International Airport.

From Denarau Island to Nadi International Airport 

Our flight with Qantas Airways was scheduled for a 18:50 departure. We planned to be there at least 2.5 hours before departure and the taxi ride from the resort was estimated to take about 30 minutes. We allowed ourselves even extra time in case of possible delays and as it turned out, that was quite unnecessary.

The taxi that the hotel ordered for us turned up promptly at 3.30 pm and it was a smooth ride all the way to the airport. The four of us with our luggage fit comfortably in the air conditioned sedan which was well cared for.

Taxi ride to the airport 
(Photo copyright Maria Ngo) 

It was with mixed emotions as we said goodbye in our hearts to Fiji. The first part of the trip took us through familiar roads. I admired the bright orangey blooms of the Fijian Christmas tree as we drove along.

The driver then veered off onto a main highway which was as well formed and well made as any you'd find in an Australian city. It was quite pleasing to see how clean the roads were too. Traffic flowed in an orderly fashion and no one seemed rushed in any way.

Forests punctuated with large bill boards along the road side soon gave way to double storeyed concrete buildings housing various businesses and accommodation places.

We noticed that Burger King had made it over here!

It's Burger King! (Photo copyright Maria Ngo) 

Soon we saw the sign that announced that we were at our destination. We paid FJ$45 for the trip. No tips are necessary but cash is the preferred option.

Nadi International Airport (Photo copyright Maria Ngo) 

The check in area was clean, well organised and spacious. I was pleasantly surprised at the number of open counters and lack of queues. Baggage check in was completely uneventful and hassle free.

Spacious well organised check-in area (Photo copyright Maria Ngo) 

Next, security check point. We had all our liquids and gels in their appropriate zip lock bags and they presented no problem. A couple in front of me had not thought to pack any of their items into zip lock bags and got held up until someone (namely I) gave them a couple of spares. In fact, it was a helpful staff who 'negotiated' this transfer of handy zip lock bags. Lesson here - always pack spare zip lock bags.

In fact, my zip lock bags had already come in rather handy earlier at the duty free shop before security check. The shop wanted to charge me FJ$1 for the pleasure of supplying me a small zip lock bag for some dilo oil I had purchased.

Duty-free shopping (Photo copyright Maria Ngo) 

With all that time to spare, I wondered how we were going to occupy ourselves. Built almost around the departure lounge was more duty free shopping - souvenirs, gifts, personal care, shoes, jewellery, books, toys and more awaited us. Dining options includes a pizza outlet, Burger King and the familiar Gloria Jeans. For more information on the airport, check out Fiji airport's website.

Pick up a bargain? (Photo copyright Maria Ngo) 

Regarding shopping, as was common among most retail outlets in Fiji, credit cards incurred a surcharge. I also found that the retailers at the airport were happy to accept Australian currency and to my surprise, I found that some were even open to negotiating the right price when they saw that I was out of Fijian currency but still had Australian notes to work with.

Money changers in the departure lounge (Photo copyright Maria Ngo) 

Departure Lounge (Photo copyright Maria Ngo) 

There is a drinking fountain near the very well maintained modern toilet facilities in this waiting lounge. It is quite useless to fill up your water bottle here though because there is another check of your carry on luggage just before you board the plane after the boarding ticket process. This was something I found rather unusual.

It was also here, after this last check of our carry on luggage, that we were able to collect our duty free shopping from one of the waiting staff lined up along the boarding tunnel.

Except another surprise awaited us. We had to walk down the boarding tunnel down to the tarmac. Just as well it was a clear day.

Once the plane got moving, we were just five hours and fifty minutes away from our destination. Incidentally, Fiji Airways and Qantas use a code sharing service and rather well used planes. I would recommend that you bring your own entertainment. While food was included in the flight, I think I would have found Burger King more palatable.

Touch down went as scheduled and our car was still where we had left it in long-term parking 18 days ago. We were pleased that we did not even need the photos we had taken of the car's location and its nearest shuttle bus stop to guide us.

Oh, and Fiji is two hours ahead of Australian EST. But even at that hour, we were able to find a drive through twenty four hour burger joint on the way home.

Vinaka! And thank you so much for joining me on my Fijian holiday. Hope to see you when I next travel to South Australia.

Fresh coconut 

(Photo copyright Maria Ngo)

18 days in Fiji (#1) From Nadi airport to Denarau Island

What this post is about 

Bula! Hello! And Welcome! We've just spent 18 days in Fiji. And what a time that was!

Before we went though I had so many questions! Well, now that we're home and I've found the answers to some of those questions, I thought I might share my discoveries. After all, sharing is caring.

Also, I thought that by sharing my discoveries, I might help you save time, money and perhaps add to your safety and comfort!

So, over a series of posts, I hope to tackle some topics that might be of interest to you to help you in your preparation for a holiday in Fiji.

So here's the first question I'll tackle. How does one get from the airport to a resort on Denarau Island. 

Getting from Nadi International Airport to a holiday resort on Denarau Island  

We arrived in Nadi International Airport at around 5 AM. Flying from Melbourne to Nadi had only taken us about 5 hours. 

Upon arrival, we joined the queue through Customs and Immigration. We had heard about the friendliness of the Fijians, and true to form, there was a group of Fijian men dressed in traditional costume serenading us before we were officially welcomed into the country. 

At Nadi International Airport
(Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo)

We had no difficulties going through immigration and we found our luggage without any hassles. I noticed that all the signs are in English. I found out later that there are many Fijian dialects but Bauan is the official one that is taught in school along with English.

We assumed that there would be taxis that we could take to get to our resort on Denarau Island. In this we were not wrong. There was a taxi rank right outside the terminal. It cost us $35FJ to get to our destination. (It was $10FJ dearer going in the opposite direction we found later.) The taxi ride took us only about 30 minutes. 

Taxi ride
(Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) 

While the area is called Denarau Island, it isn't much of an island - there is a short bridge to mark the crossing but you don't actually notice that you're on some sort of distinct island as such.

(Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) 

Much of this area is actually reclaimed land. There is a guard post though that one has to go past to cross over. But don't worry, these guards are quite friendly. After peering into our taxi, they waved us through. 

Wyndham Resort
(Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) 

Wyndham Resort
(Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) 

Wyndham Resort
(Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) 

On this side of the road, you will find the Hilton, Westin, Radisson, Sheraton, Sofitel and Wyndham Resort. 

Port Denarau
(Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) 

Port Denarau
(Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) 

These resorts have the advantage of beautiful sunset views being located to the west as well as proximity to Port Denarau which is only 10 minutes away by car and is where most of the cruises to the smaller islands depart from. 

Sunset from Wyndham Resort
(Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) 

On a cruise
(Photo taken by and copyright Maria Ngo) 

Vinaka! Thanks for reading! Hope to catch you here again soon.