Fiji - Family Friendly

[Guest katieb]

Dear All,

 

We are considering taking our 2 young children to Fiji but was just wondering if it is family friendly or not? Has anyone been there with small children, if so where did you stay and more importantly would you do it again?

 

Not sure if we are completely mad considering it and should perhaps consider Gold/Sunshine Coast instead!

 

Thanks in advance

 

Katie

[Diane]

Hiya I would say it's definitely family friendly - and a lot of the resorts also offer Kids Stay Free deals, and Kids Clubs etc. We stayed at the Naviti on the mainland a few years ago now. The plus points were that they offered all inclusive deals, but I didn't think the beach was particularly nice, plus it was quite a long bus journey from the airport, so depends how your kids feel about long coach journeys. Julia (Church1 I think on here) is just back from there so might be worth a PM to her.

 

Couple of years ago we stayed at Plantation Island. Much nicer location, great beaches, really safe for kids as gently sloping, and apparently an excellent kids' club (mine were past that age though :-)) I definitely prefer the islands, but obviously the disadvantage of that is that your flight arrival time might mean you have to stay on the mainland for one night before heading out on the island ferry. Plantation Island suited us really well, although it is a little tatty round the edges! May well have been done up a bit since we went though, as I see it was Channel 9 breakfast TV the other day! Just get used to everything being on "Fiji time!!!"

 

Also, you can't fly direct from Adelaide any more. The first time we flew via Sydney, and stayed overnight at a Formule 1 Hotel near the airport. Last time we were on one of the last direct flights before they discontinued them. Something to bear in mind.

 

Both times we booked through www.travelonline.com.au and they were excellent. I did try using a travel agent both times but had awful experiences with them not knowing what they were doing at all - and Travelonline even so managed to beat the agent's price by quite a large margin.

 

Have a browse on www.tripadvisor.com as well before making a final decision on accommodation. We got some really useful info from there.

 

The Fijians love kids though, and are the most lovely people, who really make you realise that material goods are not what makes a person happy.

[Guest katieb]

Thanks so much for your reply Diane very helpful indeed, has given me lots to think about. Will also contact Julia too as I know she has a very little one like me so would be interested to see what she thought.

 

Thanks again

 

K

[Guest guest3462]

Hi Katie, we have just got back from a 2 week holiday in Fiji. We stayed at the Naviti on the Coral Coast and had the all inclusive package. We flew via sydney on the way out and Brisbane on the way back in with Pacific blue (but if we were going again i'd pay the extra and go qantas simply because they feed you and you get in flight entertainment included! (It was a long and boring journey for the kids and the flight times are not the best).

It is a 2 hour very bumpy transfer to the resort and the standard of driving is at best poor and at worst down right dangerous. I'm surprised Isla didnt have bruises I held onto her so tight lol!

The resort itself was nice, not 4* as it claims and is definately ready for a lick of paint and some TLC but we were told it has just been bought so may be getting a makeoover soon. The gardens and pool area were lovely but the beach not so good. It is unadvisable to walk on the beach barefoot as there was so much debris such as broken conrete slabs and litter. The water was cloudy and so we didn't really see so much snorkelling but the kids enjoyed it.

Excursions are expensive to the islands, but the contrast is totally different i'm led to believe. (We didn't go on any trips as we couldn't afford to)

The Fijian people are so friendly and loving towards the children and all you hear is "Bula" whenever you pass a window! The people are incredibly poor and we left all our kids clothing to the village next to the hotel for which they were very grateful.

The all inclusive option was really a bonus i that we knew we didn't have to worry about the fuss of finding somewhere suitable for everyone to eat. It has 4 restaraunts all serving good food. 2 are buffet help yourself style and the food reflected this mostly serving casseroles, salads, curries (very nice too) and bbq meats but still we didn't have a bad meal at all. There is also a dedicated kids meal time where they served nuggets and pizza etc. the girls preferred this and it also gave us chance to enjoy dinner on our own later in the evening. There is also free icecream all day!!! :-)

The biggest negative was the water. They said it was good to drink, but in fact it came out of the taps a lovely brown colour! Bottled water cost a fortune so they have you over a barrel really, especially if you are like us and need it for the baby. It cost us $75 for water!!! Also we didn't get towels for 4 days, and only got some after I went on the hunt myself!

There is a free kids club that runs from 10am-10pm every day. We let the girls go for 2 hours after their tea which they loved and it gave us a bit of free time too which made it feel like a real break for us too. The kids club did little shows with the kids for the parents on the stage in an evening with singing and dancing and they also did crab racing. The prizes were good, Our girls won cocktails, a boat trip and a pedalo session.

 

There is a disco everynight til 1am not that we stayed up past about 10.30 with the girls and they also put on traditional Fijian dancing and singing shows.

We went into Sigatoka to have a look at the town, but it wasn't the best idea we had and with 3 small kids it wasn't a very enjoyable experience. It was hot and bustling and people trying to lure you into their shops so you had to have eyes like hawks!

 

The weather was ok. It rained every day we were there, tropical rain storms with rain so heavy you couldn't walk under it without pain, but it seldom lasted longer than an hour and then it was sunny again. It was warm all the time even in the rain and humid, but Isla wasn't bothered by it like I was worried that she would be. The girls loved the rain and just stayed in the pool!

 

 

The girls had their hair braided in a little hut on the beach and they still won't let me take it out! The locals in the village there are so helpful and sell trinkets and massage to make their living.

 

We had a lovely holiday there, but 2 weeks was far too long. We were well ready for home after a week, but to be honest we had to go to validate our visa and once we had done so it was mission accomplished and we wanted to get on with our lives!!!

 

We would go back to Fiji, but next time we will go onto an island. I also think we will leave it for a few years before we go back. Personally I think that our girls were a little bit young for us to get the max out of the trip. We went to the Gold coast last year and I would say that we got more enjoyment with the kids from that in the theme parks. Next year we are going to Daydream Island in the Whitsundays, it is stunning there and just as tropical, with the added bonus of being in our own country with safe water and our own currency!!

HTH

Have a great holiday

Julia x

[Guest katieb]

Thanks so much Julia for all the information on your trip it is very helpful to me especially like you I have a young baby (so the water would definitely be an issue for me). I agree that I think it may be worth waiting for the kids to get a bit older before we go so that they get more out of a holiday there.

 

You are also the 2nd person who has mentioned what a lovely place Daydream Island is so I think I may also investigate that further and also the Gold Coast :-).

 

Thanks again

 

K x

[Guest guest3462]

If you look at the gold coast I can recommend looking at the paradise resort in Surfers paradise - brilliant for families and again, if you go to daydream island, a few days in the crocodile resort in Airlie beach tagged on is also fantastic as airlie is not to be missed! x

[Guest Sachertorte]

Thank you Julia for posting this!

[Guest katieb]

If you look at the gold coast I can recommend looking at the paradise resort in Surfers paradise - brilliant for families and again, if you go to daydream island, a few days in the crocodile resort in Airlie beach tagged on is also fantastic as airlie is not to be missed! x

 

How spooky have just been looking at the Paradise Resorts website, looks fantastic my son would love it! x

[Guest guest3462]

Hi Katie, just for your information, Lizzie and I have been really ill since our return from Fiji. I have had blood tests and have Ross River Virus, which is a nasty little virus from infected mozzie bites (of which we got many despite using tropical strength deet!) This illness is awful, I have barely been able to walk, had very high fevers (39.5c) and felt dizzy and nauseous. My whole body hurts and the pain in my joints is unsdescribable and in my own words worse than labour!!! It can last for months and there is no treatment, I just have to wait for it to go away. Luckily little Lizzie is fully recovered and my fever has gone so i'm feeling heaps better.

Don't want to put you off your holiday, but just to tell you that with 3 little ones to look after, i've had a week of hell and without my best mates god knows what I would have done! (Rich is away in Brisbane)

[Rob and Mel]

We were also looking at the Paradise Resort the other night!!

 

How did you get there, If fly which way and how did you get from airport to the resort?

 

One hour in a taxi seems a long time?

 

It looks like a good place to take our 6 and 4 year old.

 

Thanks for any help you can give us on this subject.

 

Rob and Mel

[Guest katieb]

Hi Katie, just for your information, Lizzie and I have been really ill since our return from Fiji. I have had blood tests and have Ross River Virus, which is a nasty little virus from infected mozzie bites (of which we got many despite using tropical strength deet!) This illness is awful, I have barely been able to walk, had very high fevers (39.5c) and felt dizzy and nauseous. My whole body hurts and the pain in my joints is unsdescribable and in my own words worse than labour!!! It can last for months and there is no treatment, I just have to wait for it to go away. Luckily little Lizzie is fully recovered and my fever has gone so i'm feeling heaps better.

Don't want to put you off your holiday, but just to tell you that with 3 little ones to look after, i've had a week of hell and without my best mates god knows what I would have done! (Rich is away in Brisbane)

 

Oh my goodness Julia your poor thing what a scary thing to go through especially with a young baby too. Glad to hear you are all on the mend now must have been an absolute nightmare with your husband away too.

 

Luckily we didn't go ahead and book Fiji we have booked the Turtle Beach Resort in the Gold Coast. I was really tempted to book the Paradise Resort as looks fantastic but I really wanted somewhere with full self-catering facilities as well as things to do for the kids. They also have a 2 nights free offer too :-). Tom is such a nightmare when eating out at the moment so is much better for us to cook ourselves or get take aways.

 

I was also very tempted by Daydream Island as have heard so many fab things but just think with Emily being so young we would leave that for another time, so would love to hear what you think of it when you get back next year :-).

 

Take care of yourself.

 

K x

[Rob and Mel]

Luckily we didn't go ahead and book Fiji we have booked the Turtle Beach Resort in the Gold Coast.

K x

 

Again can you let is know how are you planning to get from the airport to the resort?

 

Thanks Rob and Mel