Nadi, Fiji
What a milestone! Not only does Fiji mark my 60th country visited, but it’s also the topic of my first blog post. I’ll begin by saying that this post is not necessarily a recommendation of how to the absolute best things to do or experience in Nadi, but rather a recap and review of how I spent my time. Spoiler alert: I very much enjoyed myself.
Arrival
With a flight from Chicago, our arrival in Nadi, Fiji was very early in the morning 2 days after the day of departure. Essentially you “skip” an entire day. We did have an airport transfer pre-booked to bring us to our hotel. When we arrived at our hotel, our room was not ready so we opted to enjoyed the vast breakfast buffet (complete with an omlette bar) and wait on the beach until we could get into our room. Once our room was ready we spent the rest of the day freshening up and enjoying the resort pool, beaches, and of course took advantage of the dinning opportunities.
Snorkeling and Survivor
As an avid fan of the show Survivor and a long time lover of the ocean- there was absolutely NO WAY I would pass up the chance to snorkel along the islands that Survivor is now filmed on. The tour we booked was for a group and was around $80 per person, which was very reasonable considering it included hotel pick up & drop off, beverages (including alcohol), and a local lunch.
I ended up being sat near the captain, and quickly shared my love for Survivor (I couldn’t help myself) so he was sure to point out every island that Survivor had been to and what was filmed there. Not only was lunch on an island where Survivor contestants camp, but was also where they filmed the movie Castaway! Of course, there were plenty of fun photo ops with iconic Castaway scenes.
The wildlife seen while snorkeling was, honestly, below average. I suppose it’s up to dumb luck sometimes if you see something REALLY cool or not out in the wild, and maybe, luck just wasn’t on my side. What was NOT below average was the overall experience. The staff on the boat were INCREDIBLE! My husband shared that he was interested in going fishing so the Captain arranged a charter boat for a couple of days later. The hospitality of local Fijians really cannot be overstated!
Fishing
Fishing is not my favorite activity. However, as previously mentioned, I am a lover of the ocean and any chance to be out on the ocean is an opportunity I’ll take. Unfortunately, the weather was not safe for deep sea fishing but we were able to fish in the more shallow waters and had some success! Chartering a fishing boat is not typically a cheap endeavor, but we were able to book this boat for around $600.
Cultural Experience
The island of Nadi has a rich history so we booked another excursion to go learn a bit more about the island! Our first stop was Sri Siva Subramaniya Swami Temple. On the drive there our lovely guide, Rocky, told us that there was a large Indian population local to the island and the Sri Siva Subramaniya Swami Temple was a well visited Hindu temple that hosts events to share the Hindu culture with the whole island.
Next stop was a walk through The Garden of the Sleeping Giant. With tons of greenery and bright florals, this garden is worth the trip! Entry also included a delicious fresh squeezed juice, with all kinds of local fruits.
Our last stop was the hot springs and mud pools. I’ll almost never pass up a skincare opportunity and a unique mud experience is no different. There were several hot spring pools with varying heat levels to enjoy and cleanse yourself of the mud.
Once again, the hospitality we experienced was unmatched! We mentioned that we enjoyed golf and our guide for the day booked us a tee time and let us borrow his personal clubs at his favorite golf course.
