Planning your Family Holiday in Fiji
Accommodation for Children — Affordable Family Holidays — Luxury Family Holidays — Kids Clubs — Best Family Beach Resorts — Adventurous Families — Regional Guide for Family Holidays — Travelling with Young Children in Fiji
Fiji is undoubtedly the best destination in the South Pacific for a family holiday with the Fijians natural hospitality and love of children really shining through. It's popularity amongst Australian and New Zealander families means that resorts are often fully booked during school holidays, particularly the June and September holidays
Best Beach Resorts for a Family Holiday in Fiji
With plenty of idyllic beaches around the islands it can be difficult to choose which ones are best for children. A safe swimming beach is a prime consideration, and for older kids, lots of water activities. Generally the best beach resorts for children are in the Mamanuca Islands or Yasawa Islands, with the former more for motorised watersports, the later for relaxing on secluded beaches and exploring a little. Some of the larger Coral Coast hotels have night entertainment and are relatively lively (Fiji has very tame nightlife) and may appeal to families with older children but the beaches here are not so good. It's similar with Denarau Island, very popular with families with small kids as the focus here is on the swimming pool rather than the beach which is not that great.
Some of the nicest family resorts with great beaches are: Intercontinental Fiji Resort, Castaway Island Resort, Plantation Island Resort and Octopus Resort.
Rooms for Families with 3+ Kids
One problem often faced by families with three children is fitting them all in to a room - or finding a hotel with two adjacent rooms. A couple of the larger hotels offer a discounted price for a 2nd room, whilst others have 2- or 3- bedroom villas. Holiday homes are not common but there are one or two around where you can do your own thing and have a kitchen to cook in if that's your idea of a holiday! The following resorts host families with at least 2 adults and 3 children in one room (or with discounted interconnecting rooms).
Affordable Family Holidays in Fiji
The best value family holidays in Fiji are around Nadi and the Coral Coast where travelling costs are minimised and hotel rooms more available. The compromise will be not having as nice a beach as the island resorts, and generally with poor water activities but there is good scope for day tours and even island cruises. The popular Mamanuca Islands tend to be more expensive for what you get in terms of accommodation, but the lagoons are perfect for kids and there's plenty to do on the water. If you're looking for a less commercial island atmosphere, consider one of the budget beach resorts in the Yasawa Islands - it's a very scenic three hour boat ride and once your kids have endured that, the beaches are sublime, snorkelling right off the beach and the resorts tend to be much better value.
Luxury Family Holidays in Fiji
For a luxury family holiday in Fiji, there are several exceptional family-friendly island resorts in the Mamanuca Islands, although many of the upmarket resorts here are couples only. Denarau Island offers large international hotels with a somewhat bland business-like feel, but do have great amenities and its very close to the airport. The downside to Denarau Island is its poor beach and swimming lagoon, a much less friendly ambience and kids club interaction and a staid gated community lifestyle which does not represent a true Fijian holiday.
Resorts with Great Kids Clubs
Fijians are great with kids of all ages - the men make great play-mates accompanying kids around the resort and encouraging them to play in the sand, hit a volleyball and snorkel in the reefs. Women spend their time picking up babies to carry them around the resort and teaching their handcraft skills to primary school aged kids. Most of the island resorts have kids clubs but here are a couple of stand-outs:
Adventure Holidays for Families
For adventurous families there are plenty of excellent activities to enjoy. The Coral Coast hotels, particularly those closer to or around Pacific Harbour, make a great base for sightseeing with river rafting, zip-lines, rainforest hikes, jet ski tours and great scuba diving.
There are some beautiful intimate resorts in the Outer Islands of Kadavu, Vanua Levu and Taveuni which may involve an additional one hour flight in a small plane, but again, once you're there you can really get pampered and explore the off-the-beaten-track Fiji as well as experience the extreme warmth and friendliness of the Fijian people and unbelievable snorkelling and scuba diving reefs. Fijian villages in the outer islands are a fascinating environment for children of all ages and they’ll most likely be enthusiastically welcomed by the village kids, encouraged to play and generally well looked after.
Regional Guide for a Family Holiday in Fiji
The two most popular regions for a family holiday are the Coral Coast and the Mamanuca Islands. Both take about one to two hours to reach from nadi Airport, although to visit the Mamanuca Islands you may need to stay overnight in Nadi to connect with your international flights. The Coral Coast is generally more affordable and a good choice for those who like sightseeing. If you're looking to wind down on a beautiful beach, set on a beautiful lagoon with good snorkelling and watersports, then the Mamanuca Islands is a better choice.
The Mamanuca Islands
Theses gorgeous small islands offer the ideal family holiday location with delightful beach resorts, safe swimming lagoons, snorkelling from the beach, lots of activities, lively kids club, fantastic weather and it's just a 40-minute ferry ride from Nadi Airport.
Nadi and The Coral Coast
Although less enticing than the beautiful beaches and swimming lagoons of the Mamanuca Islands, several good family-orientated resorts can be found around Nadi and along the Coral Coast. These resorts are easily accessible from Nadi Airport being between 20-minutes drive and an hour and a half. Beaches are pretty although of coarser sand than found in the Mamanucas and lagoons are less practical for swimming and snorkelling. However, it's resorts tend to offer better value for money with the added attraction of having more sightseeing and tour options available to fill your days.
Yasawa Islands
The Yasawa Islands are a good choice for a more intimate beach holiday with the family - you wont find motorised watersports here or kids clubs, but the beaches are wonderful usually with snorkelling reefs right off the beach. The islands take around 3hrs to reach by passenger boat.
Outer Islands
For those looking for a bit of an adventure, and if you don't mind a bit of extra travelling by small plane or boat, there are several fantastic outer island resorts for families to experience the real Fiji away from the crowds. These resorts offer a quiet ambience, usually with excellent snorkelling, hiking trails and the opportunity to visit an authentic Fijian village.
Travelling with Young Children in Fiji
With an enormous empathy and affection for children, Fijians make fabulous hosts and their friendly charm brings holiday-makers back to the same resort year after year. Kids of all ages are invited to story-telling, bush walks, volleyball on the beach or even to make a visit to the local village to meet the village kids. And young families with babies will find the Fijian staff eager to hold and entertain your children at every opportunity. Most resorts have complimentary kids clubs and plenty of family orientated water activities.
Children are enthusiastically welcomed in Fiji and most resorts allow kids under a certain age to stay for free if sharing a room with their parents - some even often free meals as incentives. The exception are the upmarket boutique resorts whose clientele is mostly the honeymoon market and many have a strict no children policy to ensure a romantic atmosphere for their guests, sometimes allowing kids at dedicated holiday periods only calling them "family weeks".
If travelling by car or taxi, seat belts, let along dedicated infant car seats, are difficult to find, although the major car hire companies do provide the latest safety standard car seats. Prams in general are not that practical to travel with and at many of the resorts, pathways are sandy - even around towns, pavements are uneven and not at all pram friendly.
Minor health issues are the greatest concern for parents travelling with young children, especially from the adverse effects of high humidity, intense sun and mosquito bites. Medicated baby powder for the prevention of rashes and sores is an essential item to carry. In the main towns, baby milk, nappies and children’s medications are readily available and being imported from Australia. Breast feeding in public is fairly common-place, especially so in rural environments although baby-changing facilities are rarely found. Pavements in towns are not pram friendly.
Family holidays in other South Pacific Islands