Yacht Friendly resorts in Fiji

[Christian T.]

Hi People,

Can anyone recommend a yacht-friendly resort in Fiji? I'm looking for places with good anchorages, good restaurant/bar and good connections to the outside world for those without a yacht. It does not need servicing/provisioning/fuel etc.

My wife has agreed to a one year cruise in the Pacific on the condition she can have her birthday with all her friends at a resort in Fiji. Fair enough I guess.

Cheers,
Christian

[roverhi]

We stayed at the First Landing Resort near Lautoka on Viti Levu, Fiji. Resort is next door to the Vuda Marina. Suva, the captiol of Fiji, has the main airport for international arrivals to Fiji. The resort is a ways out from Suva which is a blessing if you don't want the hustle and bustle of a city but wil need a car or take buses to get around. Suva has regular ferry service to the Yasawa group of Islands for those who might want to go native. Many of these small atoll and volcanic islands have resorts, some of them seem to cater to young travellers, so might want to choose one tailored to your needs. We took the ferry and stayed at Viwa Island Resort which was as close to the little grass shack as you'll get in this day and age.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by roverhi

We stayed at the First Landing Resort near Lautoka on Viti Levu, Fiji. Resort is next door to the Vuda Marina. Suva, the captiol of Fiji, has the main airport for international arrivals to Fiji. The resort is a ways out from Suva which is a blessing if you don't want the hustle and bustle of a city but wil need a car or take buses to get around. Suva has regular ferry service to the Yasawa group of Islands for those who might want to go native. Many of these small atoll and volcanic islands have resorts, some of them seem to cater to young travellers, so might want to choose one tailored to your needs. We took the ferry and stayed at Viwa Island Resort which was as close to the little grass shack as you'll get in this day and age.

Peter, this sounds a bit off if my memory is correct. The airport isn't at Suva but rather at Nadi, and I suspect that the ferries that you mention don't depart from Suva either... that would be a long ferry ride!

For the OP, it has been too long since our last visit to Fiji, but Musket Cove might be the place that you are looking for.

Jim

[NoTies]

Pretty hard to go past Musket Cove for what you're looking for.

[Tetepare]

Primary airport is nadi (pronounced Nandi). Most Suva flights are pacific destinations like tonga and Tarawa and Tuvalu.

Not what I'd enjoy but best bet is denerau. Big marina plus a whole beach full of top rated resorts for landlubbers to bar hop and dance and sleep in what they would consider paradise. Fly into nadi then 20 minute taxi. Anything else and it's a logistics nightmare with you as tour guide.

And Yasawas are off Nadi not Suva.

Shop in Nadi take day trip via ferry to Yasawas. Better there is a big classic sailboat good for 50 passengers to a private beach All can be coordinated on Denerau.

Just go to Denerau book guests at the Sheraton and you can thank me later. Make your life easy.

When is her birthday so u can buy me a beer?

[Christian T.]

Got a good list going now....in no particular order:

1. Octopus Resort on Waya Island.- quiet and low key. Can anchor in the bay, but exposed to the west - could be rolly? - Has anyone been here?

2. Denarau Island - multiple resorts, looks a bit like Fiji-world. Good marina. Close to airports and town

3. Muscat Cove, Malolo Lailai Islands - A couple of resorts. Marina and what looks like an all-weather anchorage in lagoon. Small Airport too.

4. First Landing Resort, Viti Levu - looks like a lower key (i.e. cheaper) resort. Next door to Marina. Close to airports. And, from google maps, it looks like they have a foot-shaped island??

Thanks for all your replies - this is a great start. But I'm open to more suggestions - the party is not until July 2018.

[roverhi]

My bad, it was Nadi for the airports. Still a bit of a drive to the airport from 1st landing and Vuda Marina.

Thinking about it, if the guests want a self contained, away from it all experience, they could go to any of the resorts on the small islands serviced by the ferry. You could anchor off almost any of the resorts in other than the cyclone season. The guests would just have to go from the airport to the Ferry Terminal and get off at the chosen island resort. We were there during the spring break season down under and most of the passengers were young people so may not have gotten a fair idea of the clientele of the resorts. Still, some seemed to cater more to the younger partying crowd than others.

[Kiwi.]

Musket and Denarau are definitely the two to choose from. Musket is best for you, Denarau is the best for your friends if they want ease of access and isolation from the boating life you will be living. Denerau is super close to the international airport and has five major hotels to cater for your guests from cook for yourself apartments to royal suites. But the marina, whilst safe, is boring and expensive.
Musket is the the yachty's destination of choice. Harder for your guests to get to, (but not too hard), and they'll love being part of the Pacific yachting community once they are there.

[Lanevdl]

Musket Cove!

[TheThunderbird]

Please check for the category your soulmate belongs to, and act accordingly.

Indeed, l'd have a clue..:-)

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Christian.

What a great birthday party you're giving your wife!

[Bleemus]

I spent a season anchored in Musket Cove. Highly reccomend. Do the horseback ride on the beach and a short dinghy ride to some great surfing!

[AmyA511]

Musket Cove is very popular. Further afield, we tried to anchor at Octopus Resort this year and it was far too rolly from the swell. Manta Ray Resort has been very welcoming to us (two seasons in a row) and Nanuya Resort is also yacht friendly.

Edit to say we’ve cruised Fiji for 4.5 months these past two seasons. It’s amazing!

[Christian T.]

Thanks for the recommendations Amy, I'll investigate those options

I'd love to hear more of your tips for Fiji. We plan to be there in mid 2019 but the planning/dreaming is well underway!

Christian

[AmyA511]

Christian, the South Pacific is fantastic. I’ve written extensively on my blog (OutChasingStars.com) and other social media. I just wrote a big post on an overview of the South Pacific.

Enjoy!