What’s hot in Fiji for 2016

IT’S a beloved destination that’s long been drawing Aussie holiday makers to resorts scattered around its 300 tropical islands. So what can we expect there in 2016?

Waitui Beach Club with its own pool, champagne bar, poolside cabanas and restaurant at Sofitel Fiji Resort & Spa. ESCAPE FIJI BEST

FIJI is a beloved destination that’s been drawing generations of Aussie holiday makers to resorts scattered around the 300 tropical islands.

But there’s always something new happening around this Pacific Ocean paradise making 2016 the perfect time to plan another visit.

TIME TO CRUISE

While a stop-and-flop break at a beach resort is the most obvious choice for a Fiji escape it’s far from the only pick with the islands screaming to be savoured while floating on the deep blue.

The big companies — Royal Caribbean, P & O, Princess Cruises, Celebrity Cruises, Carnival, Holland America Line — visit on journeys from Australia, with Captain Cook Cruises Fiji and Blue Lagoon Cruises two local operators offering small-ship voyages that depart Port Denarau and island hop to the far — and blissfully quiet — corners of the archipelago.

The latest addition to the inventory of boutique adventures is Captain Cook Cruises’ Lau Islands Discovery Cruise — an 11-night journey that ventures across the International Dateline east of Viti Levu to explore “a part of Fiji rarely seen by tourists’’ – with the itinerary including an assortment of exceptional waterborne and land-based activities.

FIND OUT WHAT ELSE IS HOT IN FIJI AT ESCAPE’S VIRTUAL TRAVEL EXPO 

Captain Cook Cruises ship MV Reef Endeavour in Fiji.

ADULTS ONLY

Fiji will always be tops with families but grown-ups looking to escape the little tackers are spoiled for choice after two hotels unveiled exclusive adults-only precincts in 2015.

The Sofitel Fiji Resort & Spa added the Waitui Beach Club — the adults-only corner of the property features a pool, champagne bar, cabanas and restaurant — while Outrigger on the Lagoon now boasts a sans-children space that also has sprawling swimming pools and a bistro to dine alfresco.

When it comes to luxurious adults-only retreats Nukbati is an all-inclusive resort occupying a private island that caters to just seven couples, Taveuni Island Resort & Spa has 12 couples-only bures boasting magnificent ocean views, and Dolphin Island promises a “castaway experience’’ to eight reclusive duos.

Outrigger on the Lagoon in Fiji has opened a purpose built adults-only pool and bistro, the Vahavu. Picture: Supplied

NEW, AND AS GOOD AS NEW

The Grace — a five-star hotel that will sit beside 74 privately-owned villas on Vunabaka which is Malolo Island’s new residential development — is pencilled in to open towards the middle of 2016 with guests set to enjoy a smorgasbord of wet activities like snorkelling, sea kayaking, kite surfing, and fishing.

The Pullman Nadi Bay Resort & Spa is under construction on Viti Levu with the 234-room property that’s 2km from Fiji’s international airport set to welcome guests next June, and Vomo Island Resort has reopened after $5 million was spent on renovating the 28 hillside and beachfront villas.

CRAZY ABOUT NATURE

A new tourism trend sees travellers demanding time in the great outdoors with Fiji obliging by creating a swag of nature-based experiences, from eco-resorts to jungle treks, which complement watery excursions.

Awesome Adventures Fiji offers the chance to swim with reef sharks, either as a day trip from Port Denarau or during a stay at Barefoot Kuata. Company sales manager Lailanie Burnes says the activity is hosted by experienced guides.

“Our location at Kuata is a shallow area of reef, about 4m to 6m depending on the tide, making snorkelling easy and visibility clear which ensures the experience is accessible to a wide range of people,’’ she says.

“You can expect to see one to six sharks in the hour or so you’re in the water, white tip reef sharks that are inquisitive so will not be afraid to get up close and friendly and black tips that are timid, and while it’s unlikely anyone will remember to look anywhere else there’s also spectacular coral at this location.’’

Talanoa Treks lets visitors retreat from the Pacific Ocean with guided single and multi-day treks venturing into the heart of the islands where landscapes features pristine forests, rivers, mountains, and isolated villages that welcome hikers.

When it comes to green accommodation Nadilo Bay Resort is a self-sustaining operation — power is supplied by water turbines, a local creek provides drinking water, fruit and veggies come from the garden, local fisherman catch the seafood — with structures built in the traditional Fijian style from local material.

Mantaray Island Resort engages a marine biologist to conduct environmental studies that determine the impact guests have on the “voluntary marine reserve’’ owners established in front of the resort when they leased the land.

Awesome Adventures Fiji! Shark dive. Picture: Supplied.

KIDS ARE KING

Outrigger on the Lagoon invites junior guests aged seven to 12 to become rangers for a day at the neighbouring Kula Eco Park to hand feed animals after preparing each species’ special meal, help conduct health checks on the centre’s endangered iguanas, and leave their mark by planting a tree that will grow fruit to feed the wildlife.

Castaway Island Fiji regularly wins awards for being Fiji’s premier family-friendly address with the property, which was the first resort on the Mamanuca Islands, offering the Castaway Kids Club and a teens program crafted “to provide an environment for children and teenagers that’s both physically and intellectually stimulating’’.

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