In 2019, almost a year after my first trip to Fiji, I was offered the opportunity to go again. After winning an incentive at work, I was offered discounted rates for a holiday to Fiji and was happy to accept. I chose to explore more of the Yasawa Islands since I had fallen so in love with them in the past. I spent five nights in Fiji this time, taking along a friend I had made in New Zealand, Nickie. We stayed at a different resort each night and I was lucky enough to see three more of the varied islands of the Yasawas. After a wonderful stay at Barefoot Kuata resort in the middle of the Yasawas, we headed south to our final stop. This was the infamous Beachcomber Resort, known for its party scene and unique location on a remote atoll. This is the resort I was least looking forward to as I was unsure if I would enjoy the change in pace from relaxation to partying. It was certainly a different experience! We landed on our final island and were greeted by a stunning large white beach. I was shown to my room which was a small dorm room but right next to the sea. It was simpler than our previous rooms and less attention was paid to the details. Nickie and I had arranged to meet up a little later for dinner and I had time for a short walk around the island before our allotted time. The island is flat and very small with the resort taking up the entirety of the island. I walked around it in a few minutes but was able to see the variety of accommodation on offer and observed with interest the variety of clientele as well. There were groups of young adults walking around preparing for a party as well as families and older couples enjoying the view from their villa porches. Our dinner that night was slightly different to what we had experienced in our other resorts. The dining area was large with a series of benches lined up. The food was buffet style and served on plastic plates. We were able to order drinks at the resort bar where they did a variety of strong cocktails in fun glasses. The dining area was clearly made to accommodate for a large social scene, but this wasn’t the case with who was on the island in the low season. I imagine on New Years this would a be the spot for an amazing party but with few people on the island wishing to party hard the dining set up felt a little childish and cheap. That evening we drank some more and danced a little although the dance floor was mostly taken up by the young adults I had seen earlier. After a good night sleep, we didn’t have a day on the island. I was quite glad of this as it seemed the main activities were expensive water activities or drinking games. Instead we boarded the ferry again to join a boat cruise called Sea spray Adventure. This departed from another island nearby and took only half an hour or so to get to. The boat fit around 30 people or so and as soon as we left the jetty, we were offered champagne. At 10am! I felt like I was really on holiday then! The boat crew were friendly and played music for us as we set off for the islands around us. We had time to chat to a few others on the boat as we made our way to our first port of call which was Castaway Island. This was made famous by the movie Castaway and is uninhabited. We were offered the chance to snorkel off the island but the waves were quite fierce on this day which made it hard to get in deep enough to see any coral or fish without sand being tossed around in the water. We instead opted to explore the island and found many nods to the movie around the beach. It really felt like a quintessential movie island to be stranded on and we had fun exploring as much as we could; the dense jungle got in the way of exploring much more. After spending the morning here, we got back on the boat where we were greeted with an amazing spread for lunch. More alcohol was offered and at this point we were having a really good time! After lunch we sailed across a bay to the nearest village. We reached dry land once again and were taken through the local village to experience their way of life. This small remote community had a school, sports field, church, and other essential amenities. It was so interesting to say hello to the children of this small village and interact even slightly with their daily routine. We were taken to the towns hall where we met the chief of the village. Here we performed a cava ceremony, my first on this trip to Fiji. I happily took part in this traditional ceremony where the chief welcomes newcomers to the island by offering a cup of the national drink. After this we were offered the chance to support the local community by buying gifts and other souvenirs from them. I bought a new anklet here which sadly did not last long as I went skiing a few weeks later and had to be cut off! We made our way back to the boats and had to cross seaweed to get to the boat which was stuck far out due to low tide. This was a fun round off to the day! Back on the boat we made the long way back to the jetty and simply relaxed with a drink as the sailing was easy. Safely back on the jetty we boarded the large ferry to make our way back to the mainland of Fiji. This was such a memorable day and a lovely activity to round off our short trip to Fiji. Although Beachcombers was not to my liking, for those wanting a party atmosphere, come here in high season as I am sure it is amazing. I really enjoyed the vibe of the other two resorts we stayed at however, as they embraced the local culture and climate more organically. Fiji is such a special country filled with amazing people and lots of things to do and see. The Yasawa islands are a must for anyone seeking that perfect island getaway and I guarantee you will fall in love with the lifestyle and people with one visit.
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Hi! I'm Holly, a twenty something traveller from the UK. Over the years I've been lucky enough to live and travel in many countries. I've studied in America and working holidayed in Australia and New Zealand! I currently live in South Korea. Learn more about me below!
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