Fiji is the perfect winter holiday destination. Escape New Zealand’s the wet and cold with an easy short 3 hour flight from Auckland, and arrive to lovely warmth and sunshine.
On our recent holiday we spent a couple of nights at the Sofitel Fiji Resort & Spa. Only a 20 minute drive from the airport, this resort caters for both couples and families.
The Sofitel Fiji Resort & Spa recently opened the Waitui beach club which is a new Adults only pool, gym and restaurant area. The cost is FJD50 per day for all day access to this area, including complementary drinks and nibbles between 5-6pm each day.
The main pool is one of the best on Denarau, Fiji. It is large and contoured featuring plenty of sun loungers scattered around. The bonus for kids (and some adults) is the water slide.
Fiji is very busy during school holidays, because it is a popular and easy destination for families to visit. The Sofitel caters well for these holiday crowds. Apart from a hustle for sun loungers there is plenty of restaurant and activity options to keep everyone satisfied.
The majority of our Fiji holiday was spent on Musket Cove Island Resort. This is a beautiful island located on Malolo Lailai in the picturesque Mamanuca Islands. We travelled with a group of 5 families so settled nicely into the Lagoon Villas.
This Fijian Island is popular with boats, because of it’s well appointed store and sheltered bay and marina. The island has some lovely walking tracks and viewing points from its small hills. You can also hire bikes to look around. This part of the island is tidal, but makes up for this with a lovely large pool, so we spent half the day in (or by) the pool and the other half enjoying the lagoon for swimming, kayaking or paddle boarding.
There are two restaurants, Dicks Place Bar & Bistro has a well appointed breakfast buffet, and tasty lunch and dinner options. There is also the Coffee Grove casual dining option by the marina. You can even cook your own BBQ at the Musket Cove Yacht Club.
The Yacht Cub features a lovely sand bar which is the perfect spot for watching the sunset barefoot with a cocktail in hand!
There are plenty of water sport options: Free snorkelling trips are offered twice daily to a local sand bar 20 minutes away. Deep sea fishing and Scuba Diving trips are available daily and also Surfing trips to the world-famous Cloudbreak. For those who wish to stay around the resort, the water sport equipment available to use include kayaks, wind surfers, and paddle boards.
We had a fabulous stay with our friends. The staff were friendly and helpful, the food, villas and facilities met all our needs and of course the beautiful sunshine and warmth made us forget all about the winter back home.