Fiji can be divided into several areas. The areas we cruised our first season were eastern Fiji, middle Fiji (the Lomoviti Group) and the northern and southern Lau Groups (off to the southeast).
Before we move on, we need to talk about how to pronounce these names as it was really confusing for us at first. Have you heard of Fulanga? You may not see it on a chart. It’s spelled Fulaga (or even Vulaga). In their pronunciation, Fijians add an ‘N’ before a ‘G’ in words. Sometimes, ‘V’ and ‘F’ are used interchangeably. Sometimes, the charts just plain have it wrong. They also add an ‘M’ before a ‘B’ in a word. Rabi is pronounced Rambi. They also add ‘N’ before ‘D’ so that Nadi is pronounced Nandi.
(Note: you really only need two Fijian words to get by… Bula (or often Bula bula) is the greeting and Vinaka is thank you. Vinaka vaka levu… thank you very much).
Eastern Fiji: Vanua Levu, Taveuni, Kioa, Rabi, Budd Reef, Matagi and Qamea. (Laucala is a private island)
Middle Fiji (aka the Lomoviti Group): Koro, Namena, Makogai, Wakaya, Leleuvia, Ovalau, and Gau.
The Lau Group: Fulaga (southern Lau) and Vanua Balavu (northern Lau) with scattered small islands in between.
Southern Fiji: Kadavu and the Great Astrolabe Reef, Beqa (aka Mbengga). New to the area: a wonderful spot on Viti Levu called Pacific Harbour.
Suva: Fiji’s capital city on the southern side of Viti Levu. It’s so unlike anyplace else in Fiji we’ll give it its own category (Here’s our map of Suva points of interest for cruisers.)
Western Fiji: On the western side is the big island of Viti Levu with the travel hub city of Nadi and its port of Denerau. Close by are Vuda Point Marina and the nearby city of Lautoka. Just offshore are the Mamanucas, an island group which includes the most popular resort islands (including Malolo Lailai with its famous Musket Cove Marina). To the northwest lie the Yasawa islands. While they certainly have resorts, overall they are less touristy and more remote than the Mamanuca islands.
To try to describe Fiji in an oversimplified nutshell, we can divide the above areas into two groups.
Group One includes Eastern Fiji, Middle Fiji, Southern Fiji (Kadavu and Beqa), Suva and Pacific Harbour, and The Lau Group. It has mountainous volcanic green, lush islands, but with the exception of Fulaga there’s not much in the way of great beaches. It’s much less traveled than the west side (thus much less touristy), and it’s where you’ll find the villages and quiet anchorages. You will not find a Hard Rock Cafe.
Group Two includes Western Fiji and is all about sun, sand, small resort islands, cruise ships, and tourists. You will find a Hard Rock Cafe.
It won’t come as a big surprise that a lot of cruisers don’t care for the west side, and our first season we heard a few negative things about it. Well, eventually got there and discovered many of the things we’d heard were untrue. Yes, there is more tourism, but there are so many beautiful places to see, some of them not accessible to tourists. The people were as warm and friendly as they are everywhere else in Fiji.
Checking In: There are several places to check in to Fiji.
Important: You must notify Fiji of your arrival ahead of time (at least 48 hours) and send in the required forms.
1. Savusavu: It’s up on the northernmost big island, Vanua Levu, and it is a great spot to check in. The easiest way to do this is to call one of the two small marinas there. They are The Copra Shed and Waitui Marina, and they both have mooring balls. (The Copra Shed also has a few slips). You can call either marina on channel 16, but beware Waitui marina’s radio problems make it impossible to reach them until you’re just outside the marina (maybe they’ve fixed it by now).
Once you reach them, they will direct into the area where you’ll be met by their guy in a motorboat who will take you to an assigned mooring and help you get tied up. They then arrange everything, and over the course of the day at least two agencies will visit your boat to check you in. You do have to stay on your boat until you’re cleared in, which can take half a day or only a couple of hours depending how busy they are. Note: If you come in on the weekend, you have to check in that day, and you have to pay a pretty big overtime fee to do so. If you want to avoid the extra cost, you’ll need to slow down to arrive on a weekday.
If the Copra Shed and the Waitui Marina are booked up, there are here are a couple of alternatives. One is a very small, rustic marina further down the channel called the Savusavu Marina Village. This might be good as a last resort if the others are full, but make sure you have the waypoints as you have to wind your way down through coral. I don’t know much about it, but I assume they’ll arrange for customs officials to come to you. It’s way on the outskirts of town and thus not very convenient. (Did I mention it’s rustic?)
The other option is anchoring, and while I hear it’s not easy, it certainly is possible. It will make for a slightly longer dinghy ride to town, but if the marinas are full, it’s something to keep in mind. I have no idea if the anchorage fills up. If you anchor, one of the marinas will arrange clearance for you and bring the officials to your boat. They may charge a small fee for this.
Tip: When you are close enough to Fiji to know when you’ll be arriving, you can e-mail or call one of the marinas and ask for a reservation on a mooring ball. This worked for us.
Here’s the information I currently have for the marinas, but double check before you go as phone numbers and e-mail addresses change:
Waitui Marina:
+679-885-3447
+679-904-1148 (mobile)
waituimarina@gmail.com
The Copra Shed Marina:
+679-885-0457
www.coprashed.com.fj
The Savusavu Marina Village:
679-900-5003 or www.marinavillagefiji.com/marina.html
(I might prefer to anchor rather then try to go here)
2. Levuka on Ovalau Island: This is the old capital city in Fiji and is about halfway between the big city of Suva and Savusavu. There is no marina; so I don’t know if you anchor off town or if you tie up to the wharf. I assume you call the customs office and they come to you. We’ve visited here, and it’s a rustic sort of place with very little in the way of eateries, services, and the kinds of things yachties like after a long passage (nice open-air restaurants, bars, hot showers, laundry facilities, coffee cafes, etc.). The only reason I can see to check in here is if word gets back Savusavu is full.
3. Suva: This is the big city on Vanua Levu and the place to head is the Royal Suva Marina and Yacht Club. When I say marina and yacht club, I don’t mean a big operation. It’s small and third-worldly. The marina is generally full, so you will probably have to get a mooring or anchor outside. As far as I know, the yacht club will handle getting you checked in (meaning the customs and immigration people come out to you on your boat). You can call them on channel 16 or try +679-331-2921 or www.rsyc.org.fj.
Once you’ve checked in, you can enjoy the yacht club (for a fee), a historic old place with a great bar, a restaurant, and laundry services. But be warned that you are in an industrial part of town. You will see old wrecked fishing boats in the harbor, industrial sorts of goings on, and hear the sirens of the nearby prison in the wee hours of the morning (we thought it was a tsunami warning and were on the computer at 5am looking for news). The big city is about a 10-minute walk along a busy highway. And it’s one of the rainiest (or at least the cloudiest) places in Fiji. All that said, we loved it!
4. Lautoka: We haven’t checked in here, but we’ve heard the anchorage isn’t very good. You can, however, move to the nearby Bekana Island (a good anchorage) after checking in. Since they burn sugarcane nearby, there can be a lot of ash in the air. A good alternative on the west side is Vuda Marina.
Vuda Marina (pronounced Vunda), on the other hand, has turned out to be one of our favorite places. Yes, the boats are pretty much separated only by their fenders, but they help you in and out, and once you’re situated it’s a really, really nice place to be. You can check in here during the slightly-limited business hours that customs keeps at Vuda, and you may want to reserve a space ahead of time if you want to stay here. There’s a big yellow mooring ball outside the marina that yachts waiting to be cleared in can use. Beware that if you arrive after business hours, they may send you up to Lautoka to check in. Here is a link to Vuda Marina’s website.
And here’s a link to a post we did with lots of pictures called “Vuda = Paradise?”
5. Port Denarau Marina: On the west side if Fiji near the tourist hub of Nadi. It is possible to check in here if you apply ahead of time and are willing to pay their rather large fee (about $900USD). Mostly this convenience is for superyachts. Update: This fee may have come way down and it would definitely be worth checking into.
6. Some years, Vanua Balavu in the northern Lau sets up to do check-ins for certain cruising rallies that come through, and as far as I know anyone can use this when it is operating. I’ve seen people get excited about this possibility as Vanua Balavu is off to the south and east and can be difficult to get to. We don’t think this would be a great option. It makes sense if you’re coming from Tonga, like the rallies are, but otherwise requires a boat making a passage from NZ to have to do yet more easting on their route to Fiji. And while Vanua Balavu looks big, there actually aren’t an abundance of anchorages, and I would not want to be there at the same time as one of these big rallies.
The Cruising Permit: It used to be you had to check in and out of places, but now you buy one Cruising Permit and this will cover all of Fiji. There is a fee for this permit, and the marina where you check in can arrange it for you. It takes about three or so days, depending, and you won’t be able to leave until you have it. The permit lasts 6 months (but you do have to renew your visa after 3 months).
Once you have a cruising permit, the only place you’ll be charged a fee is in the northern and southern Lau Group, specifically when you do your sevusevus in Fulaga in the Southern Lau, and Vanua Balavu in the Northern Lau. Read Soggy Paws for more details when you prepare to go to either or both. (If I remember correctly, fees were 30fd per person in Vanua Balavu and 50fd for the boat in Fulaga, but check for updates.)
Checking Out: You need to check out when you first leave the area where you checked in to go to other places in Fiji, and when you leave the country. When you’re ready to leave your check-in area, you’ll have to present your cruising permit and fill out some paperwork. You don’t have to check out again until you leave the country. Also, you don’t have to check out of Fiji from the same port you arrived at but it must be one of the ports that offer clearance services.
The Weekly Check In: After the initial check in and out, you can go and cruise about as you wish on one condition: they want you to let them know where you are on a weekly basis. So use whatever reminder system works best for you (because it’s so, so easy to forget to do this), and e-mail the immigration people weekly telling them where you are, where you plan to go and when, and that there are no crew changes (unless of course, there are).
- Part One: Our Fiji Saga
- Part Two: A Fiji Overview
- Part Three: Things You Need to Know to Cruise Fiji