Our Five Favourite Islands and Resorts for Romance in Fiji

Romance & BeachesSubmitted on Sunday, April 19, 2015

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Home to over 330 islands, beautiful beaches, and extremely friendly people, Fiji is a perfect setting for a romantic vacation and/or honeymoon.

Here is Goway’s list of our top five favourite romantic islands and resorts in Fiji:

1. Malolo Island, Mamanuca Island Chain
This island is home to Likuliku Resort, Fiji’s only resort with overwater bungalows. This adults-only resort caters to a maximum of 90 guests, with just 10 overwater bungalows – ensuring all guests have clear, unobstructed enjoyment of the lagoon and surrounding reef. Here, travellers will discover perfect white sandy beaches, gourmet cuisine (all meals are included with the room rate), and a variety of excursions. Honeymooners can celebrate their first night in style, while enjoying a complimentary bottle of Veuve Cliquot, as they experience the romance of a glorious Pacific sunset.

View from an overwater bungalow, Likuliku Resort

2. Beqa Lagoon, Viti Levu Island
Fiji’s main island, Viti Levu, is home to Beqa Lagoon – where visitors can find world class diving and the nearby luxury Royal Davui Resort. Set on a private island, Royal Davui is an intimate, adults-only accommodation with only 16 villas to choose from. These villas are built around 10 acres of land which will make you feel like you are in your own private island. Each villa has a combination of traditional and modern designs and includes a plunge pool, spa bath, lounge room, sun deck, and wet bar. The suites are made to interpret a traditional Fijian home with wooden features and natural designs, all blending with the surrounding plant life and trees.

In order to reserve and respect marine life, the resort does not allow fishing within one mile of the island. This has made diving within Beqa Lagoon a popular attraction, and has become a famous diving site for divers across the globe. Moreover, given its seclusion, Royal Davui is the perfect destination for romantic getaways. Whether you are having a wedding or enjoying a romantic champagne breakfast on a deserted sandbar, Royal Davui will make your experience a memorable one.

Royal Davui room deck

3. Yasawa Island
Yasawa Island is the most northern island in the Yasawa Island Chain. Discover the intimate, luxury Yasawa Island Resort. With only 18 bungalows, Yasawa Island Resort & Spa is an exclusive luxury resort offering total privacy for its guests. Each of the resort’s bures (huts) is hidden among the palms, and includes air conditioning, its own outdoor shower, a spacious deck with daybeds for afternoon naps, a separate living area with a mini bar, a hammock between the palms, ocean views, and a cabana with sun loungers on the white sand beach. Aside from staying at the resort, there are also many activities to choose such as kayaking, enjoying a beach picnic, visiting the Blue Lagoon Caves or the nearby village, and scuba diving.

Yasawa Resort & Spa hammock

4. Taveuni Island
In Fiji’s remote northern islands you’ll find Qamea Resort & Spa. It is an adults-only resort catering to just 34 guests in luxuriously-appointed beachfront bures, villas, and beach houses. Featuring jagged volcanic mountains as a dramatic backdrop, a rainforest pebbled swimming pool, spa, dive shop, and snorkelling that has been named as one of the top ten resort snorkel reefs in the world, Qamea will leave a lasting impression. Activities include picnic lunches, waterfall swims, and coastal mountain hikes. Qamea Resort & Spa is for discerning travellers seeking an authentic Fijian island.

Kayaking at Qamea Resort

5. Savusavu, Vanua Levu.
Located in Fiji’s Northern islands, Namale Fiji Islands Resort & Spa is Fiji’s only all-inclusive resort. This award-winning 5-star luxury boutique accommodation caters to a maximum of 44 guests, and is renowned for its service, with 3 staff members per guest. There are 14 bures and private villas, which feature a private deck overlooking the beautiful ocean. Namale also offers honeymoon bures, which include spa tubs, showers for two, and a private oceanfront deck. There are many activities such as snorkeling, diving, village tours, and just relaxing on the white sand beaches near the private villas.

Romantic dining at Namale Resort & Spa

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bronwyn Hodge 

IslandEscapes General Manager - Growing up in a family travel business, Bronwyn has been travelling from a very young age. Her favourite experience was 3 months spent backpacking through India and Southeast Asia. She counts many countries among her ‘favourites,’ but is especially fond of Australia for its lifestyle, Cambodia for its culture and resilience, and Japan for its contrasts. She holds the proud distinction of being Goway’s only former Bollywood star – having once starred in a Coke commercial in Mumbai.

Being Upfront About Flying Up Front

I’ve travelled a lot recently, and the last two times I’ve been lucky enough to be “up front”, and have to say, I’ve seen a lot of change over the years, and for Business Class – it’s only for the better. Below, I’ve collected some tips on booking ‘up front’, along with some observations as to how things have changed.

To begin with, there’s been a significant drop in price for Business Class in the last 10 years or so, plus there’s now the Premium Economy Class available on most airlines – a middle ground between comfort and price. Finally, the ability to redeem frequent flier miles earned on credit cards for flights has led more and more of us being able to treat ourselves to comfortable travel.

Flying up front is what air travel used to be before we started to move around the world in mass numbers at the drop of a hat. It’s interesting to think that flying hasn’t really gotten any faster, but the planes now carry more people – as more seats are now featured, and are designed to be more fuel efficient, thereby making air travel cheaper. That said, I strongly feel that anyone who’s never had the opportunity to fly in Business Class, owes it to themselves to try it at least once in their life, the next time a well-deserved vacation presents itself.

Imagine looking forward to long-distance travel, arriving fresh and alert, and ready to enjoy wherever you’re going the second you arrive. Business Class achieves this, and this alone is worth it. The modern Business Class seats now feature all kinds of buttons and settings, allowing you to wiggle into that perfect position, and, best of all, recline to a flat position giving you the closest thing to a bed at 30,000 ft and above. With less people around, there’s more room to maneuver around your seat, and it’s quieter. Attendants bring snacks, collect your menu choices, and freely pour wine, liqueurs and spirits, coffee, and an assortment of teas. Food is a mile above economy. With some room for variation across airlines, there are even some flights which have a trained chef onboard to oversee meal preparation, but in any case, the food is quite good, typically paired with wine.

Now, obviously not every travel opportunity can allow you to fly Business Class, and as such, we’re so lucky to now have Premium Economy Class – something still relatively new. Often around $100 more than economy, you get at least 5 inches more leg room and a few extra inches of additional recline in your seat. Premium Economy varies greatly over airlines, with some being their “old” business class seats (before the ‘lie flat’ pods), with a fully dedicated cabin and staff, top meals, and a great sleep. My experiences with Premium Economy have ranged widely and have both cost me as little as $150, and as much as $1000 more than economy, but in all cases have been worth every penny to arrive feeling great.

Here are some insider tips for getting more comfy and minimizing the hit on your wallet:

1.  Book Far in Advance: Many carriers offer deep discounted Business Class fares for those that book months in advance (sometimes close to half the price!).

2.  Seat Sales: Have your travel agent or Goway Air Specialist keep an eye out for seat sales as these happen in Premium Economy and Business Class now – just be ready to jump when the opportunity arises.

3.  Upgrades: Some carriers guarantee if you buy a full fare Economy seat, they will upgrade you (please note this is not the normal economy fares we are all used to, but rather the ones that have no restrictions). Feeling lucky? Some carriers will sell Business Class fares and automatically upgrade you to First Class if there’s space!

4. Purchase Upgrades Early: When you check in, (but not the same day as flight), many airlines offer the ability to buy an upgrade at the online check in. I recently flew on a flight that offered an upgrade at $1000 23 hours before flight take-off, but when I went back on to print my boarding pass the same day, it had crept up to $1600!

5. Older Business Class Seats: Airlines that have yet to upgrade their seats to the “lie-flat” pods often have far better prices in Business Class, and the service is still excellent, even though the seats don’t fully recline.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Carolyn Weppler 

GM of Retail Sales at Goway Travel - Carolyn Weppler has tracked gorillas in Rwanda, been proposed to in Paris (she accepted, naturally!), and travelled to 53 countries, counting Uzbekistan, Lebanon, Russia, Sri Lanka and even Afghanistan among her travel memories. Originally from Hong Kong, Carolyn lived in the UK before settling in Canada. A self-professed ‘foodie’ traveller, her favourite destinations are Nepal, Peru, Uganda, and anywhere else where she can roam local markets and experience new flavours.

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