Reviewed By:
Amanda Williams
Travel Date:
June 2007
We took our family to Fiji in June 2007. We stayed at two great family resorts and I'd like to pass on our handy hints.
First landings beach resort.
This was a lovely relaxed resort. It was very hot even in June so be prepared for 30 degrees. It has good food. It's cheaper not to do the meal plan. We also made our own sandwiches etc for lunch.
There is a resort shop for snacks and a small general store nearby at the marina where you can get bread, butter, cheese, spreads, tinned food and some fresh food as well as icecreams and drinks.
You can get a basic bure or upgrade to one with a full kitchen and washing machine. I didn't find a washing machine anywhere else. Baby sitting is F$5.00 per hour with six hours notice.
The resort has a superb pool. It is the huge. The kids wanted to swim at least twice a day. We took inflatable rings, balls and other toys which were great fun. We found we needed to be in the pool too as the biting insects are the only negative comment I have about the resort. Prepare ahead and take plenty of insect repellent as well as anti-itch cream and antihistamines!
There is a Rosie tour desk at the resort so you can do tours from there. We rented a ten seater van from the airport at F$620 for four days. This gave us the freedom to go to the tourist places on our own itinerary. It saved lots on tour costs, not to mention the cost to transfer eight of us to First Landings from the airport one way would have been NZ$204.
The car gave us the freedom to drive around the sights and to Nadi. Be warned though. The roads are awful. You need to be a confident driver to drive on them as they are full of holes and sudden surprises. It's particularly hard work driving at night.
We recommend the superb pizza at "Mama's pizza" half way between Nadi & First Landings at Colonial Plaza Namaka.
We also drove to Lautoka to see their market which was a good experience. Try the pineapple cut ready to eat. There is a huge playground over the road from the Lautoka botanic gardens. It had plenty of play equipment and was surrounded by mature trees for plenty of shade. There is also an icecream shop there too.
Treasure Island Resort
This is a superb place to take the children. We have been to Fiji with the kids twice before so have some points of comparison. The other places were Plantation Island and Mana Island. Treasure Island was far better in all areas where we found the others to be lacking. OK so if you pay full price, then you pay more than the others, but look for good prices. We got our accommodation half price in the January sales. However, having experienced this island I honestly would say it is worth paying the extra.
The meals at all levels were really great with beautiful tasty food. Usually Fijian food is the disappointing thing about a Fijian holiday, but not at Treasure. Every meal was delicious.
The children's dinner is from 5.30 to 6.30pm and costs F$17. It's a buffet with some nice dishes changing daily and other popular ones there each day. Every day there was spag bol, fries, salad(s), bread. the veges rotated with the choice of several each day. The meats could be chops, steak, sausages, chicken, fish etc - usually a choice of two. And of course pudding. There was always fruit and icecream with jelly or chocolate cake, or other old favourites. This was food you'd be happy with your kids eating for a week, not just fries & nuggets as we've previously experienced.
The kids club was excellent. It was fully supervised by Sala who is a trained child educator. She kept the kids busy and happy with age appropriate activities which changed daily. Sometimes she arrange for the older ones to go on trips. She and Lessi even put the smaller ones (4 - 8 years) in life jackets and taught them to snorkel then took them on a catamaran. Their supervision skills were excellent, (unlike previous experiences on Plantation Island in 2003 where it seemed to be "stay if you want to" and Mana in 2005 where they were bored watching videos as the activity)! We were happy to leave the kids with them and no matter when we came across them the children were all busy and safe.
Baby sitting is fairly compulsory. Adults dinner does not start until 7pm. Kids can eat with you at half price but very few do. At $5.00 per hour book a sitter for 7 - 7.30pm. Aim to have the kids in bed so you can go to dinner and watch the evening entertainment as late as you wish. Take cash in small amounts to pay the ladies directly.
Drinks are expensive on the island. Eg F$8 for soft drink, F$10 for spirits, $15 for cocktail. Buy drinks during the half price happy hours. They're during the kids dinner hour from 6pm but Monday was earlier.
Buy some mixers to go with your duty free on the mainland before you go to Treasure. There is a general store near the marina which sells drinks. We also got bread, crackers, spreads, cheese etc to make cheap lunches. The bread lasts about three days only. Buy a familiar brand of crackers. Avoid some called "breakfast crackers". They're like cabin bread. Buy a pack or two only for feeding the fish which is great fun! Take some large zip lock bags so crackers and bread etc last longer. Also take picnic or disposable plates, knives and a sharp knife, plastic cups. detergent and a tea towel for making your own food and tidying up afterwards.
Do not buy the meal plans. It is the same price as ordering the average price on every meal with three courses at dinner. You simply can't eat that much food. Enjoy a breakfast (F$20-F$25 with kids half price) with the huge range of foods available with dishes changing daily. Make a sandwich for lunch with some fruit kept from breakfast, and order a main (F$25-F$30) for dinner. On the buffet nights it's F$50 where you can eat those entrees and desserts.
The shop really only has icecreams and chips. So do bring enough snacks for your kids. And the bigger your kids are the more substantial the food you need to bring. Apparently this is where things can get really expensive if you don't make your teenager eat at meal times, especially breakfast!
Our family had the best holiday we've ever had at Treasure Island. The staff were so friendly. The island although small had so many activities and was safe for the kids to roam. The snorking is superb. The food delicious. I definitely want to go back there again!
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