pool at Beachouse Backpacker’s Resort – Coral Coast of Viti Levu Island

Fiji’s Amazing Budget Resorts

I don’t know about you, but I’ve always believed that all the far-flung tropical islands of the Pacific Ocean were extremely expensive travel destinations. They are certainly expensive to reach by flights from most places in the world.

And I presumed that once one arrived on any of those islands, daily expenses like food and personal needs would most likely be imported and thus very expensive. Finally, I always assumed that hotels & resorts on such tropical paradise islands would be very costly as well.

So I was very surprised and delighted to discover that Fiji actively markets to and caters for budget travelers, including backpackers. Yippie!

Fiji budget resorts includ Wailoaloa Resort

grounds of Wailoaloa Resort – Nadi Bay

As is turns out, Fiji is only three hours by plane from either Australia or New Zealand, which gives the island nation a ready market for tourists of all price brackets. Flights to Fiji from either country are as low as $150-200 each way, particularly from Sydney, Australia and Auckland, New Zealand. That’s quite affordable, even for budget travelers.

I’m not sure why, when or how Fiji began marketing to budget travelers, but boy am I happy they do. Astoundingly, many lovely beach-side resorts all over Fiji’s major islands cater to backpackers by providing dorm rooms in addition to more plush private rooms. Some also offer campsites as an even cheaper option.

Each resort differs, of course, but many of them are more like mid-range to upscale resorts, complete with sparkling blue swimming pools, lounge chairs, shady trees and even landscaped gardens. They have open-air restaurants, bars, internet and wifi, and a range of activities to join. And most are right on a fluffy-sand beach.

Oh, yeah, breakfasts are also usually included, even in the dorm bed rates.

here I am kayaking in Fiji

Some budget resorts have a billiards table, kayaks, beach volleyball games and evening kava drinking/singing sessions, all for free! Paid activities on offer include surfing and scuba diving lessons, snorkeling and diving excursions, hiking and white-water rafting trips, visits to local villages and so on. Many of these trips are very modestly priced at $10-20 FJD / $6-12 US.

As a result, staying at Fiji’s budget resorts feels more like luxuriating at an upscale beach resort, for a fraction of the price.

Thus far, I’ve stayed at two budget resorts on Viti Levu, Fiji’s main island. I’ve visited several others just to compare prices and facilities. And I’ve read about many, many others all over Fiji, including some at Fiji’s other main islands: Vanua Levu, Taveuni, Ovalau and the Yasawa Islands chain. I plan to stay at some of them soon.

kava session – kava drink and singing – at a budget resort

Ironically, the budget resorts at the Yasawa Islands, Fiji’s most famous and well-known backpacker trail, are the most expensive budget destinations in Fiji. Their rates are much higher than on Fiji’s other main islands. Plus transportation to, from and between the islands is really quite expensive, more along the lines of flight prices.

To visit Fiji on a tight budget then, you’ll do much better skipping the Yasawas and heading to other, less visited islands.

Budget rooms and dorms are also available in most major towns at hotels, guest houses and home-stays. In addition, several budget home-stays are situated in tiny traditional Fiji villages for visitors who would like to immerse themselves in a real Fiji village experience. Be prepared for primitive though!

Ok, now for some real-life 1st hand examples – here the places I’ve stayed at so far:

6-bed dorm room at Wailoaloa Resort

1. Wailoaloa Resort – Nadi Bay, near the International Airport and Nadi Town

Dorm bed rate: $15 FJD / $8 US

Dorm details: 6 bed dorm with private shower / toilet. very clean, sunny and spacious rooms.

Resort Facilities: swimming pool with lounge chairs situated in a landscaped garden, billiards table, outdoor restaurant, bar, outdoor seating areas

Included in dorm bed rate: breakfast, use of all facilities, free wifi

Location: Wailoaloa New Town area on Nadi Bay, 10 km from Nadi International Airport, 10 km from Nadi town, 10 minute walk to beach and inland shops

Getting there: Free pick up from Nadi airport for paid reservations on arrival, even for dorm bed bookings!

pool at Wailoaloa Resort

This is the very first place I stayed in Fiji and it was great. The staff were friendly and helpful. The food was excellent. (In fact that was literally the only place I found in the entire Nadi area with good food, including the nearby budget resorts)

I found it online and selected it over other budget resorts in the area because it seemed less like a backpacker party place, more quiet. I was right.

Although it’s not directly on the beach (or maybe because of) it’s quiet and peaceful. A 10-minute walk takes you to the beach and a cluster of budget resorts & guest houses in an area called Wailoaloa New Town.

I visited all of them and liked my Wailoaloa Resort best. To top it off, Wailoaloa Resort was less expensive, too.

Smuggler’s Cove Resort – Nadi Bay

Budget resorts in Wailoaloa New Town area

A cluster of budget resorts and guest houses, plus some fancy houses, are situated right on the long beach of Nadi Bay. They are basically located along the edge of the international airport, so you can see (and hear) big planes coming in for landing and taking off from time to time. (Same for Wailoaloa Resort)

I visited Smuggler’s Cove (the biggest, most plush and most expensive budget resort), Aquarius Resort, Bamboo Resort, Traveller’s Lodge and . All have swimming pools. Most have some sort of garden / outdoor sitting area, a bar, a restaurant and various activities on offer.

Dorm rates at these places ranged from $20-45 FJD / $12-24 US per bed per night, with dorms accommodating 8-32 beds per room. They all also have private rooms which are pretty expensive – $100 FJD or more.

6-bed dorm at Beachouse Backpackers Resort

2. Beachouse Backpacker’s Resort – Coral Coast of Viti Levu

Dorm bed rate: $39 FJD / $24 US per bed per night – special offer: $99 Aust / $95 US for 5 nights

Dorm details: 6-bed dorms, very spacious, with outdoor shared showers and toilets

Resort Facilities: swimming pool, billiards table, bar, a variety of outdoor sitting areas, TV room, lush landscaped gardens, kayaks, surf boards, standing boards, volleyball games, wifi

Included in dorm bed rate: breakfast, afternoon tea of scones and hot drinks, wifi, use of kayaks, billiards, pool and volleyball games

Activities on offer: surfing lessons, diving lessons, jungle hikes, snorkeling and diving trips.

Location: Coral Coast on Viti Levu’s southern shores. 2 hours from Nadi, 2 hours from Suva. 45 minutes from Sigatoka town.

Getting there: take a local bus from either Nadi or Suva and ask to be let off at Beachouse Resort. The know it.

Special notes: Excellent food. Delicious home-baked bread. Afternoon tea included. Friendly and helpful staff.

Downsides: Loud mainstream music blasting through the resort most of the day, from morning to night. At least the staff are responsive to changing the sound track and/or turning down the volume. They’ve had many complaints about the blasting music, as well as requests to turn it up louder. They’re not quite sure how to get it right.

grounds of Beachouse Backpackers Resort – Coral Coast

This is the second resort I stayed at in Fiji and it was also fantastic, aside from the crappy mainstream old music blasting. That really drove me nuts. There were all those gorgeous outdoor jungle-y sitting places, with almost no escape from horrible music. But they offered free use of kayaks anytime, volleyball games most afternoons and a free billiards table.

So aside from the bad music, it was a dreamy place: a beautiful pool set in jungly garden, beautiful sitting places and a lovely beach. At low tide you can walk all the way out to the fringing reef – about 200 meters.

Excellent food! They make their own bread every morning, including an amazing brown bread with seeds. They also use real butter.

Beachouse Backpackers Resort – Coral Coast of Viti Levu

A few essential things to keep in mind when selecting resorts in Fiji:

* In general, resorts in Fiji are pretty isolated – located far from any towns, shops, restaurants and other attractions. You’ll be at the mercy of the resort for any and everything you need, including all your meals and entertainment. So be sure to take everything you will need because you generally won’t be able to get it after you arrive at the resort, at least not without a long bus trip to the closest city.

* For Yasawa Islands, you will literally, completely be at the mercy of your resort for everything. No towns, no shops. No other place to go. In fact, all the resort rates are inclusive of meals, since there’s no other place you can eat.

With that in mind, if you’re choosy about what you eat or when you eat, it would be wise to first contact the resorts to find out exactly when they serve each meal and what exactly they serve.

Perhaps checking other travelers’ reviews would be a smart plan, too. You don’t want to end up at a remote island resort for a week, all paid beforehand, just to be served a couple slices of toast in the morning and crappy meals for lunch & dinner.

beach at Beachouse Backpackers Resort – Coral Coast

* One thing to check out when selecting a dorm at these resorts is how many beds are in each dorm. They range from 32-bed mixed dorms to 4-bed mixed dorms and sometimes female-only dorms. If you’re like me, you’ll prefer dorms with fewer beds in them.

* If you travel to Fiji outside the high season – July and August – there’s a great chance you will have a dorm room all to yourself!

* Although accommodation in Fiji can be cheap, drinking alcohol is expensive. So if you’re looking for the party backpackers’ trail, you’d do better in SE Asia for inexpensive drinking.

Final notes:

I’ll be visiting a few more budget resorts and hotels around Fiji over the next two months, so stay tuned for part 2 of Fiji’s Amazing Budget Resorts. I’ll also be writing a post about costs to visit Fiji on a budget. Stay tuned!

Meanwhile, you might also enjoy:

10 Surprising Facts About Fiji

Photos of Viti Levu Island, Fiji

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