Fiji is the travel hub for the South Pacific, and a popular stopover on round-the-world tickets. The majority of direct flights arrive from New Zealand, Australia or Los Angeles, and travellers from North America or Europe usually must connect through one of these. Arriving by boat is only possible on a privately chartered yacht, by taking one of the few cruise liners calling in at Lautoka or Suva or by finding passage on a container ship.
To get to Fiji, you'd typically fly into Nadi International Airport (NAN), which is the main gateway to the country and well-connected to various international destinations. Major airlines serving Fiji are:
They offer direct flights from cities like Sydney, Auckland, and Los Angeles. Once you arrive in Nadi, you can take domestic flights, ferries, or even chartered boats to explore other islands within the Fiji archipelago.
If flying from Australia or New Zealand, Fiji’s tourism market, you’re likely to find heavily discounted airfares and package deals, particularly in the low season between January and April. The majority of travel agents focus on the ever-popular resorts in the Mamanucas, the large hotels along the Coral Coast on the main island and the occasional outer-island boutique retreat.
From North America, the UK or continental Europe, options are more limited, although you should find Fiji as a stopover on many round-the-world tickets.
To go to Fiji is quite a challenge, but it's worth it. Viti Levu, Fiji © Shutterstoc
Fiji-bound travellers from North America have two choices for a direct flight to Nadi Airport: Air New Zealand or Fiji Airways. Both have daily flights from Los Angeles, with Fiji Airways also having twice weekly flights from Vancouver via Honolulu. The eleven-hour non-stop flight from Los Angeles costs from US$850 return, or US$1400 from Vancouver.
From the UK, you have the choice of travelling west via North America or east via Asia – it’s 16,000km either way. Fares follow the high and low seasons between Europe and North America or Europe and Australia, with June to August and the Christmas holidays being particularly busy, with fewer discounted deals available.
Air New Zealand (airnz.co.nz) offers a convenient non-stop flight to Fiji via Los Angeles departing daily from Heathrow and costing £1000–1600 – the flight takes 26hr including a four-hour connecting stopover at Los Angeles (unfortunately you have to clear US customs and immigration then re-enter which makes the transit a little frustrating). Air New Zealand also offers a daily eastern route from London Heathrow via Hong Kong and New Zealand, although this journey takes 28hr with two stopovers and costs from £1000.
Some of the cheapest direct flights to Fiji from London are via Seoul with Korean Air (koreanair.com), costing from £750 if booked via an agent, with the outward journey taking 24hr but the return leg requiring an overnight stop in Seoul with hotel and transfers included in the flight price.
Flights to Fiji are most frequent from Australia and New Zealand and both offer competitively priced deals, with reduced fares on the Internet and special offers bundled with accommodation packages.
Two airlines operate flights from Australia:
Both airlines depart daily from Brisbane and Sydney, taking about 4hr, with deals often available from A$350 return; Fiji Airways also has four flights a week from Melbourne (5hr), costing roughly A$200 more.
The shorter hop (3hr 5min) from New Zealand is generally more expensive, and monopolized by Fiji Airways and Air New Zealand, with daily flights from Auckland starting from NZ$400. There’s also a weekly flight from Christchurch operated by Fiji Airways taking 4hr (from NZ$500).
Flying to Fiji from elsewhere in the South Pacific is not always practical, and often quite expensive, despite Fiji being the main travel hub for the region. Fiji’s national airline, Fiji Airways, flies to Fiji from:
Other regional airlines serving Nadi include:
There are no direct flights between Fiji and the Cook Islands, Tahiti or Easter Island – the easiest way to get to Fiji from these eastern Polynesian destinations is via Auckland or Los Angeles.
Mamanuca islands in Fiji © Shutterstock
Although a romantic proposition, arriving in Fiji by boat is tricky unless on a private yacht – it’s a five- to ten-day journey up from New Zealand depending on weather, or at least a month’s sailing across the Pacific from the US west coast. Several large cruise liners visit Fiji but usually spend only a day at port, either at Lautoka, Suva or Savusavu before cruising around the islands, perhaps dropping anchor for snorkelling trips, and then heading back to the open seas.
Finding passage on a container ship was once one of the great adventures of the Pacific, but most companies no longer take passengers due to heightened security concerns.
If visiting by yacht, Fiji has four ports of entry:
Clearance must be requested at least 48 hours before arrival: for the regulations you need to follow go to (https://frcs.org.fj/). For detailed sailing info, Yacht Help, based at Port Denarau on Viti Levu publishes the extremely useful and free Fiji Marine Guide; they’ll also try and find a yacht charter if you don’t have your own boat. Otherwise, you may find crew work at one of the marinas and possibly passage on to New Zealand, Australia or California.
Most yachts depart Fiji by September or October before the start of the hurricane season and start to arrive again, often having sailed via Tonga or Tahiti, from May to August.
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written by
Andy Turner
updated 01.05.2024
