Fiji

Travel Fiji on your gap year. Ideas for gap year travel to Fiji.

Fiji gap year - Gap year programmes in Fiji

Fiji is undoubtedly the single-most popular Pacific island destinations for gap year travellers. Fiji is situated between the USA and New Zealand and it's easy to incorporate Fiji in to a round the world plane ticket, making it a highly affordable and accessible stopover. Fiji isn't just one island but is actually an archipelago of over 300 different islands. Fiji enjoys a mild tropical climate all the year round, the seawater is warm and each of the islands is fringed by coral reefs - making for some of the best snorkelling and diving on the planet. Fiji also possesses a fascinating culture and is an extremely multicultural and cosmopolitan place with much to see and explore away from the beaches. Because of its popularity with backpackers there's an excellent infrastructure within Fiji for travellers, with plenty of backpacker hostels and other facilities easily available throughout the islands. 

Fiji's international airport is located in the town of Nadi, on the west coast of the main island of Viti Levu. Nadi isn't the most attractive town in Fiji but it's a good place in which to initially get your bearings and start organising your onward travel in Fiji. By far the best way to travel around Fiji is by taking the ‘Feejee Experience' bus. Real Gap can pre-arrange this bus pass for you, before you get to Fiji, with our ‘Travel Fiji - Feejee Experience Bus Passes' programme. This is easily the most cost effective way to make your way around Fiji, and it also takes you to parts of Fiji that normal tourist buses simply don't go to. Feejee Experience buses are used exclusively by backpackers and gap year travellers, so it's also a great way to meet other like-minded travellers during your time in Fiji.

Fiji's main island is Viti Levu and, although flights in to Fiji arrive in to the town of Nadi, Fiji's capital is actually the city of Suva in the southeast of Viti Levu. Suva and its surrounding area is home to approximately half of Fiji's population and it's an attractive place well worth exploring. In order to discover Fiji's more traditional culture however, you need to head in to the interior of Viti Levu or, more specifically, to Koroyanitu National Heritage Park. The park has some of Fiji's most beautiful landscapes and there are some stunning walking routes through forests and waterfalls. This area of Fiji is more mountainous and it's possible to enjoy panoramic views across to other islands at some points. The park is also home to six of Fiji's most remote and traditional villages, which are almost entirely self-sufficient.

Most travellers come to Fiji for one main thing - the beaches. It's possible to visit loads of Fiji's best beaches using a ‘Feejee Experience' bus pass. As there are so many islands in Fiji it's advisable to do a bit of research before you decide which ‘Feejee Experience' circuit incorporates the places in Fiji you most want to visit. Some of the islands and beaches in Fiji are more party-orientated while some are much more tranquil and sedate. Where you head to will obviously depend on what type of gap year experience you are after in Fiji.

Other than the main island of Viti Levu, highly recommended destinations in Fiji include South Sea Island, Beachcomber Island and Robinson Crusoe Island. Easily accessible from Nadi are the Mamanuca Islands. There are some excellent backpacker hostels in this part of Fiji and the fantastic white sand beaches on the islands are superb for snorkelling, diving and surfing. If you want to explore some of Fiji's native inland wildlife it's better to make your way to an island which has a significant area of native forest remaining. The islands of Monu and Monuriki fall in to this category and are home to many of Fiji's birds and reptiles.

Fiji is a beautiful, lively and relaxing place to visit on a gap year. Anyone who is buying a round the world ticket should definitely give some serious thought to including Fiji on their itinerary.

Fiji gap year - Gap year programmes in Fiji


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