a must do tour for all! (Awesome Adventures Fiji)

Member Name: emma_ski

Product:	Awesome Adventures Fiji
Date:	13/06/09 (118 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: white sand beaches, crystal clear waters, fish and coral, yummy food, amazingly friendly people

Disadvantages: bottled water bit pricey

I traveled with Awsome Adventure whilst backpacking around the world and this was one of the highlights of my travels! I organised this part of my holiday in a backpackers hostel in Wellington, although i guess you can also easily book it online or through another travel agency.

I did the 'Tropical Awgasm' package which consisted of 12 days on the Yasawi islands, stopping on 5 different islands and a couple of night on board a 'cruise ship'. There are a range of tour option froma few days up to 12 days and you can add extra nights on any island, by just adding the cost of the accomodation, which was around £7 per night, whihch included your meals.

Firstly the group picked us up promtley from our hotel in Fiji-Nada in a bright yellow bus! when we arrived at the port, we quickly recieved our tickets for each accomodation whilst on the islands and jumped on the connecting boat for our first stop at 'sout sea island'.

'South Sea Island'.
The island is very small, you can walk from one end to the other in a matter of minutes, yet it seems like a cute desert island. on the island the accomodation was basic yet clean and there was a swimming pool on the island (although not sure why, as see about 3 steps away!) and a big open kitchen/bar/common area. The beach was white sand and crystal clear water. The island offered free snorkling equipment which is a much! i found the snorkling so exciting! lots of beautiful fish and corral and you could snorkle for hours!
The only downside to this island was is consisted of a lot of drinking games in the evening, which is fun for a night, but you may as well stay at home if your drinking!
Whilst here, we took a day boat tour (through the hol package) where we visited another island and a tour around the loacl village. The locals all came out with some touristy gifts to sell yet there was no pressure to buy anything. The locals were very smiley and honestly appreciated anything you choose to buy. Whilst on the island we were invited to a tradition Kava Ceremoney (you'll come accross a lot fo these!) it was very interested although i felt a little forced for us tourists. After the village we had a lovely BBQ on board whilst the crew sang! the songs were beautiful and is so relaxing listening to them sing whilst surrounded by crystal clear water!

Kuata island
This was our next stop and the accomodation was slighty better with small aparments consisting of about 10 beds but with plenty of space and also very clean. The best part of this island was the hamocks! lots of them dotted around where you can sit for hours relaxing! This island was a lot bigger and i loved walking around exploring it! the locals were very friendly and one lady even taught me how to make a paper/leaf book mark! The food here was amazing! cant express how tastey it was yum yum!
Whilst here me and a Finnish guy took a couple of kayaks to the island opposite, which took about half an hour. this island had no touristy point and the villageres instant welcomed us and offered for us to stay for lunch! they were so thoughtful and genuinly curious about our home's and how life was different! We stayed for another kava cveremony and was invited back the next day! i found all the people on the islands amazingley friendly!

Yaqeta island.
Another slightly larger island, with a couple of villages a chruch and a school. i would definiteley reccommend a tour of the village which cost about £3. The village seems very honest and its interesting to look around the school, which is taught in english. Most chidlren on the islands attend school on the mainland so a school on an island is quite unusual.
Whilst here, it happened to be my birthday and the family running the accomodation surprised me with a home made birthday cake! they are all so thoughtful! they had then organised a get together in the next village in the village hall to celebrate! we had an amzing time with traditional singing and dances! i even got a dance with the village cheif! The chidlren loved us 'white tourists' and we were surrounded in minutes with kids wanting to hold our hands and dance! The people were so open and friendly i can say enough how kind they were and how special they made our holiday!!

Nanuya LaiLai
This island was slightly busyier (over 20 guests) yet there was a lot more to do on the island, including cooking courses, kayaking, snorkling and a day trip to the Sawailau caves. Another great site, within an hours walk on the island is the blue lagoon. The water is crsyall clear and there is a massive area of fish and corral to explore!This is also a fab spot to watch the sun set! The sun shines on this part of the island for the majority of the day so we did come back a little red!

Mantaray island
We had not planned to stay on this island, this was instead of the cruise, as the ship had broken down so we were relocated! this was a bit annoying as the staff at first tried to put us back on south sea island, but i argued for a different island to get value for our money, and im so glad we did!! Mantaray island, the accomodation was amazing, with air conditioning! there was also a large shop on the island and lots of forstery with walks to other parts of the island. The snorkling here was fantastic and the bar did a hug range of cocktails - alcoholic and non-alcoholic. The food on this island also had more variety with a selection of buffet style dishes. The staff also sat on the bach each evening with their instruments and played and sang while the sun set - beautiful!

Bounty Island
This is where the TV show 'Celebrity love island' was filmed and it is possible to walk around to the actual area, about 15 minute walk. The island was another fantastic experience and for some reason had a pool again :P there was some evening entertainment of local dancers as well as some fun balloon games and competitions for guests. Snorkling here was also good, although it got a little choppy so couldnt do it for long! There was also a small turtle pool behind the main hotel filled with cute baby turtles!

The islands are all very safe but a lot of guest travel though on various tour so i wouldnt reccomend leaving any valuables about. also make sure you bags/cases are secure on the boats between island, as a couple of people had their ipod stolen from side pockets. Bottles of water are also vital and sadly are about £3 for a large bottle, this cant be helped though as you need it in the hot sun, so be prepared with some cash!

I've rambled on a bit here, so just to emphasise all the beaches on every island were white sand and crystal clear wateres. the majority of islands were suitable for snorkling, many offereing snorkle gear for hire. The food was all tastey with the exception of 1 evening of bangers of mash :P The people are so friendly and honest and could not be more welcoming!

I would reccomend this company who were very helpful, even with the problems with the cruise, i emailed them after adn tehy instantly sent me a partical refund and a apology. The tour was fantastic, particulary meeting the people and the amazing beaches!

Summary: My favourite part of traveling and a unique yet rewarding holiday experience! amazing beaches