Travelling Fiji is a once in a lifetime trip, but sometimes it is difficult to know where to start. Especially with Fiji Ferries.
Having travelled Fiji’s Yasawa Islands myself, I am giving you advice on what I wish I knew about Fiji ferries before my trip.
There is so much confusion around the ferries so I have written my 7 crucial tips about Fiji ferries in the Yasawa Islands.
This blog post is all about Fiji Ferries in the Yasawa Islands.
1. Get There Early: Fiji Ferries Do Not Wait!
There is only one ferry per day for Fiji’s Yasawa Islands; the South Sea Islands Cruise. If you miss this, you won’t be able to get another one until the next day!
Something to be aware of before you go is that all of the locals run on ‘Fiji time’. It is their way of life. This was something I loved about the culture, but it did lead me and my friend to almost miss our ferry.
With a 15 minute taxi ride from our hostel, we thought arranging a taxi to pick us up an hour before our ferry departed was more than enough time. Oh how wrong we were.
Our taxi was over half an hour late, and with Nadi’s roadworks, we arrived to the port with less than 10 minutes to spare. That was without checking in! It was a very stressful start to the day which could have easily been avoided had we realised the extent of Fiji time.
2. Buy Your Ferry Pass With Awesome Adventures
When booking a pass for the ferry around the Yasawa Islands, I highly suggest booking with Awesome Adventures.
They have 2 types of pass: the Bula Pass and the Awesome Pass.
Bula Pass
The Bula Pass runs from 5 to 15 days and gives you unlimited ferry rides in this time. You choose your route when you book and it leaves you the option to book accommodation through other means such as Hostelworld and Booking.com.
This means that you might find a cheaper deal on accommodation than booking through Awesome Adventures themselves. However, it leaves room for accommodation to be booked up and more mistakes to be made.
It may also not be cheaper but it is definitely a good way to plan your Fiji adventure.
Awesome Pass
The Awesome Pass, and the pass I got myself, includes both the ferries and accommodation. Obviously this pass is more expensive, but it completely eliminates the stress of booking the accommodation separately.
This is definitely the option for you if you are booking last minute and/or want a less stressful booking process.
Booking with this pass also ensured that we had no stresses whilst on our trip. We were confident that Awesome Adventures had booked all of our accommodation correctly so had stress free travels.
3. Sit On The Top Deck!
This was a place that not many people utilised and was an absolute life saver!
On my first 5 hour ferry to Nacula Island, I had no idea about the top deck. Having said that, it was raining so I probably would have sat inside anyway.
When you get on the boat, keep climbing upstairs until you reach the top deck. This is an area full of benches where you can get the best views of these gorgeous Fijian islands!
The inside of the boat often smelt of food and body odour among other things; it wasn’t the best place to be, especially if you get sea sick.
If the top deck is quiet, I recommend grabbing a towel of yours and sunbathing as you look over the gorgeous scenery Fiji has to offer. Some of the rides can be long and choppy but you didn’t feel the effects of these as much on the top deck.
We had a lovely time tanning with a beer in our hand (that a family we made friends with on an island gave us from the Captain’s Lounge). It really felt like we were living the dream!
4. Be Prepared To Get Wet
Not on the South Sea Ferry itself, but on the tiny boats to the Fijian resorts!
Once your stop is called on the ferry, you will dismantle onto a tiny boat (some could only fit about 6 people on) as you venture on a short boat ride to your resort.
By having these smaller boats, it ensures that the islands can stay secluded and remote. They do not need a huge port each, you simply ride up to the beach.
On one of our trips, the water was choppy and we had to ride into the waves. This was our most chaotic trip with the waves coming over the boat and all over us! We didn’t mind because we love a bit of chaos but if you were wearing your finest top and skirt, it might be a different story.
Also, be careful when you leave these small boats! We watched a boat pull up to our resort one day and unfortunately watched a woman fall in the sea as she lost her balance as she got out of the boat. She was also wearing what looked like expensive (and white) clothing so wasn’t too pleased when it was completely soaked.
It is the best kind of chaos, just be prepared!
5. Embrace the scenery and the experience of Fiji Ferries
Going on the ferry and smaller boats in Fiji was one of my favourite things about the trip.
You will see the most incredible scenery; it literally felt like I had stepped into Moana’s island!
You also get to meet the locals of both the island and the mainland working on the boats. They are a good laugh and lots find joy in the little things of their job.
One of my favourite memories of the ferry was watching the men working on the ferry throw and catch everyone’s luggage over the sea. It was absolutely terrifying to watch these expensive bags be thrown backwards by several people onto the ferry but was incredibly entertaining.
Bonus Tip: Listen On The Ferry!
This might just be a tip for me because I was being stupid, but for a reason I can’t remember (I think I might have needed to verify our bags) my name was called on the loudspeaker. I was in denial that it was my name (because why would they be calling my name) but my friend was tapping me like “Holly that is you!”, we were both slightly embarrassed that my name had to be called over the loudspeaker for all to hear. This was easily avoidable!
Another thing to note is that you will be required to go to the back of the ferry before your stop to verify your bags so they go to your resort. Your luggage will most likely go on a different boat to your resort because the boats are so small! They just want to make sure your bag doesn’t end up back in Nadi…
That sums up everything I have to note on Fiji ferries! They are a fun part of the adventure and will make you adore the country even more.
They encapsulated my favourite aspects of travel and I will always look back on those memories so fondly.
This post was all about the must know tips for Fiji ferries!