Fiji has 333 islands. Here’s how to find the perfect one

More dramatic in appearance than even the Mamanuca Islands, the Yasawa Islands were long Fiji’s best-kept secret. A chain of 20 rugged islands north-west of the main island Viti Levu (travel beyond the Mamanucas), they were closed to land-based tourism until the 1980s. Now there’s everything from some of Fiji’s most luxurious private island resorts to backpacker-style dorm rooms – though there’s still no roads, banks, shops or cars, and locals still live in remote, traditional villages.

There are mountains to hike and villages to visit, but the Yasawa Islands are all about the beaches and the ocean. It’s one of the best places on Earth to swim, dive or snorkel with manta rays (between May and October). There are diving companies set up all along the archipelago, while the beaches and bays are so pristine and uncrowded that Hollywood also comes here to capture the South Pacific on film.

The Yasawa Islands are easy to access: sea-planes, helicopters and speedboats drop off luxury resort guests, though it’s easy to take the ferry from Port Denarau. Stop at different islands along the way (buy a Bula or Awesome Pass) for Fiji’s best island-hopping experience. Small cruise ships also visit on four- to seven-day itineraries.

KADAVU

Best For: Adventurers

It’s hard to believe this island – Fiji’s southernmost – is just a 50-minute flight from Nadi. There’s only one main town here, Vunisea, and there are no paved roads; most locals get around on boats between villages. This is one of Fiji’s least visited islands. More than 75 per cent of the island is still covered in its original rainforest cover, locals still survive on subsistence farming and fishing, and you’ll be struggling for Wi-Fi and phone coverage.

But there’s plenty here for hardy travellers. Stay in an eco-retreat built on its own beach with access to the Great Astrolabe Reef – one of the largest barrier reefs on Earth. Kadavu is a haven for snorkellers and divers, while intrepid surfers can find their own break, and it’s one of the best places in the South Pacific for deep-sea fishing (keep an eye out for blue marlin) and sea kayaking (tours are offered here). While it’s one of the least developed areas in Fiji, there are several guesthouses and retreats that offer modern convenience, minus the day spas and cocktail bars. If you truly want to go into the wild, Kadavu is the place for it.

TAVEUNI

Best For: Couples, Families and Adventurers

Fiji’s Garden Island (and its third largest) has long been an enigma. It is 75 minutes’ flying time north-east of Nadi, and most travellers have never heard of it. Those who have consider it a destination for only the most intrepid of travellers. But these days, there are as many five-star resorts as budget rooms for bush trekkers.

Taveuni is an eco-tourist’s dream, but you don’t have to sleep in a tent. While it’s the most diverse of all Fiji’s 333 islands and more than one third of it is made up of Fiji’s largest national park (Bouma National Heritage Park), there’s a lot to do on Taveuni besides traipsing its forests.

Taveuni is surrounded by some of the top diving sites in the world – such as the Somosomo Strait off its west coast, dubbed the “soft coral capital of the world”. Surfers can find their own waves all along its coastline and off a chain of islands to its north-east. Hikers can find paths through the wilderness along its coastline and deep into its forests, where there are birds and flowers that exist nowhere else on Earth, among some of the highest mountains and highest waterfalls in Fiji.

Adventurers and families with active children will love Taveuni, while couples seeking romance (perhaps on honeymoon) will love spending time in some of Fiji’s most private beachside retreats.

VANUA LEVU

Best For: Couples, Adventurers

It’s Fiji’s second-largest island and it’s located barely 60 kilometres from Viti Levu, yet most of Vanua Levu still runs on sugar and coconuts (copra). The island is made up mostly of plantations between huge tracts of wild rainforest, empty beaches and tiny villages connected mostly by dirt roads. Sugar’s far more important to most locals than tourists, but the resorts and activities you’ll find are worth flying here for. Luxury resorts with their own dive centres have set up along Vanua Levu near Savusavu, where guests can access some of the best dive sites in Fiji. You can dive along the 200-kilometre Great Sea Reef, or in marine reserves with stunning wall dives, huge drop-offs and caves. One of the world’s best dive locations – Somosomo Strait – is off Vanua Levu’s east coast.

Romance seekers and water lovers are well catered for at retreats such as Namale Resort & Spa and Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort, though adventurers will enjoy the solitude, even within the island’s only tourist hub, Savusavu, a strip of rustic stores set along a kilometre-long street beside the sea. Meet eccentric world-cruising yachtsmen at Savusavu’s yacht club, hire a car and drive the stunning (and beautifully named) Hibiscus Highway and disappear into a Fiji 100 years back in time.

DON’T FORGET TO EXPLORE VITI LEVU (THE MAIN ISLAND)

Everyone passes through it (the airport is on it, in Nadi), but how well do you know Fiji’s biggest island, Viti Levu? There’s much more here than the ever-popular, ever-convenient Denarau Island with its large offering of resorts, and the beloved resorts of the Coral Coast on Viti Levu’s south-western coastline. Head into the Coral Coast’s mountainous hinterland for a rafting trip along one of the South Pacific’s most pristine rivers; check out the activities at the adventure capital of Fiji, Pacific Harbour; and see the rich cultural heritage in Fiji’s capital city (and the South Pacific’s largest), Suva. Go further and explore Viti Levu’s north coast, a kite-surfing hotspot that’s home to some of the largest pods of resident dolphins in Fiji.