Goway Idyllic Islands Expert Returns from Fiji
Allyson McGinnis, a destination specialist from Goway’s Idyllic Islands team, has recently returned from a FAM trip to Fiji. In the following interview, Allyson shares her memorable experiences, tips, and reasons why you should recommend beautiful Fiji to your clients.
Where is Fiji and how do you get there?
Nestled in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean, Fiji consists of approximately 330 islands, only one-third of which are inhabited. It covers about 1.3 million square-kilometres of the South Pacific Ocean. The two major islands are Viti Levu and Vanua Levu.
Fiji may seem far away, but getting there is relatively easy. Fiji Airways, Fiji’s national carrier, has daily direct flights from Los Angeles and flights from San Francisco seasonally along with a once-a-week flight from Honolulu. You can also travel using airlines including Jetstar, Air New Zealand, Cathay Pacific, Korean Airlines, Pacific Blue, and Virgin Australia coming from other parts of the world.
What are some of your favourite highlights?
One of my favourite highlights included a private beach picnic that we can assist in arranging from many of our hotels in the Mamanuca Islands or the Yasawa Islands. My experience was to head to this beautiful secluded bay called Champagne Beach with my partner to enjoy a wonderful picnic lunch, snorkelling, swimming, and just relaxing in paradise.
Another unique highlight was heading to Yasawa’s blue lagoon and experiencing the Sawa-i-Lau Caves, ancient limestone formations, carved by constant wave action and hidden within an attractive little island. The first of the caverns is just amazing. The light filters through a hole, allowing visitors to look around in awe. Those up for more excitement can choose to enter a secondary, more secretive, cavern via an underwater tunnel. You are in complete darkness with your guide who will take you through the cave as you swim with a guided flashlight.
You visited the Yasawa Group and the Coral Coast area. How do you compare the two regions?
The Coral Coast is a stretch of 80km-long white beaches and secluded bays along the southern shores of Viti Levu. There are many local villages along the coastline to visit and numerous choices of accommodations with easy access to the surrounding nature. Travellers can go white water rafting and visit national parks, and have easy access to and from Nadi with transfer times from 45 minutes to two hours.
The Yasawa Islands are an archipelago with 20 volcanic islands further north, past the Mamanuca Islands. By ferry, the journey will take anywhere from two hours to five hours depending on which island you are making your way to. Alternatively, you can also take a seaplane or charter flight up to the Yasawa Island Resort. The island group has gorgeous white sandy beaches, amazing turquoise blue waters (with a famous blue lagoon), fantastic snorkelling and diving, and some of the world’s best deep sea fishing. The resorts here tend to be boutique and more intimate than what you will find in the Coral Coast.
What are some tips you would recommend for travel agents for this destination?
Fiji is a destination known for its friendly people, cultural experiences, wide variety of accommodation choices, and water and land-based activities. The US and Canadian dollar can go a long way in Fiji, making it a great option.
Sometimes agents lean towards Tahiti for their high-end, luxury travellers. Don’t overlook Fiji for this clientele; there are some stunningly-beautiful properties here that offer an entirely different experience than what you can get in other destinations.
Fiji indeed has something for every kind of traveller and budget and tons of experiences to enjoy.
Please feel free to contact Allyson for any questions or assistance you may need to help create the perfect vacation package for your clients.
Allyson McGinnis
Phone: 1 800 667 6601 ex 5934
Email: [email protected]
