Attractions

Hotel reception or tour desks can make reservations for most of the activities and day cruises mentioned under "Nadi" and "The Mamanuca & Yasawas Islands,". From the Coral Coast, you will likely pay more for Nadi-based activities than if you were staying on the west coast. On the other hand, you are closer to such activities as the rafting trips on the Navua River.

From here you can easily take advantage of the golf, fishing, and diving at Pacific Harbour and see the sights in Suva.

I have organized the attractions below in the order in which you will come to them from Nadi; that is, from west to east.

Momi Battery

The Queen's Road branches off toward the coast and Momi Bay, 16km (10 miles) south of Nadi Town. The first 5km (3 miles) of this road is improved, since it leads to a large Marriott hotel project being developed on Momi Bay. Turn right at the signpost beside a school and follow a rough dirt track another 4km (2 1/2 miles) to Momi Battery. Built by American forces during World War II to protect the main pass through the Great Sea Reef, the concrete bunkers and naval guns are now a National Trust of Fiji historical park. The drive is worth it just for the splendid view over the lagoon and western coast of Viti Levu. The park does not have toilets or drinking water. It's open daily from 9am to 5pm. Admission is F$3 (US$2) adults, F$1 (US60¢) for students.

Natadola Beach

Off the Queen's Road 35km (21 miles) south of Nadi, the mostly paved Maro Road runs down to Natadola Beach, the only exceptionally beautiful beach on Viti Levu. A big resort is going up here, including a golf course designed by Vijay Singh. Meantime, Natadola has a grassy, parklike area all along it. A break in the reef allows some surf to break here, especially on the south end. Already here is Natadola Beach Resort (tel. 672 1001; www.natadola.com), a small, Spanish-style hotel with a dining room and bar in a shady courtyard. Rather than drive here, I would wait and take the Coral Coast Railway train from Shangri-La's Fijian Resort .

Coral Coast Railway

Based outside Shangri-La's Fijian Resort, the Coral Coast Railway Co. (tel. 652 0434) uses two restored sugar cane locomotives for a variety of tours on narrow-gauge railroads through the cane fields, across bridges, and along the coast. The best pulls you to lovely Natadola Beach, where you swim (bring your own towel) and have a barbecue lunch at the beach. These outings cost about F$105 (US$63) from the Nadi hotels and F$98 (US$59) from those on the Coral Coast, including lunch. These "Natadola BBQ Bash" trips run daily, departing Shangri-La's Fijian resort at 10am and returning at 4pm.

A variation of the Natadola Beach trip includes a boat ride out to Robinson Crusoe Island (tel. 651 0200; www.robinsoncrusoeislandfiji.com), a basic offshore resort, for swimming, snorkeling, and a picnic lunch. These excursions cost about F$145 (US$87) from Nadi, F$130 (US$78) from the Coral Coast. Water-skiing is extra. The boat doesn't run every day, so call ahead.

The other locomotive makes trips east to Sigatoka on the Coral Coast. A half-day version takes you to Sigatoka town for shopping and sightseeing. It costs F$60 (US$36) from the Nadi area, F$55 (US$33) from the Coral Coast. It also makes all-day "Ratu's Scenic Inland" tours into the Sigatoka Valley. These cost F$123 (US$74) from Nadi, F$120 (US$72) from the Coral Coast.

The company also has sundown tours, which include a kava welcoming ceremony and dinner. These cost F$75 (US$45) from Nadi, F$69 (US$42) from the Coral Coast hotels.

Children pay half, and all fares are somewhat less expensive if you provide your own transportation to the station.

Kalevu South Pacific Cultural Centre

Well worth a visit if you're interested in island life and history, the Kalevu South Pacific Cultural Centre, opposite Shangri-La's Fijian Resort (tel. 652 0200), presents demonstrations of traditional kava processing, handicraft making, lovo cooking, and fishing. The cultural exhibits include not just Fiji but Samoa, Kiribati (in the central Pacific), and New Zealand. The center offers half- and full-day tours of the complex for F$69 (US$42) and F$99 (US$60), respectively, including transportation and a traditional island lunch cooked in an earth oven. The other days it offers 1-hour tours of the grounds and Fiji historical museum for F$25 (US$15). Call for schedules and reservations. The center is open daily from 9am to 4pm. You can also get refreshment here, or attend a Fijian meke nightly, at Gecko's Restaurant.

Sigatoka Sand Dunes National Park

The pine forests on either side of the Queen's Road soon give way to rolling fields of mission grass before the sea suddenly emerges at a viewpoint above Shangri-La's Fijian Resort on Yanuca Island. After you pass the resort, watch on the right for the visitor center for Sigatoka Sand Dunes National Park (tel. 652 0243). Fiji's first national park protects high sand hills, which extend for several miles along the coast. About two-thirds of them are stabilized with grass, but some along the shore are still shifting sand (the surf crashing on them is dangerous). Ancient burial grounds and pieces of pottery dating from 5 B.C. to A.D. 240 have been found among the dunes, but be warned: Removing them is against the law. Exhibits in the visitor center explain the dunes and their history. Rangers are on duty daily from 8am to 6pm. Admission to the visitors center is free, but adults pay F$8 (US$5), students F$3 (US$1.80) to visit the actual dunes. Call ahead for a free guided tour. (Note: You must go to the visitors center before visiting the dunes, which are not accessible from Club Masa, about 1km/ 1/2 mile toward Sigatoka.)

Sagatoka Town

About 3km (2 miles) from the sand dunes visitor center, the Queen's Road enters Sigatoka (pop. 2,000), the commercial center of the Coral Coast. This quiet, predominantly Indo-Fijian town is perched along the west bank of the Sigatoka River, Fiji's longest waterway. The broad, muddy river lies on one side of the main street; on the other is a row of stores. The river is crossed by the Melrose Bridge, built in 1997 and named in honor of Fiji's winning the Melrose Cup at the Hong Kong Sevens rugby matches. The old bridge it replaced is now for pedestrians only.

Sigatoka Valley

From Sigatoka, you can go inland along the west bank of the meandering river, flanked on both sides by a patchwork of flat green fields of vegetables that give the Sigatoka Valley its nickname: "Fiji's Salad Bowl." The pavement ends about 1km (1/2 mile) from the town; after that, the road surface is poorly graded and covered with loose stones.

The residents of Lawai village at 1.5km (1 mile) from town offer Fijian handicrafts for sale. Two kilometers (1 1/4 miles) farther on, a small dirt track branches off to the left and runs down a hill to Nakabuta, the "Pottery Village," where the residents make and sell authentic Fijian pottery. This art has seen a renaissance of late, and you will find bowls, plates, and other items in handicraft shops elsewhere. Tour buses from Nadi and the Coral Coast stop there most days.

If you're not subject to vertigo, you can look forward to driving past Nakabuta: the road climbs steeply along a narrow ridge, commanding panoramic views across the large Sigatoka Valley with its quiltlike fields to the right and much smaller, more rugged ravine to the left. It then winds its way down to the valley floor and the Sigatoka Agricultural Research Station, on whose shady grounds some tour groups stop for picnic lunches. The road climbs into the interior and eventually to Ba on the northwest coast; it intersects the Nausori Highlands Road leading back to Nadi, but it can be rough or even washed out during periods of heavy rain. Unless they have a four-wheel-drive vehicle or are on an organized tour with a guide, most visitors turn around at the research station and head back to Sigatoka.

Tavuni Hill Fortification

A sign at the eastern end of the Sigatoka River bridge points inland to the Tavuni Hill Fortification, built by an exiled Tongan chief as a safe haven from the ferocious Fijian hill tribes living up the valley. Those highlanders constantly fought wars with the coastal Fijians, and they were the last to give up cannibalism and convert to Christianity. When they rebelled against the Deed of Cession to Great Britain in 1875, the colonial administration sent a force of 1,000 men up the Sigatoka River. They destroyed all the hill forts lining the river, including Tavuni. Today the fort is a Fiji Heritage Project that's open to the public Monday to Friday 8am to 4pm, Saturday 8:30am to 1:30pm. Admission is F$6 (US$3.50) for adults and F$3 (US$1.80) for children.

Kula Eco Park

Opposite the Outrigger on the Lagoon Fiji, Kula Eco Park (tel. 650 0505; www.fijiwild.com) is Fiji's only wildlife park. Along the banks of a stream in a tropical forest, it has a fine collection of rainbow-feathered tropical birds and an aquarium stocked with examples of local sea life. Allow 2 hours here, since this is one of the South Pacific's best places to view local flora and fauna in a natural setting. Children will love it. It's open daily 10am to 4pm. Admission is F$15 (US$9) for adults, F$7.50 (US$4.50) for children under 12.