You will begin your visit at Nadi International Airport, a modern facility located among sugar cane fields on the dry western side of Viti Levu (Big Land), Fiji's largest island. Known locally as the "mainland," Viti Levu is 10 times the size of Tahiti. Fiji's capital city of Suva lies 197km (118 miles) from the airport; that's less than halfway around the island. By comparison, the road all the way around the main part of Tahiti is 116km (72 miles). In fact, at 10,803 sq. km (4,171 sq. miles), Viti Levu has more dry land than all the islands of French Polynesia put together.
The booming Nadi area is the focal point of much of Fiji's tourism industry, and it's where many tourists on package deals spend their time, especially on Denarau Island, the country's largest resort development. There are many things to do in Nadi, but if you have more than 1 or 2 days to spend in Fiji, you will make it a stopover on the way to someplace else.
From Nadi, it's an easy hop over to the pleasant resorts out in the little Mamanuca Islands, which have the beaches and clear lagoons the mainland lacks. Farther out, the even more beautiful, less developed, and increasingly popular Yasawa Islands have the best beaches in Fiji. The small, low-key cruise ships of Blue Lagoon Cruises ply the Yasawas, which have two of Fiji's most luxurious offshore resorts and some of its best backpacker retreats.
The usual route heads south from Nadi along the Queen's Road to the Coral Coast, which has widely spaced resorts with gorgeous scenery and Fijian villages in between. Although its beaches are not as good as those on the offshore islands, the Coral Coast was Fiji's first major resort area and still attracts visitors in search of a beachside vacation on the mainland.
On the Queen's Road between the Coral Coast and Suva, Pacific Harbour has Fiji's best cultural center and one of its two top golf courses. It also is the jumping-off point for Beqa Island and great diving in its surrounding lagoon.
With a population of about 100,000, often rainy Suva is one of the South Pacific's largest and most cosmopolitan cities. Remnants of Fiji's century as a British possession and the presence of so many Indians give it a certain air of the colonial "Raj."
From Suva, you can go the other way around back to Nadi, along the King's Road from Lautoka, through the sugar cane fields of northern Viti Levu, where Rakiraki beckons, with its charming colonial-era hotel.
