Planning a trip to Coral Coast

The Coral Coast doesn't have an airport, so you must get here from Nadi International Airport by taxi, bus, or rental car along the Queen's Road.

The drive from Nadi to Shangri-La's Fijian Resort & Spa takes about 45 minutes. After a sharp right turn at the south end of Nadi Town, the highway runs well inland, first through sugar-cane fields undulating in the wind and then past acre after acre of pine trees planted in orderly rows, part of Fiji's national forestry program. The blue-green mountains lie off to the left; the deep-blue sea occasionally comes into view off to the right.

Since the Coral Coast essentially is a strip running for 70km (43 miles), a rental car is by far the easiest way to get around. The large hotels have car-rental desks as well as taxis waiting outside their main entrances. Express buses between Nadi and Suva stop at Shangri-La's Fijian Resort & Spa, the Outrigger on the Lagoon Fiji, the Hideaway Resort, the Naviti Resort, and the Warwick Fiji Resort & Spa.

Local buses ply the Queen's Road and will stop for anyone who flags them down. Westside Motorbike Rentals (tel. 672 6402; www.motorbikerentalsfiji.com) has an outlet on the Queen's Road at the Korotonga traffic circle.