Last year our travel family visited Fiji for a month. During this time we found that there are many ways to save money when you are travelling in Fiji. Here’s the background. My wifes parents are born and raised in Fiji and they gave us a lot of insider tips that we want to share with you, along with the things we learned on our own. Fiji is a small cluster of island located in Polynesia. It is one of the most beautiful places in the entire world, but it can get very expensive to travel to. Here are the tips that will help you save money in Fiji.
The 17 Smart Ways to Save Money In Fiji
Eat at Local Restaurants
When we travel to any country, we always try to immerse ourselves in the local cultures. One of the best ways to do this is to eat like the locals, with the locals. Not only will you get an experience you won’t forget but you will also save a lot of money as the hotels in Fiji are very expensive. To save money on food in Fiji you should try to have as many of your meals as you can off resort at local restaurants.
Save-money-Fiji-Restaurants
Buy Alcohol from Local Liquor Stores
Booze is expensive in the hotels in Fiji. We bought our liquor from local liquor stores. Bottles of wine were at least 70% off the price of the hotel and the beer was even cheaper. My favourite local Fijian beer was called Fiji Gold.
Fiji-Beer
Hire a Driver for the Day
We wanted to explore around safely, so we opted to hire a driver for a day. When you do this, you can negotiate with them. The hotels will also get you a driver for the day, but this ruins any possible negotiation. If you are staying on the private island Denarau, they don’t even let in local taxi’s. So All of the rates are highly inflated. We befriended a taxi driver we met at the airport. He gave us amazing rates for day trips and we set it up with Denarau security that he could pick us up and drop us off. The best part of working with this guy is that he knew every area really well and acted as our tour guide for the day. Total cost of this including gas was around $70 per day.
Hire-a-Driver-Fiji
Do your own Excursions
One of the best ways to save money in Fiji is to do your own excursions. We made a list of the things we really wanted to do and hired a driver to take us to these locations. This saved us at least 50% of the cost of a regular tour. We were also able to cover way more ground in that we did multiple things in a day. This gave us more time to relax on other days of the trip.
Fiji-Excursions
Negotiate when you buy anything
Most of the stores in Nadi and Suva have inflated prices on tagged items in the store. When tourist enter the shop they often pay the tag price. This is a scam, they will negotiate with you up to 70% off. We wanted to buy some tee-shirts and one store was charging $25 USD, I kept telling the guy in the store no and he kept bringing down his price. Most of the things they sell will be in multiple stores, so you can price shop. I found for souvenirs Jacks was the best shop with the largest selection. Their prices we already at a low price. Coming from western civilization I preferred this .
Fiji-Market
Buy from Duty Free
Duty free is a sure thing. You will always get a good price on liquor and Tobacco products here.
Duty-Free-Fiji
Pay in Fiji Dollars
Paying in the local currency is the best way to pay in Fiji. If you pay in any other type of currency they will charge you large fee’s in exchange.
Ask tour companies if they have discounts
Book tour in advance, send the tour companies an email asking for a discount and commit how many people will be going. I send them emails stating how many members, mentioning that I will be putting their tour on social media. I usually get up to 40% off because of this.
Discount-Tours
Pre Plan Your Days
If you pre plan your days, you will save money on expenses that just come up. For example one day I chose to go to the mud pools outside of Nadi, the sleeping giant mountain and the secret garden. To fit this all in one day, I asked my family to be ready for 7am. I pre-organized my ride so that I knew exactly how much my transportation cost was going to be. We were able to complete all of this in one day. If we were not this organized, this would have taken 3 day thereby costing more in transportation, and food. Use this handy Adventugo planner if you like, it’s free.
Pre-plan-your-day
Bring a fishing Rod
I always bring a collapsible fishing rod with me on every vacation. It cost me nothing, and it is a fun thing to do for an entire family. This also saves me from getting the urge to pay for an expensive fishing charter. To Fish in the Fiji Islands you do not need a fishing license.
Fishing-Fiji
Bring Snorkel Gear
If you bring your own snorkel gear, you will probably never pay for a snorkelling tour again. Why would you ever pay for a tour when you can do something for free. You will also save on renting the equipment multiple times on a trip. Snorkelling is a fun activity that most people fall in love with. usually when we are away we will google the best spots to snorkel in X, that will tell us where the tour companies take you. If you want to try snorkelling for the first time, or even improve you should read how to snorkel like a pro snorkelling tips and warnings.
Snorkel-Fiji
Hike and Explore on your own
Fiji is a very safe place to explore, so safe in fact that the police don’t even carry guns! The Fijian people are family people are are very happy. Hiking is an exciting way for you to explore the islands at no cost. Some of the best pictures you will get, will be when you are hiking and exploring. What type of hidden gems will you find today?
Fiji-Hiking
Travel In Low Season
Fiji has great weather year round, however there is a rainy season. The rainy season is called low season and tourism drops significantly at this time. The hotels, hostels and tour companies will have major discounts during this time. Just because it is called a rainy season does not mean it will rain the entire time. Fiji is a tropical country so the sun is out every day!
Fiji
Stock your hotel room with food
We have a family of four and saving money when we travel is very important. As much as I love to go out for breakfast, when we do long haul travel we usually do not eat out for breakfast much. To save money we go to local grocery stores and markets (which is a great experience in itself), and buy fruit, soups, snacks, noodles and other things we can eat and prepeare in our room. We also buy lots of water and juice at the store. When you leave the room you should have a large water bottle always full and any other snacks you want to bring. You will save a lot of money if you do this.
Take South Sea Cruises to visit the Fiji islands
There are many operators and private boats and tours that can take you to the beautiful surrounding islands in Fiji. The largest and least expensive is south sea cruises. Instead of paying a tour company to take you to the islands, you can take South sea cruises. They have a drop off and pickup schedule and their boats run multiple times a day. This will also give you the freedom to do what you want, when you want.
South-Sea-Cruises-Fiji
Common Questions About Saving money on Fiji Travel/FAQ’s
Is it safe to Eat at Local Fijian Restaurants?
Yes, it is safe to eat at local Fijian restaurants. Before you decide to eat somewhere, you should always do your research before you go. I check reviews before I eat at any restaurant. In Fiji there is not a major authority checking restaurant cleanliness and best practices so you have to be careful. The last thing you need on your vacation is travellers diarrhea or any other type of bug. Nandi and Suva have some really nice restaurants you can go to that are clean and air conditioned!
Fiji-restaurants
Should I rent a car in Fiji?
Car rentals in Fiji are expensive, sometimes costing as much as you hiring a driver for the day. The driving rules vary in every country, if you do rent a car make sure you know their rules. Hiring a driver comes with other benefits, they know where to go and what is good to see. The driver we had on the last trip recommended things to do. He was very friendly and knew all of the hot spots and must do things in Fiji. He helped us save a lot of money by taking us to the stores and markets with the best prices and reasonably priced restaurants. Fiji is a third world country, you always have to be careful not to get scammed!
Where should I exchange my money in Fiji?
You can exchange your money at local banks. They also do this right in the airport. Check the exchange rates online before you exchange your money. Some places will scam you if they can.
Fiji-currency
Are Fiji Hotels Cheap?
No the hotels in Fiji are not cheap, but they do have a price range for everyone. Popular hostels starting as low as $15/night and luxury accommodations costing $1000/night. If you travel in low season the prices are cut dramatically.
Fiji-Marriot-Momi-Bay
Are Hostels in Fiji cheap?
Hostels everywhere are cheap. There are loads of backpackers that love to travel to Fiji. You can look into hostels at hostelworld.com
Fiji-Hostel
How Do you say thank you in Fijian?
Thank you in Fijian is vinaka. This is very important to know as Fijians are very polite people.
Thank-You-vinaka
How do you say good morning in Fijian?
Usually in the mornings in Fiji, you will be greeted by someone saying Bula. Just say Bula back and you are good.
What does Bula mean?
Bula is a word used to say hello. This is the most common word you will hear in Fiji.
Bula
Should I do the village tour?
The village tours are a great experience and it supports the local villages economically. This is a must do tour when you visit Fiji.
Fiji-Village-Tour
Map of Fiji
Map-of-Fiji
Bio
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My name is Sean Rampersaud, my family and I are travelling the world writing and taking video of our experiences. My wife is Radika and my 2 kids are Rayden and Natasha. We want to help improve our readers lives in some way and have a large private group of travellers we like to work with. You can join our group by leaving your email. We are always looking for suggestions or questions you might have so that we can help our community. Please comment below if you have any questions and Join Us on our world Adventures. Our travels are partially funded by us providing our readers ads with travel related material that we get a small commission for. We only provide the highest quality companies and products. If you found this informative please share it. We provide our community free travel tools that will make your lives way easier when you travel including free travel plans, and a custom itinerary builder! We also bring you the latest travel deals including car rental and flights for your location. Join us today.
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