Paradise found in Fiji

It seems “revenge travel” is literally taking off these days and Fiji is welcoming the world with open arms. COVID-19 forced the tiny country to close its border for a year and a half, wiping out international tourism that’s worth almost 40% of the nation’s GDP.

But we hope that those days are forever gone, as we were just as excited to travel as they were to host us.

We kicked off our stay on Mana Island, nestled midway in a chain of islands called the Mamanucas. The palm-fringed islands of the Mamanuca and Yasawa archipelagos are Fiji’s — postcard perfect islands with white sand beaches and gently lapping, clear, turquoise waters. So idyllic are these islands that the movies The Blue Lagoon and Cast Away as well as the last several seasons of Survivor were filmed here.

The area is just a few miles off the coast of the main island Viti Levu, and happens to have the best weather — drier and sunnier than the rest of the country. While most islands in the archipelago are less than a couple of kilometers long, they are all easily reached by an efficient network of ferries, catamarans and private water taxis that operate out of Port Denarau, about a 15-minute taxi ride from Nadi (pronounded Nandee) International Airport.