Travel to Fiji with travel insurance from Essential Travel

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Information on Fiji with single trip travel insurance from Essential Travel

Fiji is a horseshoe-shaped archipelago of over 300 islands scattered over 1,290,000 square kilometres of the South Pacific Ocean. Gorgeous beaches lapped by azure seas, superb snorkelling and diving among some of the finest soft coral in the world, combined with a wealth of natural beauty and a laid-back atmosphere, make this a fantastic holiday destination.

The two largest islands are Viti Levu and the smaller Vanua Levu, which between them account for 87 per cent of Fiji’s landmass and 93 per cent of its population. Only 106 of the islands are inhabited. Despite its small size, Fiji is an important stopover point for airlines flying between North America and Australia/New Zealand. There are two international airports on Viti Levu: Nadi (9kms from Nadi) and Nausori (23kms from Suva).

On Vita Levu, Fiji’s capital of Suva is the only real urban area. It does not have much to offer the visitor except a good municipal market and a fascinating museum. Most people head to Nadi and its golden beaches, on the west coast.

Just nearby is Pacific Harbour, where you can find some of the best diving, fishing, kayaking, white-water rafting, and golfing in the South Pacific. Inland, in the Nausori Highlands, you can discover an incredible landscape and remote villages, especially at Navala and Bukaya. Though Vita Levu can’t compete with the outlying islands for beauty and tranquillity, it does have a certain ambience.

Vanua Levu is farther to the north and receives far fewer tourists because a slight effort is involved in getting there. Locals have a unique, rural way of life and the island is mainly wild and undeveloped, making for some excellent trekking. There is some great snorkelling around here, but not many beaches.

Just northeast of Viti Levu is the smaller Ovalau Island, home to the old capital Levuka, a charming colonial town nestling between the mountain and the sea. For real undeveloped beauty, go farther south from Viti Levu to Kadavu. A typical Fijian island of small villages strewn between beaches and hills, this is also a Mecca for scuba divers who come for the Astrolabe Reef, and for surfers who have discovered Kadavus waves. The best way to see the islands of Fiji, especially the more unspoilt and remote outer islands, is to charter a sailboat.

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