THE GUIDE - Rough Guide to Fiji - page 106

The city centre
The organized city centre is laid out in a grid pattern with one-way streets, flanked by beau-
tiful tree-lined Vitogo Parade and parallel Naviti Street. A walk around this one-square-kilo-
metre centre takes in the majority of shops , the municipal market and an impressive mosque .
Opposite the mosque, there's an endless parade of fashion stores along Vitogo Parade selling
suits, saris and costume jewellery. Most of the shops along Naviti Street sell a bizarre ar-
ray of odds and ends, mostly cheap imports from China, but you'll find plenty of colour-
ful fabrics sold by the roll as well as tailors who can make you up clothes at bargain rates.
Across Naviti Street under a Brutalist concrete dome is the Municipal Market (Mon-Fri
7am-5.30pm, Sat 5am-4pm), one of the most spacious and least claustrophobic markets in
Fiji.
For a pleasant detour away from the downtown shopping area, head south of Elizabeth
Square down Tavewa Avenue. Midway down you can stop for a swim or a beer at the
colonial-style Northern Club before continuing on past the government offices and elegant
Hari Krishna Temple to Lautoka's superbly kept botanical gardens (Mon-Fri 8am-6pm, Sat
& Sun 10am-6pm; free). Opposite the gardens is the Children's Park , busy with swings,
slides and monkey bars.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: LAUTOKA
By bus and minivan Arriving by bus or minivan, you'll be dropped at the bus stand between
Tukani and Naviti streets behind the Municipal Market in the heart of the city.
Destinations Ba (16 daily; 30min-1hr); Nadi (40 daily; 25-50min); Suva via Rakiraki (6
daily; 6hr); Suva via Nadi and Sigatoka (20 daily; 5hr 30min).
ACCOMMODATION
Lautoka Hotel Corner of Naviti & Tui streets 666 0388, [e-mail] .
Handy location, and the best spot for backpackers. The budget rooms and ten-bed dorms are
simple windowless boxes with plywood walls, but the deluxe rooms surrounding the pool are
pretty and good value, and come with a/c and Sky TV. Can get noi sy at weekends whe n tw o
nightclubs operate in the premises. Dorms F$17.50 ; standard rooms F$65 ; deluxe rooms F$85
Northern Club 11 Tavewa Ave 666 2469, [e-mail] . This
pleasant colonial-style establishment is a bit of a gentleman's watering hole and popular with
families at weekends, but it's close to downtown and set in nice landscaped gardens with a
pool. The six studio units in a separate two-storey cement building are a bit old-fashioned
and th e bathrooms are tiny, but with a/c, TV, cooking stove and fridge they're excellent value.
F$120
Tanoa Waterfront Marine Drive 666 4777, tanoahotels.com/waterfront . Located ad-
jacent to Shirley Park and across the road from the ocean, this is Lautoka's only upmarket