Basics - Rough Guide to Fiji - page 30

AGENTS AND OPERATORS
Beautiful Pacific Fiji 672 2600, US 619 618 0229, UK 020 8123 8622, Australia
02 8005 1232, New Zealand 09 889 0909; beautifulpacific.com . South Pacific travel
specialist offering discounted rooms at most beach resorts and adventure retreats.
ebookers UK 0800 082 3000, Republic of Ireland 01 488 3507; ebookers.com ,
ebookers.ie . Low fares on an extensive selection of scheduled flights and package deals.
Impulse Fiji Fiji 672 0600, US 1-800 953-7595; impulsefiji.com . Postings for last-
minute special offers at larger resorts.
North South Travel UK 01245 608 291, northsouthtravel.co.uk . Friendly, competitive
travel agency, offering discounted fares worldwide. Profits are used to support projects in
the developing world, especially the promotion of sustainable tourism.
Trailfinders UK 0845 058 5858, Republic of Ireland 01 77 7888, Australia 1300
780 212; trailfinders.com . One of the best-informed and most efficient agents for inde-
pendent travellers.
STA Travel US 1-800 781-4040, UK 0871 2300 040, Australia 134 STA, New Zea-
land 0800 474 400, SA 0861 781 781; statravel.com . Worldwide specialists in inde-
pendent travel; also student IDs, travel insurance, car rental and more. Good discounts for
students and under-26s.
Getting to Fiji by boat
Although a romantic proposition, arriving in Fiji by boat is tricky unless on a private yacht
- it's a five- to ten-day journey up from New Zealand depending on weather, or at least a
month's sailing across the Pacific from the US west coast. Several large cruise liners visit
Fiji but usually spend only a day at port, either at Lautoka, Suva or Savusavu before cruising
around the islands, perhaps dropping anchor for snorkelling trips, and then heading back to
the open seas.
Finding passage on a container ship was once one of the great adventures of the Pacific,
but most companies no longer take passengers due to heightened security concerns. For fur-
ther information try international shipping agents Andrew Weir (UK 020 7575 6480,
aws.co.uk ) or Pacific Forum Line (NZ 09 356 2333, pacificforumline.com ) .
If visiting by yacht , Fiji has four ports of entry : Suva ( 330 2864), Lautoka ( 666 7734),
Levuka ( 344 0425) and Savusavu ( 885 0728). Clearance must be requested at least 48
hours before arrival: for the regulations you need to follow go to ( www.frca.org.fj/yachts-
arrival/ ) . For detailed sailing info, Yacht Help ( 675 0911, yachthelp.com ), based at Port
Denarau on Viti Levu publishes the extremely useful and free Fiji Marine Guide ; they'll also
try and find a yacht charter if you don't have your own boat. Otherwise, you may find crew
work at one of the marinas and possibly passage on to New Zealand, Australia or California.