Suva - dismal ship tour options :(

Hi everyone,

We are docking in Suva on Voyager of the Seas at the beginning of March and the ship's tour selection is dismal. Is it possible to get to an island or beach from Suva? We were hoping to snorkel and swim in tropical water but it looks like this will be difficult from this location. Has anyone travelled to the Coral Coast from this port? And if so, any recommendations for nice resorts that offer beach activities and snorkelling for the day? Thanks!

I'm going to be a bit told-you-so here - if you travel on a massive ship like the Voyager of the Seas common sense must tell you that it can only dock in deep water ports with facilities to disgorge thousands of passengers. Suva is one such place. It's also a bit of a dump with few options, as you say.

If you want a bliss-out South Seas experience with perfect beaches, snorkelling etc, then go on a small ship. We've been twice to Fiji on a ship with 100 passengers and didn't need a port or even a pier, just a beach.

Hi everyone,

 

We are docking in Suva on Voyager of the Seas at the beginning of March and the ship's tour selection is dismal. Is it possible to get to an island or beach from Suva? We were hoping to snorkel and swim in tropical water but it looks like this will be difficult from this location. Has anyone travelled to the Coral Coast from this port? And if so, any recommendations for nice resorts that offer beach activities and snorkelling for the day? Thanks!

unfortunately, Fletcher is right. Suva is miles from beaches or really anything. Most tours will take several hours of driving to get to anything....native village, waterfalls etc. I think it would be very difficult to get to an island from Suva which is where you will get the real south seas experience.

Suva is pretty basic, a museum, a botanical garden, the government buildings.

and a lot of shops selling pretty tacky gear.

The people are fantastic, pity about their government and the record of human rights abuses.

While this won't satisfy your desire to snorkel, you can have a pleasant trip away from from the city itself.

A few years ago we did a trip to the Colo-I-Suva National Park. Once at the park there is a track that takes you down to some waterfalls and pools where you can cool off for a swim. The tracks are not for the mobility challenged though as they are steepish and narrow and the walk back out is uphill but as mentioned it's a pleasant enough way to spend the day.

On this occasion we actually did a ship's tour but it was a much smaller ship than Voyager. The tour was well run with people divided into small groups with a guide so we didn't all hit the pools at the same time. If the ship is not offering this, there will be tour operators at the port who may offer this trip. Just be careful though as there were some other passengers who took a cab but the cab dropped them at the wrong place and they had a long, long walk into the park and had no guide.

While this won't be the highlight of your cruise it will get you away from Suva which as others have mentioned is a bit uninspiring.

If this doesn't appeal check out what the tour operators at the port are offering. I hope you find something that appeals and you enjoy your call at Suva.

A popular tour from Suva is the Jewel of Fiji tour - it can be done independently or via the ship. Its not a tour to an island but it does give you a chance to swim at a natural waterfall. Basically, its a 45min trip up the Navua River via longboat to a natural waterfall for swimming followed by a village visit with buffet lunch and kava ceremony. Reviews on Trip Advisor will give you more info. Navua River is 45mins by bus from Suva port.

Can anyone please provide any details as to how to book the Jewel of Fiji tour independently as mentioned in above post? Thank you

...

Jewel of Fiji

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g294334-d6784296-Reviews-The_Jewel_Of_Fiji_Private_Day_Tours-Viti_Levu.html

Suva is a dump. Get out of town.

Superficially Suva isn't the most attractive place but if you look past its shabby appearance there is quite a bit of charm to the place. It is basically a bit of a decaying colonial outpost that has a few interesting buildings to look at and lots of shops selling various types of cheap Indian jewellery, Bula shirts, Sulus and assorted handicrafts. ) o to the 4th floor (the foodcourt ) of the Tappoo building and you will get a great photo opportunity of the ship at the wharf.

There is also the central market just near the wharf that sells fruit and veges, the bananas and pineapples are excellent and a piece of peeled pineapple is about $1 FJD. Make sure you go upstairs at the market as that is where they are selling Kava and spices. The flea market is 200 metres up the road to the left and the handicraft market 200 metres along the sea wall in the other direction.

The Grand Pacific Hotel is recently reopened and is a nice spot for a coffee or a drink. The Presidents residence and Thurston Gardens (where the museum is) is a little further up the road.

Forgot to add that if you have a dive ticket you can do an excellent shark dive from SUva or Pac Harbour.

Thae Navua River trip is quite good and you can do some very mild white water rafting o the same spot from the other direction. If you want the beach (not much coral though) you can go to Pacific Harbour the either the Pearl or the Uprising. This is about 50 minutes out of town. There is also a golf course there.

Colo-iSuva has the pools and Waterfall already mentioned and will take about 20 minutes to get to.

The coral Coast is easier to get to from Denarau but from Suva I would go to Moon Reef to see the Spinner Dolphins (you can also snorkel there) or to Wananavu which is near Raki Raki. Moon Reef would take 90 minutes and Wananavu a little over two hours.

When cruise lines like RCI, decide to take a huge ship to a port with which they are not very familiar and that does not have the infrastructure to support a mega-ship there is going to be "issues." DW and I do not often take cruise tours anywhere, so this kind of thing is not a big deal since we simply go off and do our own thing. But depending on cruise ship excursions has its upside and downside and you now know one of the downsides.

Hank

Suva is a dump. Get out of town.

Have to disagree with you! We enjoyed puttering around Suva. It was an interesting Pacific Island township with friendly people. The newly renovated Grand Pacific Hotel is a lovely place to while away an hour or two after exploring the town.

I would second the good advice from Oz Steve - especially the market, good for souvenirs. The Grand Pacific hotel ( the 'GPH') is worth a visit now it has been renovated (at last). It was built by the same people who built Raffles in Singapore. It's too far to walk, but only a short taxi ride away. From there you can visit the Botanical gardens across the road.