Our final leg of this amazing trip was FIJI! I cut a day off both Australia and New Zealand to be able to squeeze in Fiji. I mean why not! We were in the same time zone and it was only a three hour flight away! Adam surprisingly agreed and we were off! We flew Air New Zealand to Fiji and let me tell you our experience was quite different the second time around. First off let me start by saying I DO NOT CHECK BAGS – EVER. I pack in a carry-on everywhere I go. Even to Australia. It’s a control thing I’m pretty sure. Anyway, if you are not familiar with other airlines outside of the USA they have different carry-on requirements. Such as a size difference and a weight difference. Well, I have flown enough I knew to check for a size difference and I made sure that the bag I packed was in fact “small” enough to be considered a carry-on on Air New Zealand. What I didn’t know is there was a weight policy!!! I mean if a bag can be so big why does it matter how much it weighs if I am carrying it on. We were flying on a 737 aircraft plenty big for my normal size carry-on and for whatever it weighs when I pack it. Air New Zealand’s carry-on policy is a bag that totals 46.5 inches weighing at a maximum of 15lbs! That’s it! 15lbs! The bag itself weighed 7lbs I think. Ugh, anyway my flight over from Australia to New Zealand I had realized this policy and pre-paid to “check” my bag and knowing I was going to have to do the same on our flight to Fiji I tried to pre-pay and it wouldn’t allow so I had to wait until we arrived at the airport. Needless to say, we barely made our flight to Fiji anyway due to terrible traffic in Auckland and then having to stop at the counter to pay for a bag which in fact they ended up double charging us for. When it was all said and done a $200 check bag fee beats missing or rebooking our flight to Fiji but I was super annoyed! The take away – pre-pay bag fees when you need to check a bag and read and re-read all airline policies!
Fiji is made up of 100’s of islands. You can chose to stay on the main island and the capital Nadi or you can take a speedboat or helicopter ride over to any of the surrounding islands. We chose to stay off the main island and picked a private island 15 min by helicopter called VOMO. The helicopter was a private ride from the airport and I can not sing their praises enough!! They were so fast and efficient getting us through customs, collecting our things and getting us to the helicopter terminal. We waited a maximum of 10 min before we took off! Our helicopter ride was booked through our resort at VOMO. The speedboat was the second option and was cheaper but it was a shared ride, it took 45min and you had to get yourself from the airport down to the marina in town.
Vomo “The Rocks”
We were so pleased with the resort we chose! It was absolutely breathtaking, small and the only resort on the Island. It felt as if we had the whole place to ourselves! We stayed in a Hillside Villa and all food was inclusive but not alcohol. They also did our laundry complimentary! They had two separate swimming pools, one that was child friendly (not sure who is taking their child to a private island in Fiji) and the other was adults only. We loved the adults only pool “The Rocks” because it was an infinity pool looking out onto the Pacific Ocean and their sister island “little Vomo.” We stayed their most of our visit eating lunch, drinking and swimming!
Vomo activities
There were so many activities on Vomo Island. A boat went out everyday for snorkeling or you could kayak off the shore and snorkel off the beach. They have a hiking trail (that was actually kind of challenging) up to the top of Mt. Vomo with a yoga platform featured at the top. They also have a 9 hole put and chip golf course that Adam LOVED and tennis courts! We made use of all of these activities which made us feel a little better with how much food and alcohol we were consuming! haha
Vomo cuisine
I will say I didn’t know what to expect when it came to the food. I had no idea what kind of food they would be serving? Or if it would be good? Let me tell you the food was probably my favorite part! The breakfast -Phenomenal! Lunch at “The Rocks” – Amazing! Dinner at the “Reef” – unbelievable! Seriously I was in awe of how good everything was! Breakfast, you could order off the menu or go through the buffet. Lunch we ate at the pool everyday and ordered EVERYTHING on the menu, and dinner was so good with live music with a fun atmosphere every night! Vomo is renowned for the Best food in Fiji and I stand behind that.
Our flight home was on Fiji Airways via LAX and it was a fabulous! I loved the decor and amenities and of course flying into the jet stream makes the flight not near as long! We flew home in economy and the layout had only two seats on the window side so there was no awkward middle seat! Overall, our experience has made Fiji by far one of our favorite beach destinations! Highly recommended!!
