Tag Archives: Fiji

4 Destinations for Active Honeymoons

Best past Kavala Bay – Kavala. CC Image by Kadavu2009 (Flickr).

If your idea of the perfect honeymoon doesn’t involve lazing around on an overly crowded beach on a touristy Caribbean island, you’ll probably need to spend some time brainstorming out-of-the-box ideas, and fast. Sites like TheKnot.com offer some great advice for adventurous couples and those that want their honeymoon to be different, but if you’re looking for a shortlist of awesome honeymoon destinations, here are our top four picks:

Amsterdam

This is one of the most beautiful and beloved cities in Europe, and you can go on a honeymoon at any time of the year because there is always something to do. There are several spas in the city that you could visit for some couples treatments, and many of them offer unique services that you won’t find anywhere else in the world.

You can also take a boat ride in a romantic paddle boat, or walk through the gorgeous flowers in the area gardens. Amsterdam is also known for its large bike population – in fact, it’s been said that there are more bicycles than people in the city. If you want to travel the city like a local, rent a bike for your stay there and spend the days riding along the streets and people-watching at the little cafes.

Fiji

A remarkable honeymoon destination, Fiji has spectacular views of tall mountains and beautiful waterfalls. From parasailing to walking on the sandy beaches, there is always something to do as a couple in Fiji. There are several places near the Kadavu Islands where you can scuba dive and see breathtaking fish and other sea life.

Fiji has numerous honeymoon packages that you can choose from that include the hotel room, airfare and romantic dinners. Another fun experience is staying in a bungalow on stilts in the water. These allow for couples to maintain their privacy encircled by beautiful blue waters, and to enjoy the serenity of their surroundings. Fiji is also a great place to indulge in luxurious spa treatments, decadent meals, and adventurous water sports.

Alaska

Although it sounds cold, Alaska is not to be overlooked as a honeymoon destination. You can take a cruise to Alaska, or you can fly to the state and stay in one of the many charming and luxurious hotels that abound in the scenic and urban areas. A quaint bed and breakfast is a romantic way to spend a honeymoon in Alaska. Summer is the best season to go, but the most beautiful time is when there is snow on the ground in December or January, and of course, there are tons of activities there for the couple looking to stay active. Try your hand at snowshoeing, or go skiing or dogsledding.

Chile

Chile is a great place to visit on your honeymoon because of how diverse the landscape is. This long, narrow country offers mountains, deserts, tropical areas, and urban centers as it stretches down South America. Check out Santiago for some history – La Palacio de la Moneda and La Plaza de Constitution are where the presidential offices are located. If you’re looking for more outdoorsy adventures, go see El Tatio Geysers, which are surrounded by several volcanoes. The climate is quite volatile here, so be sure to layer your clothing for the cold mornings and warm afternoons. For a more cultural experience, hike up the mountains in Valparaiso to La Sebastiana, the house where famed artist Pablo Neruda lived.

5 Fabulous Islands in the South Pacific

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By MATTHEW KEPNES

The South Pacific is known for a lot more than just being the name of a Broadway musical. It’s also home to fabulous tropical islands, Polynesian culture, world war two, historical sites, coral reefs, and volcanoes. There are thousands of tropical islands in the South Pacific that make breathtaking tropical destinations for your holiday.

With so many tropical destinations to choose from, there is something for everybody in the South Pacific. Some islands are so small they are only beach and a surrounding reef. Others are so big they contain volcanoes, lots of wildlife, and even canyons. For the lover of tropical beaches, you have many options if you head to this part of the world.

Here are five of the best islands to visit:

Fiji

For those seeking adventure, Fiji remains the best island to choose from. This country has some 322 islands. Fiji has excellent diving and Kadavu is one of Fiji’s best dive sites. The more energetic can go trekking in the Nausori Highlands overlooking Nadi. Taveuni also offers good hiking in the Bouma National Heritage Park. Most of the action happens in the western islands but no matter where you go this place is heaven.

French Polynesia

A visit to here is like stumbling upon a parallel universe where hedonistic daydreams come to life. One of the biggest honeymoon destinations in the world, Tahiti offers pure paradise and a lot of romance. Tahiti is famous for its expensive resorts whose bungalows sit over the ocean, providing an excellent way to take a morning swim- simply dive out of your bed! There are fancy spas, hikes, sailing expeditions, and tours specially designed for couples. Be warned though- French Polynesia is not cheap and trips to Tahiti will cost you an arm and a leg.

Vanuatu

Vanautu lies just south of the Solomon Islands. The real attraction of Vanuatu is its phenomenal sightseeing. Underwater visibility at its peak hits fifty meters, revealing limitless schools of colorful fish darting around spectacular coral reefs, as well as a formidable array of submerged WWII wreckages.

Micronesia

Visitors to Micronesia can enjoy spectacular diving, for example the many underwater wrecks in Chuuk. The ruins of Nan Madol in Pohnpei are also worth the trip, providing a fascinating view back to the 13th century Saudeleur dynasty who ruled there. Or if all you want to do is wind down, find a nice atoll and bask in the sunlight. It’s the kind of place where you pack your watch away and forget about time for a while. Don’t forget the sunscreen though.

The Cook Islands

This south pacific island group is pretty far off the map. OK, not too far but they are considerably less visited than some of its neighbors. These islands are named after James Cook, the intrepid man who discovered them. If you want Polynesian culture, unspoiled by mass tourism, this is where you should go. Woodcarving is a common art form in the Cook Islands. Weaving is another major cultural activity. Cook Island culture is most famous for Tivaevae, or path quilts. And if culture doesn’t interest you, just find peace and quiet among the palm trees.

For those looking for amazing tropical islands, you can’t beat the South Pacific islands. They offer some of the best beaches, best diving, and the best ocean in the world. There is great food and culture on these islands too. Polynesian culture is rich, diverse and has a long history. By far, I think that the best tropical islands are in this part of the world.

Matt is an avid traveler and beach lover. His ideal life is laying on the beach all day and working under the stars at night. You can find more information about his travels at Nomadic Matt’s Travel Site and more information about the best tropical islands at his other website, Best Tropical Islands

South Pacific Travel: Interview With David Stanley

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Travel Blissful recently got in touch with David Stanley, the author of Moon Handbooks South Pacific, Moon Fiji, and Moon Tahiti, published by Avalon Travel Publishing of Berkeley, California. Today, David shares his experiences on guidebooks, travels, the future of tourism in the South Pacific, and tips for aspiring guidebook writers.

Erica Johansson: Your guidebooks about the South Pacific have served travelers since 1979. How often are you updating the Moon Handbooks? And when is it time for the next edition?

David Stanley: Right from the start we’ve brought out new editions of our guides every three years. And since the current editions of both Moon Fiji and Moon Tahiti were published in late 2007, new editions aren’t due until late 2010. This does vary occasionally. The first edition of Moon Fiji came out in 1985, but two military coups in 1987 delayed the second edition until 1990. The sixth edition went to the printers just as a third military coup was unfolding in Fiji in May 2000. Thus the seventh edition came out a year late in 2004. The current eighth edition was published in September 2007, well after the December 2006 coup. The latest Fiji coup had little affect on tourism so there was no reason to delay the new edition.

Competition from the internet has had a bigger impact on guidebooks than politics. Last year the publisher and I agreed that Moon Handbooks South Pacific would be allowed to go out of print when the current eighth
edition sells out. The cost of updating the book has increased as sales have declined, and it became simply uneconomic to produce a new edition. The entire book is now freely available online at http://books.google.com/books?id=EDGapfBX-CAC&printsec=frontcover which is great for travelers, but it will never be updated again.

The South Pacific truly seems like paradise, especially Tahiti. What are your favorite destinations and why?

Moon Handbooks South Pacific covers 15 countries and territories, each with a character of its own. There are good things about all of them. Those interested in meeting the people and having a wide selection of travel options at a reasonable price should chose Fiji. Nature lovers might pick Samoa where small family-operated beach resorts allow travelers to experience Samoa’s lush environment while learning about the country’s rich Polynesian culture.

The Cook Islands is perfect for anyone looking for a traditional beach holiday amid good facilities. French Polynesia has some of the most striking scenery in the region, and the happy mix of French style and Polynesian charm makes the islands a delight to visit.

Those into archeology and history should consider Easter Island and Tonga. The true adventurer will encounter outer islands which never see another tourist in Vanuatu and Solomon Islands.

Any destination (or island) you don’t like? If so, why?

Frankly, I’m not enamored with New Caledonia. It’s very expensive and doesn’t have the flair of French Polynesia. Immigration from France has introduced Parisian snobbery to the capital Noumea, and English-speaking tourists are sometimes cheated by French business people. For example, the 1,000 and 10,000 Pacific franc notes are confusingly similar and I’ve had people switch them on me more than once. New Caledonia is also the only South Pacific destination where I’ve experienced credit card fraud. On the
plus side, hitching around New Caledonia is a breeze and you can camp free in many places.

For someone who’d like to travel between the islands. Which is the best option?

By “between the islands” you mean islands within a single country, correct? About the only way to get from country to country is by scheduled flight. Within the countries, however, there are often local cargo boats that accept passengers. Government-subsidized supply boats sail from Tahiti to all parts of French Polynesia and deck space is quite cheap.

Highspeed catamarans operate between Tahiti and Moorea every couple of hours, and Fiji also has fast cats from Nadi to the Mamanuca Islands, the Yasawa Islands, and Vanua Levu. The two main islands of Samoa are connected by regular car ferries. Ferry travel is also possible in New Caledonia and Vanuatu but Solomon Islands is the real adventure hotspot for anyone looking for copra boats to forgotten islands over the horizon.

Last year I read Theroux’s “The Happy Isles of Oceania: Paddling the Pacific”, about his travels from the Solomons to Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Tahiti and the Marquesas, and couldn’t help but fall in love with the book. Which is your favorite travelogue on the South Pacific?

I also enjoyed Theroux’s book. More recently, J Maarten Troost has written a pair of travel books about his experiences in Kiribati, Vanuatu, and Fiji. I like Troost’s “The Sex Lives of Cannibals” about his experiences on Tarawa more than the sequel “Getting Stoned with Savages”.

How do you view the future of the tourism in the Pacific?

Tourism will become more elitist as fuel prices push airfares up. By elitist I mean that in place of the packaged masses currently delivered to the South Pacific islands on Sir Richard Branson’s cheap flights there will be a much smaller number of upscale tourists rich enough to pay whatever is asked. Another select group will have the time to travel more slowly, thereby greatly lowering their daily costs. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing as today’s golden hordes of holidaymakers burn oceans of fossil fuels on their quickie trips from Auckland and Sydney.

What are your tips for someone who’d like to author a Moon Handbooks guide?

Go into guidebook writing for the love of it and not for the money. The time when you could get rich writing for Lonely Planet is over and you can only expect to cover your bare expenses these days. It can be an interesting experience researching a guide, but have another source of income in reserve. Moon Handbooks is one of the only large publishers which still allows its authors to retain their copyrights and pays royalties, however the income is quite low. Lonely Planet updaters are now paid flat fees and must sign away all rights in their first contract. Lonely Planet may look good on a resume but there’s no future in writing for them.

Any last words?

As Tony Wheeler, the founder of Lonely Planet, once wrote, the hardest thing about travel is deciding to go. After that, it’s easy.

I’ve visited 196 countries and territories over the past 40 years and try to get to a few more every year. I visited Belarus in August and should be on my way to Turks and Caicos tomorrow but I’ve had to postpone my trip until December due to Hurricane Ike. There’s nothing like going to a new place and experiencing another way of life. It’s simply tops.

For more information on the South Pacific, visit David’s personal website at http://www.southpacific.org