Luxury Fiji Travel Review: Yasawa Island, 10-Day Trip

Review by traveler

Nisheeth S.

7.20.2023

General Info

Traveler Review

Which Country (Countries) did you visit on this trip?

Fiji

Your overall comments on the trip and the travel company:

They found two places for us, one was the resort in Yasawa Island and the other was in Fiji. There were two adults and one child under two. The resort in Yasawa Island was amazing, a beautiful resort that was very fun for our kiddo and had tons of fun stuff to do. It was a little rough around the edges, being the only commercial place around the island. The experiences were amazing and I would go back in a heartbeat.

The resort in Fiji was very mediocre. It was a beautiful hotel, but it was weirdly expensive for every little thing and experience, which felt like you were being exploited because it was so far from everything. Additionally, I didn't think our travel agent gave us a good heads-up about this.

For our travel company, I felt we were sort of left to fend for ourselves when we got there. We were given a number to a local company who when we called told us they didn't have our contact. When we wrote our agent, we did get an answer but it was minimal and were diverted to the local partner. I have used Zicasso on two other occasions and never had to deal with this. It was not a good experience.

I also told them that we were interested in snorkeling, which we didn't get that much of. In fact, to do so in or near the resort in Fiji we had to pay very significant fees.

What were the most enjoyable or memorable parts of your trip?

The visit to Yasawa, especially how good they were with our kiddo. Our lunch on a secluded beach, the visit to caves.

If you could take your trip again, what would you do differently?

Not use a travel agent. Stayed at 3 instead of two locations and had more snorkeling trips.

Travel Company Comments:

Hi Nisheeth & Soumya,

Thank you for taking the time to post your review, although I was shocked and dismayed by your comments as I never received any negative feedback in our multiple communications and when I welcomed you home from your trip. It is disconcerting to read you would not use a travel agent if you could do anything differently regarding your trip, given your trip request for your visit to Fiji was made six weeks before your departure date, which also fell over the Australian school holidays. I responded immediately and secured the last room available at the resort in Yasawa Island, an adult-only resort besides specially designated family weeks, and the resort in Fiji, as a good mainland resort option and entirely different from the Island stay. As I advised, given the late inquiry, most of the resorts in Fiji were 100% sold out, and I recommended the best options for your travel dates, given you had already secured your flight reservations. I recommend ensuring a more comprehensive selection of resort and accommodation options that you plan 3-12 months in advance of your travel departure, as many countries are extremely busy due to pent-up demand from COVID-19 closures.

Regarding the resort in Fiji, I sent you the activity list & costs in advance, so I am surprised it was a shock that added excursions were additional costs. Your itinerary did clearly state the transfer time from Nadi Airport to the resort is approximately 2.5 hours.

There is a significant time difference between the East Coast of the USA and Fiji, which is why we recommend your first point of contact be the local office so you can receive immediate assistance in local time. The two times we communicated while you were on your trip is when I received an email at 9 pm on a Friday and picked up a 2nd email on a Sunday - I immediately responded to the first email, and given the second email was sent at 1:45 am, I responded to several hours later. Unfortunately, we cannot be available 24 hours a day, and the local office is the best contact on the ground with all your booking details to provide immediate assistance to you.

I hope you enjoyed your time in Fiji, and sorry you didn't enjoy your booking experience with me our travel company.