Everything you need to know about returning to Fiji

It couldn’t be more exciting to have Fiji back on our travel radars. But there are a few things we need to know – and plenty of resorts, tours and restaurants we need to reacquaint ourselves with. To help you plan your next tropical escape, here’s your ultimate Fiji travel guide.

Fiji COVID rules

The first thing you’re likely wondering is: how easy is it to return to Fiji? And the answer is ‘very easy’. You just need to have all your ducks in a row before you fly. Firstly, you will need proof you’re triple vaccinated. Before leaving Australia, travellers over the age of 12 will need a negative PCR or Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) that’s supervised and verified by a medical professional who can give you a written record of the result.

Drone shot of the Fiji Islands — It’s easy to visit Fiji Islands. You just need to have all your ducks in a row.

You will also need to have your first three nights’ accommodation booked at a Care Fiji Commitment (CFC) property, plus a CFC airport transfer. The CFC certification is awarded to businesses that are deemed COVID safe, and there are hundreds of choices. Another must is medical travel insurance that covers COVID (it’s best to book with a travel agent and check the fine print).

Two days after arriving in Fiji, it’s mandatory travellers take a supervised RAT at their resort, and then you will need another negative COVID test result (PCR or RAT) prior to returning to Australia, and to complete the Australian government’s Digital Passenger Declaration. However, Australia’s federal health minister, Greg Hunt, recently announced that international arrivals will no longer need to be tested for COVID-19 before travelling after April 17. You will still need to be fully vaccinated and wear a mask on flights to return to Australia. Entry requirements will continue to change as more people start travelling overseas, so keep up-to-date with Fiji’s rules.

White sand beach in Fiji Island — Keep up to date with Fiji’s rules.

Fiji Hotels

Whether you’re staying on the main island of Viti Levu or taking a boat, helicopter or seaplane to a distant island chain, there are plenty of choices when it comes to Fiji accommodation.

COMO Laucala Island

COMO Laucala Island is one of the latest COMO Hotels and Resorts to open and its clifftop location above azure waters is nothing short of stunning. This private island resort is in Cakaudrove Province, in Fiji’s north. Guests arrive to the island’s airstrip after a 45-minute private air charter from Nadi International Airport. Settle into one of 25 luxury residences (complete with butlers) that are on secluded beaches and atop hills. The island is covered with rainforests, lagoons, mountains and coconut groves, and one of the biggest selling points is the 18-hole designer golf course.

Aerial shot of the clifftop accommodation, Como Laucala in Fiji Islands — COMO Laucala Island’s clifftop location above azure waters is nothing short of stunning.

Six Senses Fiji (reopening April 1)

If sustainable travel is a priority, you’ll love Six Senses, in the Mamanuca Islands. Guests stay in beachfront villas and residences that are 100 per cent solar-powered and spend their days meeting the resident iguanas, exploring the house reef, learning about the growing kitchen garden and making their own kombucha and body scrubs. There is also diving and surfing (Cloudbreak is only 20 minutes away) on your doorstep.

Interiors of Six Senses Resort in Fiji Islands — If sustainable travel is a priority, you’ll love Six Senses, in the Mamanuca Islands.

InterContinental Fiji Golf Resort & Spa

If you’re searching for somewhere to spend a few nights on the mainland, the sprawling InterContinental Fiji Golf Resort & Spa is a great option. The resort was one of the first to open when international tourist flights resumed in December 2021 and it’s a popular choice with families, couples and business travellers. Not only is it beside a white-sand beach (with a healthy house reef), it also has a handful of restaurants, a family pool and adults-only pool, a day spa, children’s centre and gym.

Fiji tours

Whether you’re keen to surf world-class waves, scuba-dive amid vibrant reefs, hike through rainforest or plant coral, Fiji has a wealth of activities to choose from, including a few you may never have heard of.

EcoTrax Fiji

One of the country’s most unique experiences is EcoTrax Fiji, where travellers hop aboard a modified electric bike to ride old sugar cane railway tracks. You can pedal the bike or use an accelerator so you can cruise along, venturing through rainforest, over rivers and past villages. Located on the Coral Coast of Viti Levu, the award-winning three-hour tour also sees passengers stopping at a remote beach to swim, snorkel and enjoy local fruit.

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Hot Glass Fiji

Another little-known tourist experience is Hot Glass Fiji, the country’s first glass-blowing studio. We love this place because it’s not what you expect to find in Fiji yet it offers a fascinating alternative to typical island tours – and a great experience for travellers who love being creative and learning from locals. There are a few different lessons you can sign up for, with options starting from a quick 30-minute session for anyone aged seven years and older to a more detailed class where you can make three glass pieces to take home. Alternatively, you can simply pop along to the studio to purchase a special souvenir. You will find Hot Glass Fiji in Korotogo, on the Coral Coast.

Fiji cruising

Cruise ships have returned to the high seas and Fiji’s specialty is small-ship cruising, where crowds are smaller and port stops are more intimate.

South Sea Sailing

For full-day sailings and charters, South Sea Sailing has introduced a new 78-foot catamaran to its fleet. Called SABRE, this custom-built sailing catamaran is the first of its kind in the southern hemisphere and was specifically made with modern day-trippers in mind. There is plenty of seating and a full bar, which you can enjoy while you journey through the Mamanucas, stopping to swim and snorkel.

Sabre boat, Sailing in Fiji Islands — Sabre was made with modern day-trippers in mind.

Captain Cook Cruises

Captain Cook Cruises Fiji is expanding its conservation and education programs with marine biologists hosting lectures on three-, four- and seven-night cruises. The talks will be about topics such as coral bleaching and crown-of-thorns starfish. Other Captain Cook initiatives are themed around citizen science projects, becoming ocean ambassadors and planting coral. One of Captain Cook Cruises’ biggest selling points is its variety of itineraries, which range from the classic Fijian tourist activities (such as snorkelling) to remote villages on and around Fiji’s second-largest island, Vanua Levu.

Wellbeing means different things to different travellers. Here’s how to pick a hotel that gets it right for you.

The best wellness holidays aren’t necessarily spent wrapped in a spa robe. Sometimes they’re found around a dinner table in Cambodia, on a hiking trail in New Zealand or after finally beating jet lag on the other side of the world. The hotel you choose is what makes them happen.

1. Easy access to good food

meals from Novotel Bangkok Sukhumvit 20 — Taste delicious meals at Novotel Bangkok Sukhumvit 20.

One of the quickest ways to derail healthy habits on holiday is to spend half of it working out where to eat instead of digging into the culture around you. Thankfully, Novotel has done much of the hard work already, with chefs building menus that lean into the flavours, ingredients and traditions of each destination.

In Sihanoukville, Cambodia, Korkor soup – often dubbed ‘Cambodian ratatouille’ – sits alongside raw blue crab dressed with lime and chilli, best enjoyed with views across the Gulf of Thailand.

In the lovingly chaotic city of Bangkok, the presence of food cranks up the sociability. At Novotel Bangkok Sukhumvit 20, you can settle in with mango sticky rice and stranger-turned-friends beside the pool at Sky on 20 rooftop bar, or bring them along to tackle river prawns and stir-fried crab with holy basil at the buzzing Crab Paradise Dinner Buffet.

Then Novotel Dubai Al Barsha welcomes you with a laidback twist on the level of indulgence the Middle Eastern city is best known for up on Deck Se7en. Looking towards Burj Al Arab, the rooftop lounge has everything from Mediterranean-style dishes like seabass ceviche to Italian prosecco sundowners.

At the other end of the scale, in the hills that surround the Novotel Bali Ubud Resort, calm comes from nature. At Siralada restaurant, Balinese traditions shape the menu while thunder rumbles over the surrounding jungle – proving the setting is as nourishing as the food itself.

While at Novotel Nha Trang, chef Kieu Thi My Hanh and her team showcase Vietnam’s knack for balancing freshness, texture and fragrant herbs. Pho remains a favourite, while seafood salad with pomelo and mango brings those flavours together in one bright dish.

It’s all an approach backed by partnerships with expert food creators such as Alfie Steiner, whose plant-forward recipes prove healthy food should never taste plain.

2. Better sleep options

Novotel Bali Ubud Resort room — Sleep deeply with Novotel.

There are few travel experiences more disappointing than arriving in a new country, determined to seize the day, only to fall asleep fully clothed by 3pm.

For Australian travellers, jet lag is often an unavoidable part of the journey. That’s one reason Novotel runs sleep-focused initiatives that help guests adjust quickly without compromising on health. We’re talking partnerships with Sydney-based sleep specialist Olivia Arezzolo, known for her advice on everything from better sleep habits to beating jet lag, alongside features like pillow menus, in-room yoga content and tailored sleep guidance.

The sooner you’re operating on local time, the sooner you can get back to more pressing matters – like deciding which spa treatment to book.

3. More ways to move

woman hiking around queenstown new zealand — Stay at Novotel Queenstown Lakeside and explore local hiking trails. (Credit: GettyI mages/ naruedom)

Every place in the world has its own way of getting you moving: whether that’s hiking up ice-bitten mountains before a sauna or gentle stretching by the pool before a facial. From fitness centres to spas, Novotel recognises that wellbeing rarely looks the same.

At Novotel Queenstown Lakeside, activity is inescapable. Here, hiking trails, ski fields, bungee jumps, and white-water rafting have made the region famous. The hotel’s location on the shores of Lake Wakatipu means less time spent organising yourself and more time out there experiencing them. To top it all off, you can book a private hot tub for the evening before heading back into the wilderness tomorrow.

Bali, of course, takes a softer approach. At Novotel Bali Ubud Resort or Novotel Bali Nusa Dua, movement is less about conquering a mountain and more about a dance class between the tropical gardens and lagoon pools. Afterwards, the spa takes over, with traditional treatments like a Lulur body scrub: a combination of rice, turmeric, sandalwood, ginger and jasmine that’ll soothe muscles already relaxed by the Balinese heat.

4. Better connections

Kids will love a stay at Novotel Sharm El Sheikh.

One of the best things about travel is that it gives your family stories you’ll be telling for years. Novotel helps create them with activities that bring everyone together, whether that’s trying something new, learning a local skill, or simply spending more time together.

Go for a distinctly Thai twist at Novotel Phuket Vintage Park, where many of the family activities draw on local culture. Kids can try everything from beginner Thai boxing and language lessons to umbrella painting and – a pastime beloved by children the world over – pool foam parties. Everyone is welcome to join in, whether that’s getting splashed, covered in paint, or simply watching their children discover a new side of Thailand during the dedicated Family & Kids Day.

A different adventure awaits at Novotel Sharm El Sheikh. Kids could be perfectly content with discos, drawing classes and new holiday friends, but the Red Sea has other ideas. Sitting on the edge of Naama Bay, days here might involve snorkelling colourful reefs, taking a boat trip to Ras Mohammed National Park or heading into the desert by quad bike or camel for a Bedouin-style dinner beneath the stars.

5. Location is everything

Surin Beach, Choeng Thale, Thalang District, Phuket, Thaiföld — Explore Phuket’s gorgeous beaches. (Credit: Bence Biczo)

Everyone’s idea of wellness looks a little different. With more than 600 hotels across 65 countries, Novotel gives guests the freedom to choose the destination that suits them best. Whether that’s a beachside escape in Phuket, an alpine expedition in Queenstown or a city break in Bangkok, there’s a good chance a Novotel isn’t far away.

All that’s left? Choosing your version of wellbeing.

Discover stays to inspire your everyday at novotel.accor.com.