A day trip to the Yasawas
Want to break away from Fijian resort life and escape the countless tourists that venture out to the Manamuca Islands? Look no further than the Yasawas. Comparatively untouched, this chain of 20 islands in Fiji’s north west are where you’ll find crystal clear waters, volcanic mountains galore and best of all, peaceful bliss. In fact, the Yasawas are so beautiful that various films such as Cast Away and Blue Lagoon were shot on their shores.
How to get to the Yasawas
While the Yasawa Islands were off-limits to travellers until the 1980s, its now quite easy to take a trip out to these islands and be back at your mainland resort for dinner. The Yasawa Flyer catamaran leaves Port Denarau at 9.00am daily and stops off through some of the Mamanucas before reaching the Yasawas. The exact time (and cost) of the voyage will depend where you stop. You’re looking at around 2 hours to get to the southernmost island of Kuata. The Flyer terminates at Nacula island after around 4.5 hours. The catamaran then makes its return trip, stopping in at the same destinations to pick up passengers heading back to Denarau, getting back at around 6.00pm (but factor in Fiji Time!).
I caught the Yasawa Flyer to Botaira Beach on Naviti Island. It took around 3 hours to get there, but the cruise flew by as I admired the more mountainous Yasawa islands that dwarfed the smaller Mamanucas that were left behind. Its definitely doable as a day trip, as it allowed a few hours at the beautiful location.
Got more time to spare?
If you’re planning on island hopping among the Yasawas throughout a lengthier stay though, you’ll want to look into the Flyer’s Bula Pass. This pass gives you unlimited rides on the Flyer for the number of days you’ve purchased it for – however you can only return to Denarau once.
If you want to go further north than Nacula, you’ll have to charter a private boat or fly. One location that you may want to check out up that way if you have more time is the Sawa-i-Lau Limestone Caves, said to be the final resting place of the ancient Fijian god, Uluini. Most resorts in the Yasawas will offer tours to the caves where you’ll be able to swim through the beautiful caverns filled with carvings and other inscriptions from centuries long passed. Unfortunately I only had a day to spend in the Yasawas and didn’t make it to these caves. Next time!
Botaira Beach Resort
Naviti is one of the largest Yasawa islands and its mountainous landscape makes it look like something out of Jurassic Park or LOST. When you arrive at Botaira Beach Resort, you’ll quickly notice just how far away from modern resort amenities you are on this island. The beach is pristine with turquoise water. You’ll need to disembark the Flyer and board a smaller tender boat, but even this won’t take you to the shore. So as to protect the spectacular coral reef surrounding the island, the boat will take you to the start of a series of makeshift slabs that serve as a pathway onto the island shore.
Spending your time in heaven
You’ll likely be hungry after the hours spent at sea to get here. Make your way to the resort’s only restaurant on the open deck of the main building. Being out on a small island, it should come as no surprise that seafood is on the menu, and its delicious. After lunch, you’ve got the rest of your time until your return catamaran’s arrival to relax by the water or snorkel out over the reef and see the diverse aquatic life up close. If you’re doing a day trip on the Yasawa Flyer, you’ll have until around 2.45pm before it gets back to pick you up (just under 3 hours total at Botaira Beach which is enough time for a feed, swim and chill sesh).
The resort is owned by a local Fijian family, so you’ll receive typical Fijian hospitality from your hosts. I feel like this would be a decent place to stay longer if you needed an escape from the world for a night or two. There’s no electricity at Bonaira Beach between 2.00am to 6.00am adding to that sense of being off the grid, and its just quiet in general. I think I saw less than five other guests at the resort during my brief time here.
Leaving the Yasawas behind
All good things come to an end, including your retreat to tranquil Botaira Beach resort. When the Yasawa Flyer makes its stop back at the island, its back on board to enjoy the long cruise back to your resort. You’ll be back in time to get some dinner at Port Denarau and will likely even witness a majestic sunset en route. The perfect way to cap off a day filled with natural beauty. While you could spend much longer exploring this astonishingly gorgeous part of Fiji, I think a day-trip out to the Yasawas is the perfect way to experience isolation without being away from your modern amenities for too long. Its a long day, but its worth it.
