Exploring the Mamanuca Islands
The Pacific nation of Fiji consists of over 300 islands. Many travellers will only spend their time on one – the mainland of Viti Levu. There’s nothing wrong with that, but to experience the serenity of this tropical paradise, you need to go beyond and witness the true beauty of the islands. The easiest way to do this from your mainland resort is to take a cruise out to the Mamanuca island group.
The Mamanucas consist of around 20 small islands that are just a short boat ride out from the mainland, making them perfect for day tripping or a stop along an island hopping adventure. Most travellers will fly into Fiji through the town of Nadi. There’s a number of boat services that will take you out to the Mamanucas from nearby Denarau Harbour. I travelled with South Sea Cruises, which offers both half day trips and full day cruises that come with a buffet lunch on your island of choice.
The cost will depend on which island you decide on and how long you plan on spending there. Generally you’re looking at around $200 – $300 FJD for a full day adventure. I decided to head out to Mana Island and will give a rundown of what you can expect there, but first lets take a look at some of the other options along the way.
South Sea Island
Yes, the smallest of the Mamanuca islands bears the same name as the cruise line. That alone should tell you that its an incredibly touristy spot. South Sea Island the most visited of the Mamanucas, being only a 25 minutes cruise out from Denarau. The island is a tiny spot of sand which you can walk around in 5 minutes or less. In fact, its so small that your cruise boat isn’t able to dock at the island due to the shallow waters, instead a number of small tender boats will come out to assist with the disembarking process. Being the closest of the Mamanucas to the mainland, South Sea is the island that will give you the most time on land if you’re only taking a day trip and that’s probably why its so popular. It does tend to get a bit crowded with tourists.
If you decide to visit South Sea Island, you’re in for a day of relaxation and water sports. There’s a series of activities run throughout the day such as a , beach volleyball and semi-submarine trips among the corals reefs around the island. The island also has a salt water pool, bar, massage station and complimentary snorkelling, kayaks and paddleboards. If you just want to take it easy, bring a book and find a deckchair along the beach, or a hammock among the palm trees. You’ll also enjoy a barbecue lunch and traditional Meke (dance) performance during your time on the island.
Bounty Island
Only around 5 minutes further from South Sea Island, the much larger Bounty Island is the next of the Mamanucas. I say much larger, but you could still walk around this island’s perimeter in about half an hour. With that in mind, this island is nowhere near as crowded as South Sea Island. There’s still no dock though and you’ll need to board tender boats to disembark from your vessel.
On Bounty Island you’ll find sandy white beaches and a whole heap of opportunities to snorkel, relax and explore. You can trek through the forest part of the island or relax with a drink by the poolside bar. The island resort also offers banana boat rides and other water sports that you can take part in for a fee. Perhaps the most interesting thing about Bounty Island however is the baby turtle sanctuary where you can admire the adorable endangered species of Hawksbill Turtle younglings.
Beachcomber Island
About 45 minutes out from Denarau, Beachcomber Island was once known for being the party capital of the Mamanuca islands. While its no longer the wild backpacker haven that it once was, its become another gorgeous island to spend a day relaxing on when you visit. Once again, Beachcomber is on the smaller scale, with the 10 minute walk around the island’s perimeter making it only slightly larger than South Sea Island. That means more tender boats from the cruise ship. With that said, Beachcomber is significantly less crowded than South Sea, owing mainly to its greater distance from the mainland.
You’ll spend your day on Beachcomber Island relaxing on the sandy beach, swimming in crystal clear waters and participating in other water activities. Get your cultural fix with Kava ceremonies and basket weaving sessions throughout the day. Like Bounty Island, there’s also a sanctuary, with more cute turtles to admire (I believe some of the turtles from Bounty Island were actually relocated here). Beachcomber also has a little boat that takes you out towards the beautiful coral reef so that you can snorkel back to shore.
Treasure Island
While you can no longer visit Treasure Island on a day trip, this island is located very close to Beachcomber Island. The South Sea Cruise line did stop here in the past, but nowadays you’ll need to book an overnight stay at the island if you want to disembark.
Its another small island, surrounded by a sandy beach. The resort pool is great and there’s plenty of snorkelling opportunities in the surrounding waters. The resort also has an on-site medical centre, wedding chapel, tennis court and mini-golf course. Its well worth checking out if you want a relaxing getaway for a night. The fact that day-trippers won’t be visiting during your stay will only add to the blissfulness.
Mana Island
After cruising through the Mamanuca Islands for around an hour and fifteen minutes, I finally arrived at my destination – Mana Island. Mana is a larger island than the other islands that I’ve mentioned above. Its one of only two islands in the Mamanucas that has an actual Fijian village community (the other being Malolo). The island was named after the sea serpent God of Manamanaedina, whom legend says guarded a box of blessings kept on the island, in turn ensuring all who visited were warmly welcomed. Make no mistake though, Mana is still very much a tourist island, with more travellers making up its population across its two resorts and hostels.
If you’ve taken a full day trip to Mana, you’ll get to spend around 6 hours on the island. That’s plenty of time. I felt it was enough time to soak in the atmosphere, while not getting bored. You’ll likely arrive around 10.30-11am and the first thing you’ll notice is that Mana actually has a pier on the island’s south side, so you’ll just be able to step off your vessel rather than transferring into a smaller boat first.
Upon disembarking, our group was met by a local guide that took us around the resort for a quick tour. He pointed out the two main beaches (one on each side of the island), water sports station (all non-motorised activities were included in the day trip booking) and resort pool. It only takes a few minutes as the island is still relatively small. After the brief orientation you’re free to spend your time on Mana for the rest of the day as you see fit.
The first thing I did on Mana was take the twenty minute hike up to the island’s lookout. Its a fairly easy trail and you’ll be rewarded with some picturesque views over the tropical haven from above. Afterwards it was time for a buffet lunch, included in the trip at the resort restaurant. The food was standard resort feed, but filling nonetheless.
From there, you’ll be able to spend the rest of the day relaxing in and out of the water. While the resort pool is nice and contains a swim up bar, I feel like you may as well spend your swimming time in the turquoise seas that surround the island. On South Beach you’ll find a dedicated snorkelling area where you can journey out over the nearby reef and admire plenty of fish life, as well as participate in kayaking and paddle boarding. North Beach on the other hand is more secluded, presenting the opportunity for bathing in the sun, working on that tan and soaking it all in as you gaze out to the islands on the horizon. There’s worse ways to spend your afternoon.
There’s so much more that you can do though! The resort offers banana boat rides and a semi-submarine trip for viewing over the reef. Also don’t forget to spend some time turtle watching at the conservation exhibit on land. You can even visit the nearby local village for a look at traditional Fijian life. However you choose to spend your time on Mana, you’ll be relaxed and recharged by the time you board your return catamaran back to Denarau.
A day trip to Mana or any of the other Mamanuca Islands is something that I highly recommend you add to your Fijian itinerary, especially if you’re staying near Nadi and don’t have any other plans to get away from the mainland. The island chain is very easy to get to, and from the minute your boat leaves Denarau Harbour, you’ll be transported to a world of peaceful and scenic heaven. There’s no way to experience Fiji like being out on the water after all.