Fiji - New Zealand Honeymoon...Advice Needed!!

maryv2468

Hello,

My fiance and I are hoping to plan a 2 week Fiji - New Zealand honeymoon and are a little overwhelmed by all the options. We are willing to spend the money, but just want to make sure we are getting quality for it. We were hoping to do an oceanfront bure for maybe 5 days in fiji and spend the rest of our time traveling around New Zealand. Any advice from brides who have been or are planning to go? I see a lot of "honeymoon package" companies, but I am wary of how reliable they actually are. Any advice whatsoever would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!!

SCogs18

I wish I could help you.  FI really wanted to go to New Zeland for our HM, but we couldn't afford it and realized we didn't want to spend the first 24 hours of our married life on a plane.  I think you made a good choice!

Good luck!  This bride and groom are jealous

Jells2dot0

I have been to Fiji but have not been to NZ. Since you are splitting your time, I would try to focus on one island in NZ. A lot of people travel to NZ and spend 2-3 weeks just in that country! As far as Fiji is concerned, I would focus your trip on one of the outer islands. I'm not sure what type of experience you are looking for, but there are a lot of good mostly all-inclusive resorts there that are often times the only resort on the island. A lot of them also cater to guests over 16, so no young children. I would look into Matangi, Vatulele, Likuliku, Royal Davui, or Namale.
A lot will depend on budget as well. I know you mentioned you were willing to spend the money, but that means different things to different people.

EDIT- for TAs, check out http://travel2-us.com/travelagents/search.asp. I have used this tour company for a few South Pacific trips. They now just exclusively work with travel agents, but the link above will send you to their travel agent search page. The agents they list are specialists.

jsquared62009

I went to NZ with my family so I don't have "honeymoon" advice but just some general advice. We flew into Aukland and rented a campervan. We spent one day in Aukland but the rest of the time we spent on the south island. If you and FI are into camping/the outdoors then renting a campervan is a cheap way to see the country. NZ, especially the south island, is gorgeous and driving around is easy/a great way to take in all the scenery (as long as being on the other side of the road doesn't bother you). Definitely do not miss Milford Sound. It is absolutely breathtaking. There are private plane companies that will fly you from nearby cities into the sound which is a great way to see the mountain and glaciers. Then once your at the sound you can take a boat tour of it. I think you can definitely do NZ without a tour company. It is really easy to find your way around as long as you have good maps. I'd suggest getting a guide book and planning your trip around what seems most interesting to you.

Also, you don't mention when you are going but that's something to consider if you are thinking about camping. Their seasons are flipflopped and when we were there in May it was getting too cold to camp some nights so we had to stay in hotels. Check the average temps for when you are going to be there so you can pack accordingly!

SuMmErKuTiE

We honeymooned in Fiji and booked through South Seas Adventures. We stayed at Qamea Resort & Spa, and all of their bures are oceanfront bures, they also have 2 honeymoon bures and a honeymoon villa. We booked the honeymoon bure so we could have a private hot tub in our courtyard. Definitely worth it! Pictures of our stay in my married bio in my siggy.

The only things I advise when looking into Fiji is to "resort hop" and to stay on the outer islands which is where the picturesque beaches are. We regret not resort hopping and only stayed at one resort the whole time. You spend all that time and money to get all the way out there, you should see more of it than just one place in my opinion.

One of the couples at our resort split up their trip with a stop in New Zealand as well, and they couldn't stop raving about it. They went skiing in NZ and had the relaxing tropical beach vacation in Fiji since we were there in June/July and that's their "winter" in the southern hemisphere. It was low 80's in Fiji but much cooler in NZ.

http://www.south-seas-adventures.com/

Cinderella30

We didn't go to NZ but we spent 2wks in Fiji.  We spent one week at Royal Davui...awesome snorkeling and one week at Namale.  They were both absolutely breathtaking.  We booked everything through Easy Escape Travels.  I worked with Caroline Bracewell who was sooo awesome and patient with me (I kept changing my mind). 

parrothead84

This is definitely a trip I'd use a travel agent for.

mica178

NZ deserves at least 10-14 days to do it properly, and getting to Fiji from NZ is about 5 hours just to Nadi, then 1-1.5 hours to whatever nearby island you choose.  Personally, I'd choose one country rather than two.

maryv2468

Thank you all so much! This has been very helpful! Sorry I didn't originally post more specifics...we're hoping to go in October for 2 to 2.5 weeks. In Fiji, we are hoping to find a resort that caters to honeymooners and  has that "wow factor," but (hopefully!) still under $900 a night. NZ, we don't mind being outdoors and staying in more modest places. Jsquared, the camping idea sounds fun! We would certainly being willing to do that if October is the right season for it. For those of you who used travel agents/package websites, did you find the prices were lower, more, or about the same than booking it independently? Thanks again everyone!

aweb55

We just booked our two week honeymoon to Fiji.  We went through Easy Escapes and used Caroline Bracewell.  She was absolutely great!  We will be staying one week at Royal Davui (outer island) and one week on the main island at Intercontinental Resort and Spa.  Good luck planning!

Jells2dot0

I usually find that an agent is less for places in the South Pacific. For example, I was looking at airfare to Australia for my wedding/honeymoon and the air was less through an agent than it was online. Certain airlines had commissions built in- like Air New Zealand and Air Pacific, whereas the American carriers typically do not. So, you can usually book on a US airline for the same online as an agent.

Aweb- I have been to the InterContinental. It's a very beautiful resort and the food was delicious! Congrats on booking a lovely HM!

girlinchicago

You've gotten lots of good advice.  We did two weeks in Fiji for our wedding and honeymoon - first week at Royal Davui (definitely has that 'wow factor' you're looking for since it's on a private island and has ridiculous snorkeling and amazing accommodations) followed by five nights at Likuliku (the only overwater bungalows in Fiji - they are pricey, lovely, and the food at LL is fantastic).  I'd also recommend looking into Vatulele, Matangi, Qamea and Taveuni Palms. 

Caroline Bracewell helped me plan my trip too - I've given her name to a LOT of knotties.  She's good people.  

bobandkate.shutterfly.com - our pictures from Fiji