Best day island cruise from Lautoka Fiji

Hi, just wondering what is the most beautiful island you can go to on a one day cruise from Lautoka (preferably independent but will consider thru cruise ship if no other option)? Really want my Mum to see the beautiful side of Fiji and not just Nadi/Lautoka. Luxury trip with great lunch and good amentities on arrivals - something a bit special if possible. Thanks

Hi, just wondering what is the most beautiful island you can go to on a one day cruise from Lautoka (preferably independent but will consider thru cruise ship if no other option)? Really want my Mum to see the beautiful side of Fiji and not just Nadi/Lautoka. Luxury trip with great lunch and good amentities on arrivals - something a bit special if possible. Thanks

I don't know what ship you will be on, but you might be wise to go with the ship. I know there are independent trips from Port Denarau (probably more than half an hour's drive from Lautoka), but when I have looked at this in the past the timing didn't work out well. To get back in time (and that was to Port Denarau) there was very little time available to spend on the island.

Another suggestion is to take a taxi and look around the area. The orchid garden, Garden of the Sleeping Giant is lovely. This belonged to the actor Raymond Burr. Visiting a Fijian village is interesting. Maybe go to Port Denarau by taxi and spend time in the resorts. Visitors can use the pools and restaurants. The beach is crap.

P.S. The more I think about, the more I think the taxi idea would be best. You could easily get a taxi to the orchid garden and have him wait. From there go to the resorts in Port Denarau and let him go. Spend a few hours at the pool, having a drink and lunch. When you are finished, there would be taxis to take you back to the ship. The resorts there are really top class and as lovely as any you find on an island and there would be no worry about getting a boat back in time to reach the ship before sail-away time.

I don't know what ship you will be on, but you might be wise to go with the ship. I know there are independent trips from Port Denarau (probably more than half an hour's drive from Lautoka), but when I have looked at this in the past the timing didn't work out well. To get back in time (and that was to Port Denarau) there was very little time available to spend on the island.

 

Another suggestion is to take a taxi and look around the area. The orchid garden, Garden of the Sleeping Giant is lovely. This belonged to the actor Raymond Burr. Visiting a Fijian village is interesting. Maybe go to Port Denarau by taxi and spend time in the resorts. Visitors can use the pools and restaurants. The beach is crap.

 

P.S. The more I think about, the more I think the taxi idea would be best. You could easily get a taxi to the orchid garden and have him wait. From there go to the resorts in Port Denarau and let him go. Spend a few hours at the pool, having a drink and lunch. When you are finished, there would be taxis to take you back to the ship. The resorts there are really top class and as lovely as any you find on an island and there would be no worry about getting a boat back in time to reach the ship before sail-away time.

These are great suggestions, if you are really fixed on going to an island you could try a helicopter transfer. Heli-tours or Island Hoppers, but you would still run the risk of not getting back in time if there was bad weather or a mechanical problem.

I do understand you wish to go out to an island, on our second trip to Fiji we did a 7 night Blue Lagoon cruise to the Yasawas, truly unforgettable, come to think of it that was our first cruise, we don't think of it as a cruise, only 64 of us on board so it was more like a private tour.

Hi, just wondering what is the most beautiful island you can go to on a one day cruise from Lautoka (preferably independent but will consider thru cruise ship if no other option)? Really want my Mum to see the beautiful side of Fiji and not just Nadi/Lautoka. Luxury trip with great lunch and good amentities on arrivals - something a bit special if possible. Thanks

Despite the presence of cruise ships, Lautoka is not a tourist town. It's basically an industrial port for sugar and wood chips.

Most ships will have excursions for several different island day trips. The boats for these trips line up on the wharf on the other side of the building where the ship docks. These boats are normally based in Denarau, about 40km south of Lautoka.

What you could try is to contact one of the tour operators, like Oolala Cruises, to see if they allow independent passengers on trips from Lautoka.

Other than that, you can book through the ship. Unfortunately you pay a considerable premium for that.

Oolala is not the only island day trip, but it gets the best reviews.

Another vote for Savala Island oolala cruises. Had a fab day with them. The water was beautiful and there was lots to do. Ours was a ship tour thru Royal Caribbean. Doubt you would be able to book privately when there is already a ship tour running. Our cruise ship had booked out both oolala cruise boats for the day.

That is what I had in mind; that day cruise sounds great. Happy to go with the cruise ship option if that is the way to go.

That is what I had in mind; that day cruise sounds great. Happy to go with the cruise ship option if that is the way to go.

I have heard only good reports on this trip. :)

Just remember Lautoka is on the wet side of the Island. Our tour to an Island had to be cancelled as on the day we called the rain was so heavy the boats could not see where they going.:eek:

My experience recently with the prices of full day trip ship excursions is they are very comparable with if you booked privately the identical tour. The shorter 'walking tours' etc I feel are the bigger ripoff. Look at this example:

 

Oolala Savala day tour booked privately is FJD$208 pp according the the website - which is AUD$138 today. Carnival website is showing this excursion as AUD$130 per adult... CHEAPER than booking privately.

 

I went on a ships day tour from Airlie Beach to Hamilton island last month which was $170pp. The ferry transfer we took alone would have been $120pp privately. We also got a private coach transfer to and from tender dropoff to the ferry terminal, $15 lunch voucher and the safety net of a guide with us to guarantee our retrun to the ship. So really that was at least break even.

Interesting price comparisons. :)

Oolala Savala day tour booked privately is FJD$208 pp according the the website - which is AUD$138 today. Carnival website is showing this excursion as AUD$130 per adult... CHEAPER than booking privately.

That's interesting. I went there with HAL last month and they wanted US$199 for the Oolala Savala excursion. Which at the time was about A$275.

Highly recommend taking the ships tour. We did one off of voyager of the seas back in 2013.

We went with a captain cook trip. It was utter crap.

And we were late back. Captain had to hold the set sail/ departure for us. But we got a 100% refund. rcl were fabulous about it. That's the beauty of booking through the ship.

Another vote for Savala Island oolala cruises. Had a fab day with them. The water was beautiful and there was lots to do. Ours was a ship tour thru Royal Caribbean. Doubt you would be able to book privately when there is already a ship tour running. Our cruise ship had booked out both oolala cruise boats for the day.

Hi, can you give me more details about this? The Royal site says it's strenuous and has lots of warning, why? Says not to select if you have mobility issues but it doesn't say what the issues are. Thanks!

Hi, can you give me more details about this? The Royal site says it's strenuous and has lots of warning, why? Says not to select if you have mobility issues but it doesn't say what the issues are. Thanks!

I don't actually know, but I would suspect it is to do with getting in and out of the boat. I don't think the crew would be willing to carry anyone ashore.

We did the South Sea Island excursion through Princess a few years ago. It's similar to the Oolala one but uses a fast catamaran to get from the ship to the island.

The reason that Royal Caribbean may say the Oolala trip is "strenuous" is that there probably isn't a wharf at the island that Oolala goes to. There wasn't at South Sea Island. Instead we had to change from the catamaran to a smaller boat to go ashore. This involved stepping down onto the side of the smaller boat, then onto a bench seat, then onto the deck of the boat. I think there was something to step onto at the beach end but, again, we had to go over the side of the boat. Anyone with mobility issues would find this very awkward, and maybe impossible to do.

Also note that if a ship has an excursion going to one of these islands it may not be possible to do a private excursion there at the same time.

We did the South Sea Island excursion through Princess a few years ago. It's similar to the Oolala one but uses a fast catamaran to get from the ship to the island.

 

The reason that Royal Caribbean may say the Oolala trip is "strenuous" is that there probably isn't a wharf at the island that Oolala goes to. There wasn't at South Sea Island. Instead we had to change from the catamaran to a smaller boat to go ashore. This involved stepping down onto the side of the smaller boat, then onto a bench seat, then onto the deck of the boat. I think there was something to step onto at the beach end but, again, we had to go over the side of the boat. Anyone with mobility issues would find this very awkward, and maybe impossible to do.

 

Also note that if a ship has an excursion going to one of these islands it may not be possible to do a private excursion there at the same time.

I have done Savala Island 3 times and I would recommend it any day to anyone - except those who have mobility issues.

I can confirm the need to step from a larger boat to a smaller boat to transfer to the island, then step from the small boat onto the island/beach.

The crew will go above and beyond to get guests to and from the boats to the island however this is certainly NOT for non-ambulant folks or kids in pushers or prams etc.

I have seen them physically pick up people and carry them between the sand and the boat but only because that person was an elderly Italian man who decided to wear his sunday best long trousers and shiney shoes to the island ........

As I said I have done Savala three times, and I am looking forward to doing so again it is that good for me.