What's the best tour in suva ?

[alymo]

Hi all, Just two weeks to my cruise N625 August 16th we are counting down the seconds. Was booked on N622 but changed or upgraded !! (Do not ASK).

Just wanted to know if any one can recommend a tour in Suva.

I have two young girls 6 and 7. I have heard so many different story's about this place that I am a bit worried about safety.

 

Pacific Sky P537N 14 Days 31st Oct 05

Pacific Sun N625 14 Days 16th Aug 06

[Skyrules]

Hi all, Just two weeks to my cruise N625 August 16th we are counting down the seconds. Was booked on N622 but changed or upgraded !! (Do not ASK).

Just wanted to know if any one can recommend a tour in Suva.

I have two young girls 6 and 7. I have heard so many different story's about this place that I am a bit worried about safety.

 

Pacific Sky P537N 14 Days 31st Oct 05

Pacific Sun N625 14 Days 16th Aug 06

 

I'd recommend doing any tour that takes you out of Suva. I wouldn't exactly say it's dangerous, but it's quite dirty, and noisy and the locals can get a bit pushy when they realise you are a tourist.

 

We did Tour SUV-E - Fiji's Capital Suva & Historical Museum (1/2 day tour) which was a sightseeing tour of the town followed by a visit to the museum, a drink a the Holiday Inn on the Harbour and a stop at a shop in the city described as a "craft shop" but which is actually little more than a small department store, and not very cheap either. The tour was OK, but there were better ones on offer than with hindsight I wish we'd done instead. But it was my first visit to Suva and I wanted to see as much as I could.

 

My parent's did Tour SUV-A Pacific Harbour Cultural Extravaganza, and they loved it - it goes to a Cultural village, where they demonstate the traditional fire walking and other local culture, and apparently there's some really nice craft stalls and things there. This also includes a bit of a sightseeing tour on the drive to and from the centre.

 

If you do choose to go into town on your own - just keep your wits about you - and listen to the very sound advice that they'll give you onboard the ship, about the traps you can fall into with the "souvenier" sellers that gather on the road between the wharf and the town centre.

 

Kym

[alymo]

Thank you for your reply. We will definately take your advice. Much appreciated.

 

 

 

 

Pacific Sky P537N 13 Days 31st Oct 05

Pacific Sun N625 14 Days 16th Aug 06

[maf101]

I'm a bit worried about Suva. We didn't book any tours there. We booked a lot of tours for Villa and Noumea.

 

I'm surprised there wasn't any sporting type tours in Suva. Most of the tours in Suva seemed to be culture related and they seemed overpriced.

[howsthis]

We are being met by friends in Suva and taken to their place for the day but I am wondering if the other stops on our cruise while in Fiji have tours or not. Dravuni Island and Yasawa-I-Rara. Anyone know????

[maf101]

We are being met by friends in Suva and taken to their place for the day but I am wondering if the other stops on our cruise while in Fiji have tours or not. Dravuni Island and Yasawa-I-Rara. Anyone know????

 

We was given a tour book which list tours for; Noumea, Lifou, Hienghene, Emerald Bay, Port Villa, Luganville, Suva, Vava'u, Nuku'alofa and Apia.

[Gyyp]

We are being met by friends in Suva and taken to their place for the day but I am wondering if the other stops on our cruise while in Fiji have tours or not. Dravuni Island and Yasawa-I-Rara. Anyone know????

 

No tours in Yasawa or Dravuni, Dravuni is only a small island.

[Gyyp]

Hi all, Just two weeks to my cruise N625 August 16th we are counting down the seconds. Was booked on N622 but changed or upgraded !! (Do not ASK).

Just wanted to know if any one can recommend a tour in Suva.

I have two young girls 6 and 7. I have heard so many different story's about this place that I am a bit worried about safety.

 

Pacific Sky P537N 14 Days 31st Oct 05

Pacific Sun N625 14 Days 16th Aug 06

 

If you don't go on a tour in Suva I wouldn't even leave the ship, I did the 4 hour cultural tour which was good then walked around town after lunch but very hot, dirty and dissapointing, heard several people talk about being hassled by the locals.

[Skyrules]

If you don't go on a tour in Suva I wouldn't even leave the ship, I did the 4 hour cultural tour which was good then walked around town after lunch but very hot, dirty and dissapointing, heard several people talk about being hassled by the locals.

 

Sounds like you had the same experience in Suva that we did.

 

I'd have to agree. And you don't need to leave the ship to get the full Suva experience, just stand anywhere outside and you'll get to experience all the sights, and most definetly the sounds, of Suva!

 

Although there was one good thing about going ashore at Suva - after a week of coffee's made with UHT milk it was nice to get a latte made with REAL milk :)

[Skyrules]

We are being met by friends in Suva and taken to their place for the day but I am wondering if the other stops on our cruise while in Fiji have tours or not. Dravuni Island and Yasawa-I-Rara. Anyone know????

 

No tours at Yasawa - in fact nothing much at all at Yasawa except a lovely swimming beach. Also, if the tide's out, turn left as you leave the pontoon and walk along the beach and around the headland - and you'll come across a bit a beach that's a bit more seculded - it was lovely and relaxing.

[howsthis]

Thanks for your replies, Suva sounds like Noumea, didn't like Noumea at all.

[Skyrules]

Thanks for your replies, Suva sounds like Noumea, didn't like Noumea at all.

 

The big difference between Noumea & Suva is that in Noumea they don't really care about the cruise ships coming in, but in Suva cruise ship arrivals are still a big thing.

 

In Noumea you basically get ignored by the locals.

 

In Suva you get all the locals coming down to the wharf - the dodgy souvenier sellers trying to rip you off, the shady characters trying sell you any manner of 'substances', or the other shady characters trying to sell you 'great investment opportunities' (I got offered all 3 within 5 minutes).

[alymo]

Hi all,

Thanks for your input on Suva. We are a family of 4 and the cost of some of the tours in Suva for four hours will cost in excess of $300.00, sounds a bit excessive.

I have heard that hiring a vehicle and driver can be a bit terrifying. Due to their bad or radical driving skills. Do you know if this is the case.

In taking this into account can anyone recommend hiring an independant vehicle vs an arranged tour. If so where should we head too? We have done this in the past in Villa and found it OK.

[Skyrules]

Hi all,

Thanks for your input on Suva. We are a family of 4 and the cost of some of the tours in Suva for four hours will cost in excess of $300.00, sounds a bit excessive.

I have heard that hiring a vehicle and driver can be a bit terrifying. Due to their bad or radical driving skills. Do you know if this is the case.

In taking this into account can anyone recommend hiring an independant vehicle vs an arranged tour. If so where should we head too? We have done this in the past in Villa and found it OK.

 

The acutal driving in Suva wasn't too bad, but from what I've heard you need to be careful about hiring taxi's - there's a risk they'll give you a price - but when you get away from the ship the price will double, or more.

[maf101]

If you don't go on a tour in Suva I wouldn't even leave the ship

Is Suva really this bad? We're most likely going to brave getting off the ship. Is there any positive things to experience in Suva? I know Alymo asked this, but what else is there to do in Suva beside tours?

 

These are the tours the ship has to offer. My mother has limited mobility and will need her wheelchair. Can anyone recommend any of these tours? We've already spent $300 to $500 each on tours. I doubt anyone will want to spend much more.

$62 [3 hours] - A Tropical delight Raffles Tradewind Hotel

$69 [3 hours] - Fijis capital Suva & historical museum

$79 [3 1/2 hours] - Rewa Delta & Naililili village

$82 [3 1/2 hours] - Rewa Delta village tour Sewani Village

$67 [4 hours] - Rainforest walk

$105 [4 hours] - Pacific Harbour cultural extravaganza

$139 [6 hours] - The jewel of Fiji

$299 [6 1/2 hours] - Big game fishing

$145 [8 hours] - Vavua river cruise & Namuamua Village

 

If you hire a taxi how much does it end up costing? Are we talking about a $20 cab turning into $45 or something like a $50 cab ride turning into $230?

 

One more question. The locals who harass you, will they take 'no' as an answer or will they become violent?

[aussiedisneyfan]

My Uncle has spent a lot of time in Fiji and said he thought he Pacific Harbour tour would be nice. It wasn't offered on our trip.

 

We walked around town and then up to the "something" gardens and the Fiji Museum. It was a hot walk but not really too far. The museum wasn't too dear and had a wonderful airconditioned shop which we recouperated in a couple of times.

 

The visitors bureau told us a taxi would have been no more than couple of dollars and when we asked about a cab ride back to the ship the driver said $10. We walked.

[Skyrules]

Is Suva really this bad? We're most likely going to brave getting off the ship. Is there any positive things to experience in Suva? I know Alymo asked this, but what else is there to do in Suva beside tours?

 

These are the tours the ship has to offer. My mother has limited mobility and will need her wheelchair. Can anyone recommend any of these tours? We've already spent $300 to $500 each on tours. I doubt anyone will want to spend much more.

$62 [3 hours] - A Tropical delight Raffles Tradewind Hotel

$69 [3 hours] - Fijis capital Suva & historical museum

$79 [3 1/2 hours] - Rewa Delta & Naililili village

$82 [3 1/2 hours] - Rewa Delta village tour Sewani Village

$67 [4 hours] - Rainforest walk

$105 [4 hours] - Pacific Harbour cultural extravaganza

$139 [6 hours] - The jewel of Fiji

$299 [6 1/2 hours] - Big game fishing

$145 [8 hours] - Vavua river cruise & Namuamua Village

 

If you hire a taxi how much does it end up costing? Are we talking about a $20 cab turning into $45 or something like a $50 cab ride turning into $230?

 

One more question. The locals who harass you, will they take 'no' as an answer or will they become violent?

 

We did this - $69 [3 hours] - Fijis capital Suva & historical museum

 

My parents did this - $105 [4 hours] - Pacific Harbour cultural extravaganza

 

While the visit to the Museum was good - and it was interesting to see a bit of the "suburban" parts of Suva, things like the stop at the Holiday Inn and the shopping at the 'market' (basically a small department store) could have been missed.

 

My parents spoke quite positively about the Pacific Harbour tour, and I believe it would be suitable for people with mobility problems.

 

No - locals won't become violent (well the one's I encountered didn't) - but they also don't take no for an answer very easily either. I guess it's just that they are seeing relatively "rich" people coming and want to make the most of the opportunity. The guy who tried to get me to invest in his business opportunity was never rude about it - just very very persisitant, and insistant that I leave him my business card so he could contact me when I got back to Australia, etc... Told him I was on holiday and didn't have business cards - and needed to get back to the ship because it was nearly sailing time and I didn't want to miss the ship.

[Have a Good Trip]

Hi all, Just two weeks to my cruise N625 August 16th we are counting down the seconds. Was booked on N622 but changed or upgraded !! (Do not ASK).

Just wanted to know if any one can recommend a tour in Suva.

I have two young girls 6 and 7. I have heard so many different story's about this place that I am a bit worried about safety

 

Personally, as a parent of children the same age as yours, I'd recommend staying onboard the ship and enjoying having it all to yourselves! Having been to all the ports of call on your cruise, I think you will enjoy them all except this one. My favourites would be Yasawa and Vila.

 

Tim