Fiji has a well-earned reputation as a top family destination, with its many islands lending themselves to aquatic and land activities that parents and children will love.
A lot of Fijian resorts started life as romantic getaway destinations for couples but have adapted to suit families, making them perfect holiday spots.
Castaway Island
Castaway Island has been hosting families from around the world for more than 50 years. It’s won many awards and has something for everyone. Activity and food offerings are designed with families in mind, and even the accommodation is tailor-made; Castaway has specially designed bures for large families needing extra space.
Family meal times on Castaway are relaxing, with kids able to help themselves from the buffet at the Water’s Edge restaurant. Parents can enjoy a drink and meal in peace while on-site babysitters entertain the kids.
Fijians love kids and will be only too happy to take yours off your hands. Castaway’s kids’ club will give your children a dream holiday, entertaining them with ice-cream eating competitions, crab hunting and snorkeling lessons. They’ll even get to try traditional Fijian games. Meanwhile, you can go snorkeling, scuba diving or surfing, or simply curl up in the sun with a book. The kids’ club is open from 9am-10pm daily and caters to children over three.
If you’d rather keep everyone together, there’s plenty of family fun to be had – banana boat rides, paddle boarding or hand-line fishing at sunset, for example. Castaway is so good you’ll never want to go home.
Malolo Island Resort
Malolo is the perfect holiday spot for the active family, with all guests having access to free activities within the resort, including snorkelling, kayaking, sailing, windsurfing and beach volleyball. What better way to spend some family bonding time?
You’ll be treated like royalty here. Throw yourself into activities, drink in panoramic Pacific Ocean views while you laze about in a hammock, or treat yourself to a soak in the resort’s beautiful rainforest spa.
Don’t worry about the kids; they’ll be kept busy. Children are always welcome at Malolo. There’s a free club for 4-12-year-olds run by experienced staff, and there’s a menu just for them in the resort’s restaurant.
The Bula Club
Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort’s popular Bula Club has fun programmes for kids under five and 6-12-year-olds. The club offers a daily schedule of activities guaranteed to tire your little angels out. They’ll learn about the environment and the Fijian culture along the way.
There are nannies dedicated to each child under five, and a buddy is assigned to older children. That means parents can squeeze some worry-free alone time into the holiday. Who wouldn’t want that? Best of, it’s free.
Kids will also love Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort’s fresh water swimming pool, waterslide, jungle gym, sandpit and extensive range of arts and crafts.
Plantation Island Resort
From the minute you set foot on Plantation Island you know you’ve arrived in paradise. Nestled into Malolo LaiLai Island just 10 minutes by air from Nadi International Airport, the 23-acre resort stretches along 7km of white sandy beaches. Throw in tropical landscaped gardens, towering coconut palms, a sheltered lagoon and accommodation ranging from hotel rooms to traditional bures, and you’ll see why families flock here for relaxing holidays.
Explore the island as a family, or send the kids off to do their own thing – it’s your choice.
The free Coconut Club will keep younger kids out of your hair all day, if you like, and extra nanny and child minding facilities are available on request. The club’s organised activities run daily from 10.30am – 9pm, with a break for lunch and dinner.
Got teenagers? They’ll be well catered for too, with the Lairo Club giving them a chance to make new friends and challenge themselves with new activities.
With activities including a bouncy castle, ball pit, canoe racing, weaving lessons, limbo competitions and much more, your children will think Plantation is paradise, whatever their ages. Having visited the resort as a child, I can vouch for that.
Vomo Island
Staff members at Vomo know fitting quality time with family into busy schedules can be tricky. So they’ve worked hard to create – and maintain – this luxury private escape that welcomes families year-round.
Its 28 villas are dotted between palm trees that line soft, sandy beaches. Five-star cuisine and some of the best snorkeling around help make it an unforgettable place to stay.
So does Vomo’s Kids Village. Free to resort guests, the village is open daily. The air-conditioned facility is accessed via a fun suspension bridge and features a playroom for the under-fours, a kitchen, media room and cubby house, undercover play areas, a dress-up wardrobe and craft tables. Vomo’s experienced baby butlers and nannies will supervise and entertain children, and the club even has its own chef, who will dish up special kids meals in the dedicated dining area.
Kids from 8-12 years old who can swim well can join a Bubble Blowers Course in the swimming pool, where experts will teach them how to safely explore the underwater world.
Featured image by Tourism Fiji
