Yasawa Islands, Fiji – island hopping through western Fiji

After spending most of the season in the eastern part of Fiji, we were ready to move west. The western part of Fiji, consisting of the Yasawa and Mamanuca archipelagos, is the Fiji many people picture before they arrive: steep volcanic peaks, long white beaches and blue lagoons.

They are also among Fiji’s best-known island destinations, and are home to many resorts. Traveling through them gave us a good combination of accessing resort amenities as well as reaching quieter anchorages. We spent the first couple of weeks making our way south through the Yasawa island chain.

After seeing so much of Fiji from the water, it was good to stretch our legs and see some of the Yasawas from above. Most islands have good hikes, and the trails are often maintained by resort staff and also villagers.

Along the coast, we could see several resorts that were no longer in operation. It is probably a post-pandemic result. However, every now and then, we have seen resorts which are being refurbished and getting ready to open again. At one of these bays, we met the guys working to rebuild the resort, which treated us to coconuts after our hike.

One of the pleasures of being back in a slightly more travelled part of Fiji was having a few resorts within reach of the boat. We took advantage of it one evening and went ashore for a wonderful meal, a 10 course Omakase dinner at the Blue Lagoon resort. We had a lovely meal with two couples who lived in Melbourne, Australia, and were there for holidays.

The captain, of course, couldn’t resist seeing what the Yasawas looked like below the surface as well. He managed to squeeze in a few dives along the way and explored some of the reefs surrounding our anchorages.

After hopping between a few anchorages in the Yasawa islands, and experiencing quite a lot of wind and swell coming in to the anchorages, we decided it was time to head further south, towards the Mamanuca islands. It seemed to be a little more protection from the swell there, as well as less wind. And, last but not least, we had good friends there, whom we were looking forward to reunite with.