Fiji, Raro or Samoa???
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Topic: Fiji, Raro or Samoa???
Posted By: BeLoved
Subject: Fiji, Raro or Samoa???
Date Posted: 20 July 2009 at 2:39pm
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Has anyone been to these islands and if so what did you think? Were they child friendly? If you have been to more than one which was better? and any hotel recommendations would be appreciated.
DH & I are thinking of going with DD once he is back in a couple of months time, I want to go somewhere that is relaxing and child friendly.......and cheap too of course, so I am keeping my eyes & ears open for a good deal! ------------- http://alterna-tickers.com"> 
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Replies:
Posted By: kebakat
Date Posted: 20 July 2009 at 3:03pm
| I loved raro. We went before we had Daniel but I remember seeing little ones on the bus that goes around the island. It's definitely relaxing. You can get around simply by the buses which are cheap. We stayed at moana sands which we loved and had a great beach out our door (one of the better ones for snorkelling) but with a little one maybe one of the bigger resorts might have more kiddy friendly activities actually as part of the resort as ours was just a hotel |
Posted By: Bombshell
Date Posted: 20 July 2009 at 3:20pm
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you probably wont get anywhere near Samoa at moment as Survivor is filming there...the accomodation etc cancelled peoples vacations and so Raro is pretty busy hence why they are advertising non resorts at moment...the resorts are filled with the cancelled bookings from samoa!
I adore raro tho - would recommend the raro beach resort and great for kids there. Muri beach is the best and heaps of places to explore - get a rental car and possibly take your carseat with you! It is 50km zones so pretty safe driving (and easy!) around the island which is only 32 kms roundtrip! Safe beaches mostly as it is a lagoon so rough waters are over the bar. Fiji - well I am currently admiring the Radisson after friends went last month and it looked divine! AM hoping to convince DH to go there later in year if not early next year when summer dies off.... |
Posted By: kiwigal
Date Posted: 20 July 2009 at 3:32pm
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I have been to Samoa and Fiji. I can't remember too much about Samoa as I went over there when I was 9 or 10 the only good place to go to in Fiji is the resorts. Dh went over there for work one time and was in Suva the capital and was held up at knife point so we are never going back there. |
Posted By: HoneybunsMa
Date Posted: 20 July 2009 at 3:39pm
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I have only been to Samoa, and that was only because we went over to DPs family for xmas one year so yes probably biased. From experience with Sa depending on if your fussy with food or not (which I can be!) if your willing to eat anything and everything taro etc then it isn't too expensive, they have maccas there and every meal is $15 tala (samoan currency) There are a few really nice restaurants one in particular that did a fettucine to die for I'm not a fan of island food and don't eat meat so choices were limited. If you do make it there then go to Peanukies I think its spelt basic island food, curries, etc but quite good in reality (yet again biased as sil husbands restaurant lol, if you see a little half asian boy running round thats my nephew) Transport wise don't take a bus. They are an experience and a half that DP and his uncles wouldn't even let me near. They are fitted out with huge speaker systems and wooden seats. The locals see tourists and try to get them to sit on their laps not entirely sure why on this one lol. But taxis are cheap as chips anyway. We used to taxi from Apia central city to papa loloa which was the village we were staying in for $5tala which was probably about a 10-20min drive. There are two markets there the old and the new where you can get bargains. DPs sis who lives there still haggles for things lol. A nice but expensive place to stay is Aggie Grays there are two hotels the city one and the lagoon one to choose from otherwise hotel kitana. On sundays alot of things aren't open until about 2pm because of church services so keep that in mind. Any other questions feel free to pm me ------------- http://www.myfitnesspal.com/weight-loss-ticker"> 
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Posted By: lisa85
Date Posted: 20 July 2009 at 3:46pm
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My parents took me to Fiji a couple of times as a kid. They also took me to Disney land in Paris when I was 11 and I have to say even at that age I preferred Fiji to Disney land so I guess that tells you something lol.
The thing I remember most is that it always smelt like coconuts & sunscreen. I can't wait to go back one day..... -------------  
TTC #3 since Jan 2010 - PCOS MC April 2010 |
Posted By: HoneybunsMa
Date Posted: 20 July 2009 at 4:17pm
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Oh was also going to add that maybe you could try looking at a club med package at one of the other islands or Australia or something. That way all your meals accomodation etc are included You can pay extra for under 23mths to be looked after. I probably have more to say about Sa as well but got distracted as the god kids have shown up and are meeting DD for the first time lol ------------- http://www.myfitnesspal.com/weight-loss-ticker">
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Posted By: CarrieMum
Date Posted: 20 July 2009 at 4:39pm
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I went to Fiji last year and it was awesome. We went to Plantation Island and it was very child friendly. They had a kids club and babysitting available too. We didn't have children when we went last year but are planning a trip back there next year with our whole extended family and our baby will be 1 by then. ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow">  http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: .Mel
Date Posted: 20 July 2009 at 5:50pm
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I love Fiji, the people and the islands everything is just lovely! Fijians love kids and are fantastic hosts. The first time we went we stayed at the Shangri-la Resort the kids were 7 and 1. We went back in March this year and they were 13, 6 and 19mths... We chose to do the island thing this time around and I loved it even more. We will definitely go back.
------------- Mr Mellow (16) Miss Attitude (8) Destructa Kid (3) 
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Posted By: myfullhouse
Date Posted: 20 July 2009 at 8:33pm
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We went to Rarotonga for our honeymoon 5 years ago and stayed at The Rarotongan and loved it. My uncle had taken my cousins not long before we went and so had DH's boss and his family. They both thought the kids club there was great. DH isn't one for blobbing out and there was just enough for us to do in a week - Safari Tour, Island tour, snorkelling with fish. Would love to go back.
I went to Samoa 14yrs ago but stayed with family. I am dying to take DH there some day. We went to fiafia (sp??) night at Aggies in town and Hotel Tusitala and both were great. I would suggest Aggies Lagoon or Sinalei (where my parents stayed a few years ago) as they are outside of Apia and would have great beach swimming. Aggies in town and Tusitala will only have pool swimming. I would think that both Samoa and Rarotonga will be relatively cheap ------------- Lindsey 
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Posted By: pickle
Date Posted: 20 July 2009 at 8:40pm
Fiji is fabulous. We have takern DS at the age of 3 and 4 and we are off again in 3 weeks with both kids and grace is only 6 months. The fijians are wonderful with the kids. Wouldnt hesiate to recommend it  ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: MrsJMcD
Date Posted: 20 July 2009 at 9:17pm
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love fiji! I've been twice and DH has been nearly every year since he was 5 years old.
we recently stayed at the sofitel on denerau and it was great, had great facilities for kids...an awesome pool, reasonable beach (by denerau standards) kids club etc. |
Posted By: linda
Date Posted: 20 July 2009 at 9:24pm
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For our next island holiday we're going to go to Rarotonga. The thing that appeals with this is that once you land your resort wont be a big drive away as Raro is not that huge.
We're been to Fiji a couple of times, and I really liked it but the travel time to and from the resort is quite long. It does of course depend where you stay but we stayed at the Shangri La Fijian and it was great for families but it took a couple of hours to get there from the airport. If you head out to one of the islands then you will have another flight or have to take a transfer to the wharf and then a ferry to the island. All very doable but it just adds so much extra travel time and less relaxing time (well, thats my opinion anyway). Not sure when we will next get to the islands, it will be Gold Coast for us for the next few holidays I think! ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
Alex 6 and Harry 8 |
Posted By: kabe
Date Posted: 20 July 2009 at 9:25pm
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Plantation Island in Fiji is great for family's. Pickle, where do you stay? ------------- http://alterna-tickers.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: fattartsrock
Date Posted: 20 July 2009 at 11:30pm
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We went to plantation island in august last year with our just turned 3 yr old and 18 monther. It was AWESOME, and every day this past week or so I have been thinking so much about how much I want to go back.... ------------- The Honest Un PC Parent of 2, usually stuck in the naughty corner! :P |
Posted By: Huggles
Date Posted: 21 July 2009 at 9:11am
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i have been to all three islands.
I am a travel agent so get to see a lot of the properties. Fiji - Plantation is you are wanting an island - reasonable pricing. Radission on the mainland is pretty awesome too however more expensive Raro - Rarotongan beach resort or the edgewater. they have kids clubs Samoa - Aggie greys lagoon resort would have been the best for you and the kids but it is booked out as Survivor (i think) is been filmed there. personally i would do RAROTONGA... i love it as it is like been on an island but you can zoom to other properties and enjoy there beaches and food. the other plus thing is that it is NZD$. Hope that helps |
Posted By: .Mel
Date Posted: 26 July 2009 at 10:18am
I want to go back sooner rather than later.... I loved it there. ------------- Mr Mellow (16) Miss Attitude (8) Destructa Kid (3)
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fattartsrock wrote:Posted By: Red
Date Posted: 26 July 2009 at 11:30am
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There is a really good special advertised for Aggie Greys Lagoon Resort in the Sunday paper which I am eyeing up with House of Travel - I think they are greasing up because they annoyed quite a few people with cancellations due to Survivor! Am very tempted indeed
Raro is quite a bit more exp at the mo and my travel agent said this was due to not alot of flight availability. |
Posted By: Bexee
Date Posted: 26 July 2009 at 1:14pm
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Just to add my two cents worth, Raro is great. We went over a couple of years ago (it's where we got engaged!) and stayed at Pacific Resort on Muri Lagoon and it was awesome. The resort was possibly a bit pricey but once over there we didn't find it very expensive - and it's NZ dollars which is nice and easy. Totally relaxing, great for kids, and some fab eating places for cheap. And really easy to get around.
Went to Fiji a year ago and stayed at the Shangri La. In terms of stuff for kids to do, they seemed to have an awesome programme and the Shangri La has great beach/pool/everything there. but it was prolly more expensive to eat/drink/do things and I've heard it's gone up since then. My vote would prolly go to Raro :) |
Posted By: jano1
Date Posted: 26 July 2009 at 3:41pm
My advice-when making your decision- check the weather for the area when you decide where you want to go (e.g. rainy or dry season). We went to Raro a couple of years ago and it rained every day apart from 1  We ended up watching dvd's and sitting inside which wasn't the greatest way to spend a holiday. If we had known that Raro at that time was going to be that wet we would have gone somewhere else (my friend was in Fiji at the same time with beautiful weather). When we got home quite a few people said the same thing had happened to them in Raro.
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Posted By: tiptoes
Date Posted: 26 July 2009 at 4:26pm
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I've been to samoa and loved it - but didn't have kids. My friend went to Samoa and Fiji with kids and she said the Fijians were fantastic with kids and babysitting whereas the Samoan's weren't so much. They loved Samoa the most though and were considering having their wedding there but child-wise they found it easier on Fiji.
Kinda sounds like Samoa is out at the moment anyway. Good point about the weather than jano mentioned as rain on the islands can be a pain. We went in February to Samoa and it rained most days but only for a tiny little bit and then the sun came out so wasn't a biggie, but would have been stink if it had rained all the time. ------------- http://alterna-tickers.com">  
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Posted By: Red
Date Posted: 26 July 2009 at 10:31pm
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I got married in Fiji at the beginning of last September and the weather was awesome the whole week we were there. 30 degrees everyday. I do fancy going somewhere where I don't have to travel too far to a decent beach which is the prob with Fiji and all the cheaper return flights are early in the morning which is a bit sucky.
I have been an tripadvisor.com and there is some really helpful feedback on there. |