How to Island Hop the Yasawa Islands, Fiji
Updated: Aug 19
So you've decided to visit the Yasawa Islands — but how do you actually do it? Which ferry do you catch? Where do you buy tickets? How do you choose which islands to visit? And how do you book a homestay? After almost 3 weeks island hopping through Fiji, we've put together everything we learnt to help you plan your own trip through the Yasawa Islands.
Where Are the Yasawa Islands?
The Yasawa Islands are a remote chain of around 20 volcanic islands stretching northwest of Fiji's main island, Viti Levu, beyond the Mamanuca Islands. Known for their rugged mountains, beautiful beaches, crystal-clear water and incredible reefs, they feel a world away from the busier mainland.
Most travellers reach the islands by ferry from Port Denarau, with the journey taking anywhere from around two to five hours depending on which island you're heading to.
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How to Get to the Yasawa Islands
To get to the Yasawa Islands, Fiji, you need to fly into Nadi International Airport. From there, make your way by bus or taxi to Port Denarau, where the Yasawa Flyer departs for the islands.
We travelled on the Yasawa Flyer, operated by South Sea Cruises, using a Bula Pass — a hop-on/hop-off ferry pass that allowed us to travel between the islands at our own pace.
How the Yasawa Flyer Works
Once you're onboard the Yasawa Flyer, travelling between the islands is pretty straightforward.
Your larger luggage and backpacks are taken from you and stored at the back of the ferry, while you keep your smaller hand luggage with you. Then you can find a seat inside or outside, grab some snacks and relax until you reach your stop.
As the ferry approaches each island, the staff call out the name of the stop. When it's your turn to get off, the staff have a list with your name and the accommodation you're staying at, so they'll make sure you're getting off at the right place.
This is where it gets interesting! Small boats from the different resorts and homestays come out to meet the Yasawa Flyer. The crew help transfer your luggage onto the correct boat, you climb aboard, and your host or resort takes you the rest of the way to the island.
The small transfer boats are included with your accommodation, so you don't pay extra for the boat that collects you from the Yasawa Flyer and takes you to your homestay or resort.
When it's time to move on, it works in reverse. Your homestay or resort knows when the Yasawa Flyer is due and will organise your small boat transfer back out to meet it. The ferry follows its route north and south through the Yasawas, so you just need to be ready at the time your accommodation gives you.
It sounds a little confusing when you're trying to organise it all from home, but once you're there, it's actually incredibly easy and well organised. The ferry staff know exactly where everyone is going, and the island boats are there waiting when you arrive.
Do You Need to Book Your Ferry Stops in Advance?
Although the Bula Pass is advertised as hop-on/hop-off, your individual ferry stops still need to be booked.
We organised our entire route before leaving Australia. Once we'd booked our accommodation, we emailed Awesome Adventures Fiji with the dates we wanted to travel, which islands we were getting on and off at, and the name of each homestay or resort. They then updated our ferry bookings, which is why the staff onboard already had our names and accommodation details when we reached each stop.
You don't have to organise your entire itinerary before arriving in Fiji. Bula Pass transfers can also be booked as you travel, including at the travel desk onboard the Yasawa Flyer.
However, you'll need to have accommodation booked before you disembark, so the little boat will be there to collect you.
Bula Pass vs Individual Ferry Tickets: Which Should You Choose?
If you're only visiting one island, you probably don't need a Bula Pass. You can simply book an individual ferry transfer from Port Denarau to your accommodation and a return transfer back again.
If you're planning to island hop and stay in several different places, the Bula Pass is worth considering. It gives you unlimited travel on the Yasawa Flyer for a set number of days, so you can travel between different islands without buying a separate ferry ticket for every journey.
Bula Passes are available for 5–15 days, so the best option will depend on how long you're staying and how many islands you plan to visit.
We chose the Bula Pass because we were travelling through several islands and wanted the freedom to choose our own accommodation and route.
How to Plan Your Yasawa Islands Route
The first thing to consider when planning your route through the Yasawa Islands is how many days you have. This will determine how many islands you can realistically visit without feeling like you're constantly packing up and moving on.
We recommend staying at least two nights on each island. This gives you enough time to relax, explore and actually enjoy where you are before jumping back on the ferry again.
As a rough guide:
7 days: 2–3 islands
10 days: 3–4 islands
15 days: 4–5 islands
When planning our route, we also tried to avoid spending too many hours on the ferry at once. We gradually made our way north through the Yasawas, stopping at three different islands before reaching our northernmost point. On the way back south, we added another island stop to break up the return journey rather than sitting on the ferry all the way back to Port Denarau.
With the Bula Pass, you have plenty of flexibility to create a route that works for you. I'd recommend looking at the ferry route from south to north, choosing the islands you most want to visit, and then spacing them out so you're gradually moving in one direction rather than unnecessarily backtracking.
Every island we visited felt different, so don't feel like you need to rush through as many as possible. For us, having fewer stops and more time on each island made the trip much more enjoyable.
Our route: Port Denarau → Wayalailai/Wayasewa (Homestay) → Drawaqa (Barefoot Manta resort) → Nacula (Nabua Lodge) → Waya (Hometay near Octopus Resort) → Port Denarau
Which Yasawa Islands Should You Choose?
This was probably the hardest part of planning our trip! There are so many islands and accommodation options throughout the Yasawas, and each area offers something a little different.
Rather than simply choosing accommodation, think about what you most want to experience and build your route around that.
Wayasewa (Wayalailai) — Best Hiking & Reef Sharks
Wayasewa was one of our favourite stops for experiencing local island life. We stayed in a homestay, visited the village, met local families and had the opportunity to see a very different side of Fiji.
It's also a great choice if you want a little adventure. You can hike to the top of the Big Rock, and reef-shark snorkelling trips operate in the waters around Wayasewa and nearby Kuata.
Waya Island — Best for Snorkelling
Waya Island had some of the best snorkelling of our trip, with beautiful coral and tropical fish straight off the beach.
We stayed in a homestay near Octopus Resort. It sits on beautiful Likuliku Bay and has fantastic snorkelling directly from the beach. Octopus Resort is a beautiful resort well known for its kids' club.
Drawaqa Island — Best for Swimming With Manta Rays
If swimming with manta rays is high on your Fiji wish list, add Drawaqa Island to your route.
Between roughly May and October, manta rays gather to feed in the channel between Drawaqa and neighbouring Naviti Island. We stayed at Barefoot Manta Resort specifically for this experience, and swimming alongside them ended up being one of the highlights of our entire Fiji trip.
Nacula Island — Best for Sawa-i-Lau Caves & the Northern Yasawas
Nacula is a great base if you want to travel further north through the Yasawa Islands and visit the incredible Sawa-i-Lau Caves.
This part of the Yasawas feels particularly remote, with beautiful beaches, walking opportunities and access to the famous Blue Lagoon region.
Kuata Island — Best for Reef Sharks
If swimming with sharks is one of the experiences you're specifically travelling for, Kuata is worth considering.
Barefoot Kuata operates guided snorkelling trips to see resident white-tip and black-tip reef sharks, making this one of the best-known places in the Yasawas for a shark encounter.
So Which Islands Would We Choose?
If you're visiting several islands, I'd choose stops that give you different experiences.
You don't need to see every island. Choose the experiences that matter most to you, then use the Yasawa Flyer route to join them together.
How to Book Homestays in the Yasawa Islands
Many homestays in the Yasawa Islands can be booked through Booking.com, with some also available on Airbnb.
BOOKING TIP: Don't just search "Fiji" when looking for accommodation. Search individual islands as well, for example," Waya Island" — smaller locally owned properties can easily get lost among the big resorts.
Before booking, check the accommodation description carefully for any compulsory meal-plan costs, as these are often charged separately from the room price. Properties usually list these clearly in the booking details.
Mixing local stays with one or two resort stays gives you the best of both worlds.
Do You Need to Book Activities in Advance?
If you're staying in a homestay near something you know you want to do, such as snorkelling with reef sharks, I'd recommend messaging your host before you arrive. Let them know what you're interested in and they can often help organise it for you.
The same goes for resorts. If there are particular activities you'd like to do during your stay, contact them beforehand for peace of mind and to find out whether you need to reserve a place.
Swimming with manta rays is a little different. At Barefoot Manta, when manta rays are spotted in the nearby channel, a conch shell is blown to let everyone know. You then get ready and head out on the boat. Because the mantas are wild animals and their visits are not guaranteed.
For anything that's high on your wish list, my advice is to contact your accommodation before you arrive. Even if the activity can't be booked in advance, they'll be able to tell you how it works and what you need to do once you're there.
Handy Things to Know Before Island Hopping the Yasawas
💵 Get cash before leaving the mainland. ATMs are extremely limited in the Yasawa Islands, so withdraw enough Fijian dollars before you leave Nadi. Some resorts accept credit cards, but you'll still want cash for things like local boat trips, guides, smaller activities and tips.
🥨 Bring snacks. There aren't many shops once you're out in the Yasawas, so don't rely on being able to stock up along the way. We were always well fed at our accommodation, but having our own snacks was really handy between meals and on ferry days.
📱 Don't rely on Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi can be limited or nonexistent, particularly at smaller homestays and more remote accommodation.
🥽 Bring your own snorkelling gear. Some accommodation has gear available, but we loved having our own because we could snorkel straight from the beach whenever we wanted.
🎒 Pack light if you can. You'll be getting on and off ferries and climbing into small transfer boats between the Yasawa Flyer and the islands, so having luggage that's easy to manage makes island hopping much easier.
🚶On the islands we visited, there were no roads, cars or motorbikes. We simply walked between our accommodation, beaches and villages.
✈️ Travel insurance: We always recommend travelling with travel insurance, particularly when you're heading out to Fiji's more remote islands.
You can get a quote with World Nomads here.
We receive a fee when you get a quote from World Nomads using this link. We do not represent World Nomads. This is not a recommendation to buy travel insurance.
Is Island Hopping the Yasawa Islands Worth It?
Yes! Planning an island-hopping trip through the Yasawa Islands can feel a little confusing at first, but once you understand how the ferry, accommodation and island transfers work, it's easy.
For us, travelling between the islands was one of the best parts of our Fiji trip. Every island felt different, and moving between homestays, local villages and the occasional resort gave us the chance to experience so much more of the Yasawas.
Our biggest advice is don't try to see everything. Choose a few islands, stay at least two nights on each and give yourself time to actually enjoy island life.
Planning your Fiji trip? Read our Fiji on a Budget With Kids guide for more family-specific advice, or check out our Best Things to Do in the Yasawa Islands for our favourite experiences along the way.
More South Pacific Adventures
Planning more than just Fiji? You might also like:
🌴 Best South Pacific Islands for Families — compare Fiji, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, the Cook Islands and French Polynesia.
🏝️ 30 South Pacific Travel Tips— everything we’ve learnt travelling around the islands.
🌺 7-Day Vanuatu Itinerary — another fantastic option if you love exploring beyond the resorts.
🐠 New Caledonia with Kids: Best Islands & Itinerary — including Grande Terre, Isle of Pines and Ouvéa.
🌊 Bora Bora on a Budget — how we visited one of the world’s most expensive islands without the luxury-resort price tag.
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