How to Travel the Yasawa Islands, Fiji: Homestays, Resorts & Local Experiences

There’s a version of Fiji that most people picture.

Beautiful resorts, swimming pools, palm trees and cocktails by the beach.

And while there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, there’s another side of Fiji that’s surprisingly easy to experience.

We spent almost 3 weeks island hopping through Fiji with our kids, mixing a resort stay with local homestays and small family-run accommodation.

We ate meals with our hosts, snorkelled straight from the beach, wandered through villages, explored the islands and organised boat trips with local families.

If you're looking for a Fiji trip with a little more adventure and a lot more connection to the islands, here's how we did it.

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Look Beyond the Big Resorts

The easiest way to experience a different side of Fiji is simply to change where you stay.

Alongside the big resorts, you'll find homestays, guesthouses, locally owned bungalows and simple beachfront accommodation — particularly once you head out to the islands.

You can find homestays on Airbnb, but it's also worth searching Booking.com for Fiji accommodation as they have a great selection across the islands.

Some of our stays were incredibly simple, but that was part of what we loved.

We ate home-cooked meals with our hosts, met their families, learnt about village life and got recommendations for places and experiences we never would have found ourselves.

BOOKING TIP: Don't just search "Fiji" when looking for accommodation. Search individual islands as well foe example, "Waya Island" — smaller locally owned properties can easily get lost among the big resorts.

Head to the Yasawa Islands

If you want beautiful beaches without spending your entire holiday inside a resort, the Yasawa Islands are a brilliant place to start.

We island hopped through the Yasawas rather than staying in one place.

Some of our favourites were:

Wayasewa — homestays, village life, beautiful hikes and our hosts friends took us snorkelling with reef sharks and on a Monuriki boat trip.

Drawaqa — one of the best places to swim with manta rays during manta season. We stayed at Barefoot Manta and highly recommend it!

Nacula — beautiful walks and a great base for visiting the incredible Sawa-i-Lau Caves.

You don't have to avoid resorts completely either. Mixing local stays with one or two resort stays can give you the best of both worlds.

👉 Search accommodation in Fiji on Booking.com

Island Hop In Fiji Instead of Staying Put

One of the best things we did was move between several islands.

Passenger ferries travel through the Yasawas, making it relatively easy to create your own island-hopping itinerary.

I'd recommend choosing two or three islands and staying a few nights on each, rather than trying to see everything.

Ask Locals What You Can Do

This is where some of our best Fiji experiences came from.

On Wayasewa, friends of our host family took us out in their small boat for the day. We snorkelled with reef sharks, had lunch on a remote beach and visited Monuriki — the island made famous by Cast Away. It was one of the best days of our entire trip.

On other islands, local kids showed us walking tracks and viewpoints. We visited villages and even had the opportunity to meet a village Chief.

Leave a little space in your itinerary for unexpected adventures.

Snorkel Straight From the Beach

Don't forget to pack your own snorkelling gear! Fiji had some of the best snorkelling we've ever experienced. And you don't need to book a tour to see it.

On every island we could simply grab our masks and snorkels and snorkel straight off the beach. We saw loads of fish not far from the shore, so even little kids can enjoy it.

Know the Extra Costs Before You Book

One important thing to know before booking accommodation in the Yasawa Islands is that the islands are very remote. There are no roads or cars, and generally no shops or restaurants where you can simply go and buy food.

Because of this, whether you're staying at a resort or a local homestay, you'll usually need to pay for a compulsory meal package on top of your accommodation.

The price of these packages can vary enormously. We found the meal packages at our homestays were generally much cheaper than those at the resorts, which can make a big difference to the overall cost — especially when travelling as a family.

Before you book, it's worth checking with your host exactly how much the meal package costs for adults and children. The cost is often listed in the accommodation description, but if not, check with your host before booking.

The food provided by our hosts was always delicious and we never went hungry.

Carry Cash in the Fiji Islands

ATMs are extremely limited in the Yasawa Islands, so withdraw enough Fijian dollars before leaving the mainland. Carry enough Fijian dollars for local boat trips, hiking guides and tips.

There is reportedly an ATM at Nanuya Island Resort in the northern Yasawas, but unless you're staying nearby, don't rely on being able to access cash once you're island hopping.

And if you're staying locally, expect accommodation to sometimes be basic.

Generally there is no Wi-Fi, no air-conditioning & fairly simple (outdoor) bathrooms.

Read recent reviews before booking so you know what you're getting.

For us, the trade-off was worth it. Some of our simplest accommodation came with incredible beaches, amazing snorkelling and hosts who made us feel completely at home.

Be Respectful When Visiting Villages

Fijian villages aren't tourist attractions — they're people's homes.

If you're invited to visit, follow your host's advice about local customs and dress respectfully. It's generally a good idea to cover shoulders and knees when entering villages and always ask before photographing people.

Staying with local families gave us a glimpse into everyday life that we never would have experienced otherwise.

Is Fiji Beyond the Resorts Good With Kids?

Our girls loved it!

They snorkelled, swam, played with local kids, went out on boats, explored the islands and spent hours building their "Hermit Crab Hotels" on the beach.

If your family needs guaranteed air-conditioning, kids' clubs and lots of facilities, resorts will probably be the easier option.

But if your kids enjoy a bit of adventure, Fiji is surprisingly easy to travel this way.

A Few Things to Organise Before You Go

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.

Money in Fiji: We use Wise when we travel. You can use a Wise card anywhere in Fiji that accepts Visa or Mastercard, and Wise can also send AUD directly to a Fijian bank account in FJD — so handy if a homestay asks you to pay for your meal packages before you arrive by bank transfer. Just remember to carry cash once you head out to the islands.

Full Fiji guide: If you’re planning on travelling Fiji with kids, I’ve shared more about where we stayed, how we travelled between the islands, and what we packed in our Fiji on a Budget with Kids: Island Hopping Beyond the Resorts

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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