by Tamfra

Created on: May 26, 2007   Last Updated: June 17, 2010

Although Fiji is not generally considered to be a budget destination I found when I travelled to this beautiful island in October of last year that it is a back packers paradise. From the incredibly friendly locals to the beautiful locations, from the amazing under water playgrounds to the pristine beaches. Fiji is somewhere that is obviously geared towards tourism but manages to retain so much of its own cultural values and charm, it really does offer the best of all worlds.

As a female travelling alone I decided that the best course of action was to initially book myself onto a tour so that I could get a feel for the island before branching out on my own. So, arriving in Nadi airport, I was met by a friendly face and a chain of shells around my neck.

The tour I chose to begin my travels was the Fiji experience, having been on the Oz experience  before I knew I was in for a good time and could relax knowing that they would book my hostels for me and take care of all the activities. In fact, in the end, the Fiji experience  turned out to be vastly superior to it's Oz counterpart with a real Fijian flavour and some awe inspiring activities. The tour lasted 6 days in total (though there is a hop-on, hop-off option if you have more time) and took in the whole main island as well as the small party island Beachcomber. Most of my group decided to stay on the tour the whole way around so we were able to bond as we took part in such activities as trekking, river tubing, sand boarding, visiting local schools, bathing in mud pools and soaking up the sun at the beautiful Natadola beach.

I really would recommend this tour to anyone with limited time in Fiji, you feel assimilated very quickly as the bus heads down Fiji's roads with locals smiling and shouting Bula everytime you pass. The only slight downside was my stay on Beachcomber that, although it certainly had its highlights, felt a little constrained for someone like myself who likes to be active all of the time.

Having finished the tour I found myself back in Nadi and on my own. I booked into Horizon hostel which was cheap but certainly didn't give the picture postcard view of Fiji I had become used to. Witnessing a group of somewhat bereft travellers who had just arrived in Fiji I took them under my wing and assured them that this wasn't the best that the country had to offer. I persuaded them to come with me to a hostel I had stayed at on my tour located on the East Coast of the main island.

So the

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