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Denarau Island
Travel Guide
Nadi, Viti Levu, Fiji
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Denarau Island, Fiji
The most commercial tourist centre in Fiji is the lifestyle resort complex of
Denarau
Island
. Denarau is much like any other resort complex around the world with a host of large hotel chains, multi- million dollar residential estates, a rather sterile shopping complex at Port Denarau and a manicured 18-hole championship golf course. The beach runs alongside most resorts on the island but is very ordinary by
Fiji
’s high standards and with a rather murky oceanfront which is not practical for snorkelling. Never-the-less the resorts here have a laid back holiday atmosphere.
Denarau Island Accommodation
Sheraton Fiji - large resort on decent beachfront with huge pool
Sheraton Villas - spacious apartments with fully equipped kitchen
Westin Denarau - upmarket and elegant resort with fine dining
Golf Terraces - 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartments beside golf course
Sofitel Fiji - pick of the resorts for families and watersports
Radisson Fiji - spacious setting and massive swimming pool
Denarau Island Travel Guide
Denarau Island is located twenty minutes drive from Nadi Airport and ten minutes from Nadi Town, accessed along a meandering sealed road and across a small bridge. The man-made reclaimed island boasts ten large resorts including the global hotel chains of Hilton, Sofitel, Westin, Sheraton and Radisson, all standing gloriously in a line along a grey sand beach which in places has been powdered white with imported sand. The beachfront is divided by a rocky point: west beach, facing
Malolo
Island
, has the Sheraton and Radisson hotels and is good for beachcombing, with stronger waves and often littered with driftwood; the north beach faces
Nadi
Bay
with tranquil views overlooking the Sleeping Giant, a shapely mountain feature separating Nadi and Lautoka.
Denarau was once a swampy mangrove forest but with substantial landfill, reclamation and landscaping, and in more recent times large scale hotel and residential development, it is now a picturesque manicured environment. The 18- hole championship golf course takes up much of the development with man made lakes, canals and inlets and with several holes hemmed in either side by hotel apartments and premium residential properties. The hotels, Golf and Racket Club and Port Denarau are all connected by a shuttle bus costing $4 for the day (6am- 11pm, departs every 15mins).
Port Denarau
The latest development to grace Denarau is Port Denarau, a modern and exceptionally sterile shopping centre built from corrugated iron and resembling an industrial sugar mill. There are half a dozen restaurants here, some with fabulous views overlooking the silvery waters of
Nadi
Bay
towards the stunning mountains. Other shops include the handicraft emporium of Jacks, the trendy clothing outlet Wai Tui where you can buy reef shoes and snorkelling gear, Yee’s Deli, an expensive supermarket selling gourmet food and a Westpac Bank with ATM machine. There’s a large public car park costing $1.50 per hour beside the marina, departure point for most day tours and transfers to the Mamanucas and Yasawas, and there’s usually a couple of multi- million dollar yachts tied up to ogle at.
Readers may also be interested in the following destinations:
Cook Islands Travel Guide
Samoa Travel Guide
Tonga Travel Guide
Tahiti Travel Guide
Hawaii Travel Guide
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