Few areas are as evocative as Fiji and Bali.
Taking on important precise property in most vacationers’ imaginations – significantly these of Australians and New Zealanders via the winter months – these two areas carry visions of numerous seashores, adrenaline-pumping shopping waves, tropical forests and distinctive cultural experiences. Who wouldn’t must e-book tickets to each?
Sadly, robust decisions ought to sometimes be made, and vacationers need expertise to weigh the deserves of these two journey dreamlands. So we’ve requested a pair of passionate specialists to make the case for fascinating Fiji and pleasant Bali.
Fall for Fiji
Journey writer and photographer Chantae Reden not typically strays faraway from the shoreline. She has ridden a motorcycle all through Timor-Leste, scuba dived with bull sharks in Fiji and swam alongside humpback whales in Tonga, amongst totally different escapades.
The hug of warmth, tropical local weather greets you as rapidly as you step off the tarmac in every Bali and Fiji – nonetheless you acquired’t uncover swarms of drivers shouting to your consideration on the latter’s predominant worldwide airport. (In spite of everything, there’s always a taxi driver shut by whilst you need one.) Fiji’s relaxed hospitality begins as rapidly as you arrive, and continues until you hear the sweet sound of “Isa Lei,” the islands’ heartfelt farewell tune.
I’ve known as the 333-island nation of Fiji residence for the earlier seven years, and its laid-back and fun-loving bula spirit is admittedly infectious. Although Bali might be close to my coronary coronary heart (I wrote a guidebook in regards to the Island of the Gods, in any case), Fiji deserves to be your subsequent island escape.
Pristine nature
Fiji’s pure wonders are clear and barely crowded. Fiji has fewer than a million residents unfold all through its plenty of of islands, and guests solely truly exists inside the cities the place vacationers few ever enterprise. In distinction to Bali, whose seashores endure from crowds and plastic air air pollution, Fiji’s stretches of white sand are pristine all yr prolonged.
Solitude in nature is easy to go looking out in Fiji. Village custodianship over Fijian lands make waterfalls and trekking trails a bit harder to entry with no data than these in Bali – nonetheless the trouble is successfully worth it. You presumably can climb to Fiji’s tallest peak, Mt Tomanivi, on the island of Viti Levu, or search for Fiji’s unusual tagimoucia flower on the island of Taveuni, with out encountering one different specific individual. Enterprise to the Lau Islands, a space with none formal inns or airports that’s solely accessible by boat, and likewise you’re unlikely to come back again all through no totally different vacationers the least bit.
As for the inns: they’re unfold all via the islands, which means there’s no should jostle for a spot inside the shade or push again persistent seaside distributors. Even the native markets are a pleasant place to go to, with most retailers adopting a take-it-if-you-like, no-worries-if-not perspective about their heaps of vibrant current produce.
You most likely have little vacationers to please, Bali and Fiji are every top-tier areas for households. But it surely absolutely’s Fiji that takes the lead in relation to child-friendly custom and leisure. I’ve seen lodge security guards abandon their undergo instigate a sport of contact rugby for teenagers. Touring throughout the islands with my toddler twins has given me a glimpse of what it’s want to be dealt with like a star. Most resorts have youngsters’ golf gear and fairly priced nannies; mom and father and children can each get the vacation of their targets.
Waves effectively well worth the journey
Every Bali and Fiji host championship surf contests at their world-class waves. And whereas I can’t deny the epicness of Bali’s waves of Uluwatu and Padang Padang, Fiji is definitely not swell-shy, with its well-known cloudbreak and restaurant breaks. Most of Fiji’s waves require a ship expertise to realize – in distinction to the simple entry of Bali – nonetheless this serves to cut back the crowds at waves best suited to expert surfers solely.
Beneath the water, you presumably can peer by the use of your dive masks and can be found eye to eye with sea life every giant and small. Manta rays, sea turtles, plenty of of species of reef fish and reef sharks make frequent appearances spherical Fiji’s vibrant hard- and soft-coral reefs. It’s moreover certainly one of many few areas on the earth the place you presumably can dive with bull sharks, with no cage – for individuals who dare.
Fijian hospitality extends previous resort doorways. It’s customary to enter a village with a sevusevua traditional current like yaqona (pepper root), then be welcomed with warmth. Spend the day sipping coconut shells full of kava (the drink made out of flooring pepper root), dancing and feasting on Fijian fare of just-caught fish, taro leaves cooked in coconut cream, and smoked meats. On the weekends, adjust to the harmonic hymns to the native church or participate on a Hindu celebrations occurring in Indo-Fijian communities spherical Suva, Nadi and Labasa.
No matter the place you go, depend on a hearty greeting from “Bula!” and actual warmth. Bali merely can’t beat that.
Wager on Bali
Mark Eveleigh lived in Bali for a yr in 2022 – and has since returned normally to a West Balinese village the place he has some well-stacked bookshelves and a shed filled with surfboards.
It’s sometimes talked about that the easiest points can be found in small packages. I fell in love with the diminutive island of Bali 20 years prior to now, and have since explored every nook of the island. Even now, I keep shocked by the variability on a land mass decrease than a third the scale of Fiji.
Most people know Bali for its world-famous seashores and celebrated resorts, along with various probably the most luxurious (and dear) on the planet. However you don’t need an infinite worth vary to benefit from Bali’s pleasures: a bungalow overlooking a deserted seaside can go for $20.
Its selling elements have caught on with the crowds, it’s true. However solely a minority of vacationers – even amongst veteran expats – ever enterprise previous the celebrated paintings and yoga heartland spherical Ubud. Venturing solely a bit extra afield, you’ll find yourself amongst dense jungle valleys and large paddy landscapes that ascend, like a big’s staircase, in direction of the sacred peaks.
Magnificence previous the seaside
Don’t assume Bali is just sand. A half-day tour (sooner on a rented scooter) takes you to the solitude of the highlands. Bali’s spectacular volcanic landscapes stretch westward from sacred Gunung Agung (at 3412m / 11,195ft, it’s successfully over double the altitude of Fiji’s highest stage) earlier smoldering Batur to the not typically visited rainforests of Batukaru Mountain.
You don’t must hunt out custom on the Island of the Gods; it’s truly everywhere, with the colorful rituals of Balinese Hinduism enacted in small villages, the backpacker hangouts of Kuta, and throughout the fashionable seaside golf gear of Seminyak alike. Spend time exploring extra and likewise you may even actually really feel some similarities with far-off Fiji. As in Fijian typical communities, rural villages are dominated primarily by a neighborhood of elders, typically often called the banjar. At Mekare-kare festivals, the place the youthful warriors of Tenganan fight to draw blood with pandan “swords,” or via the day-to-day launching of jukung (outrigger fishing canoes) into the pounding waves, it might be easy to consider that you simply simply’re on a Pacific Island. Bali’s connection to the ocean may be very evident inside the fishing metropolis of Perancak, the anchorage for higher than 100 selerekbrightly painted, 20m(66ft)-long fishing vessels.
The western third of the island stays almost unknown to outsiders, and few vacationers (and even islanders, for that matter) perceive that uninhabited jungle and seemingly numerous seashores that not typically see a worldwide footprint are the norm proper right here. You’ll stroll for hours alongside the attractive curve of wave-pounded volcanic sand that is Yeh Leh Seashore – merely 50km (31 miles) from the worldwide airport – with out meeting anyone aside from a handful of native fishermen.
Take to the water
In Fiji, you need a ship to realize almost any first charge shopping wave. In Bali, within the meantime, instantly accessible surf breaks have made spots like Uluwatu and Canggu world-famous (perhaps just a bit too well-known). When you want to break away from the pack, rely on the low-key surf cities of Keramas, Balian and Medewi – the ultimate metropolis the gateway to quite a few, solely un-surfed beach-break waves alongside the southwest coast.
In case you’re drawn to calmer waters, Bali has great diving and snorkeling, with sightings of sharks, turtles, barracudas, dolphins and even the occasional whale shark off the tranquil north coast. Inland, you’ll uncover journey actions inside the kind of mountaineering, mountain biking, horseback utilizing, quad-biking and even white-water rafting. You presumably can stroll with unusual pink buffaloes in Pekutatan, or attend Jembrana’s dramatic (if significantly gory) mekepung buffalo chariot races. In West Bali Nationwide Park you presumably can take jungle hikes amid big herds of untamed sambar deer, gibbon-like ebony-leaf monkeys and flocks of Bali starlings (the island’s private “fowl of paradise”).
If it’s the notion of hopping from tropical island to tropical island that pulls you to Fiji and the South Pacific, consider that Bali is nonetheless a speck inside the big, dense Indonesian archipelago. Lombok and the Gilis are on every backpacker bucket guidelines, optimistic – nonetheless there are 17,500 totally different Indonesian islands able to be explored.
Who’s conscious of? Thought of certainly one of them may even be as enchanting as Bali.
