The Yasawa Islands
Strung out across the ocean to the northwest of Fiji's main island lies the Yasawa chain, a line of remote, dramatic volcanic islands that are wilder and more rugged than the Mamanucas nearer the mainland. Jagged green ridges rise straight from the sea, palm-backed beaches curl along their edges, and the water shifts through every shade of blue. This is the corner of Fiji that played the starring role in The Blue Lagoon, and the islands have lost none of that castaway magic in the years since.
The joy of the Yasawas is in the island-hopping. You travel up and down the chain by catamaran, the Yasawa Flyer, stepping off at one palm-fringed beach after another, swimming in the impossibly blue water of the Blue Lagoon itself and snorkeling into the limestone Sawa-i-Lau caves, where shafts of light fall through the rock into clear pools. Where you lay your head is up to you, from simple beach bures right on the sand to a handful of barefoot-luxury hideaways tucked into their own private coves.
With few roads and even fewer crowds, the Yasawas are Fiji at its most pristine and unhurried. Days stretch out long and sun-soaked, filled with little more than a swim, a snorkel and a slow walk along the shore, and the rhythm of island life quickly takes over. For travelers who want the South Pacific dream stripped back to its barefoot essentials, this string of castaway islands is hard to beat, and we love weaving a few of them into a wider Fiji trip.
