Spring Break

 Two weeks ago was the kids spring break.   Luckily their weeks off aligned this year, so we were able to take a family vacation!   This one we planned last summer--to Fiji!

I have always wanted to check out Fiji, and Fiji Airways has a nonstop flight from SFO to Fiji.   So when the tickets went on sale, we decided to plan for a beach trip!

And it did not disappoint.   Though the islands did not have the huge white sandy beaches of Bora Bora, they were pretty beautiful, and each island was surrounded by huge reefs with amazing snorkelling.

Our flight arrived on the biggest island in Fiji, but we knew we wanted to spend our time on the outer islands (There are over 300 islands in Fiji!).  We chose 2 resorts based on reviews, and took a ferry out to the Mamanuca island chain.

Our first resort was called Cast Away--named because it is very close to the island where the movie of the same name, starring Tom Hanks, was filmed.   

It was a beautiful resort with a great reef accessible from the beach for snorkeling, and as an added bonus, it had a kids waterpark that floated offshore.   

The resort was the only thing on the island--so one day, Jason and I tool a walk around its perimeter.   Turned out to be a bit more trecharous than we anticipated, but still was quite beautiful.

After 2 nights at the Cast Away, we took a 45 minute water taxi ride to the Vomo resort.   This place was really special--another private island, but with more usable (non-hilly) land, so it was more spread out.   It also came with food--and the food was fantastic.  The resort was trulyamazing--an impressive 70% of the customers are return guests! 

Each day, they took guests out for a snorkelling safari and the snorkeling we did was as as good as the diving we did in the Maldives on our honeymoon.   Beautiful coral formations, tons of fish, and even several reef sharks, with water visibilty topping 100 feet in some places.

One night when we were there was Fiji night--where they made traditional Fijian food for dinner and the staff did some polynesian performaces.   

When not in the ocean, we spent time relaxing.  Ethan and Alaina made friends---there were many families on the island.  Funny enough one of the families that was there with us was from Marin!

One morning, we took a hike to the top of the island--what a beautiful view.   

All in all, we loved our trip--the culture was very friendly and welcoming and we came home very relaxed.

Highly recommend!