Honeymoon in Vanuatu?

September 7, 2007 12:45 PM

Honeymoon in Vanuatu? Or Fiji?

We're getting married in late October and trying to decide where to honeymoon. Ideally a place that's exotic (we travel a lot) but not ridiculously inaccessible or overrun with tourists, with enough nice beaches for a few days but also some cultural and outdoorsy stuff to do. Vanuatu sounds pretty ideal, but we've also heard Fiji is nice. Any suggestions?

posted by gottabefunky to travel & transportation (13 comments total)

I've never been to either (although I'd very much like to) but a quick look through google news turns up alot of stuff like this about Fiji:

"The latest statement warns that the country is "calm but a rapid deterioration to the situation, including the potential for civil disorder and violence, cannot be ruled out."

I don't know if that's enough to rule it out, but I'd do some real investigation before travelling all the way there!
posted by blaneyphoto at 12:58 PM on September 7, 2007

I was not, personally, very impressed with Fiji (felt oddly dangerous, and the beaches seemed to be mostly dynamited reef fragments).

The Cook Islands were much nicer; consider Aitutaki.
posted by aramaic at 1:03 PM on September 7, 2007

My brother honeymooned in Tahiti and loved it.
posted by Ironmouth at 1:11 PM on September 7, 2007

My wife and I loved Fiji, but we were traveling backpacker-style. While there were a variety of outdoor activities - snorkeling, swimming, hiking, etc - there weren't very many opportunities for cultural activities, unless you count sitting around drinking kava and bullshitting with the villagers all night cultural. I'd imagine there would be more at some of the resorts but wouldn't expect much in the way of authenticity.

Mind you, we were staying in a village on one of the Yasawas, but we did do a couple days on the mainland of Viti Levu. As New Yorkers, we loved the capital Suva, but it was a seedy town I wouldn't recommend for a honeymoon (we're a bit odd like that).

Oh and on preview, we were there right around the time of the last coup and had no idea it was even going on...tourists are the lifeblood there and nobody wanted to mess with them. Of course I just got married in Sri Lanka, so take my advice with a grain of salt.

I haven't been to Vanuatu yet, but hear good things about it and the Cooks.
posted by JaredSeth at 1:12 PM on September 7, 2007

Fiji is still in the grip of a military dictatorship, and just this week it looks as though things are getting worse - the army has been recalled to the barracks and the totally loopy Colonel Bainimarama is making dark noises again.

Fiji is really cheap right now because the economy is in the toilet, thanks to the coup, and the locals are desperate. You can help them out by going, but you have to realise that you are also indirectly supporting the military regime and may be exposing yourselves to some risk if things come to a head while you are there.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 1:29 PM on September 7, 2007

vanuatu is great. really. i haven't been to fiji.
posted by alkupe at 1:44 PM on September 7, 2007

Fiji is OK, much better if you get off the main island. Excellent snorkeling/scubadiving. Don't worry about the politics - like JaredSeth said, they really keep it away from the tourists.

Haven't been to Vanuatu but have heard good things about it - it's a big vacation spot for Aussies/Kiwis. If you're looking for other suggestions, I've been to Raratonga in the Cook Islands, which I really liked. It's a tiny island with wonderful beaches and lovely hikes - but there isn't much to do at night, if that's what you're into.
posted by widdershins at 2:10 PM on September 7, 2007

Micronesia is probably a great place for a honeymoon. I was there on an internship, and while it's not wonderful in terms of non-stop evening excitement! for someone working, it seems like it would be great for a honeymooning couple.

Pohnpei was my favorite of the four main islands. The Village Resort is quite pretty and has a reasonable restaurant, and there's the most to do there (even a movie theater with current movies if it hasn't been taken over by someone else by now). There is gorgeous snorkeling out just a little ways (you need to take a boat, but really, it's amazing). The roads are better than Chuuk/Truk a lot. There are also some neat gigantic ruins, and an awesome waterfall.
posted by that girl at 4:03 PM on September 7, 2007

Echoing Joe's Spleen: Fiji should be cheap, but there are potential risks.

Here's the NZ government's advice on Fiji (we're monitoring the issue fairly closely as it's in our backyard, relatively speaking). The summary: there is "some risk". The Aussies "suggest caution". (Other countries' warnings linked from the NZ page, but some (e.g. the US one) are now out of date, due to developments in the last few days).

I'm going to agree with Rarotonga (or, even better, some of the outlying islands, apparently); I was there for a friend's wedding a few months ago and it was great. I can't comment on Vanuatu as I haven't been there.
posted by Infinite Jest at 5:17 PM on September 7, 2007

I was in Fiji, earlier this year when the coup broke out - and you really wouldn't have even known it was happening. Most of Fiji's mainland resort areas are in Nadi , not in the capital Suva where the unrest is mostly based. And you definitely won't notice anything if you're off the mainland.

I would highly recommend getting off the mainland if you go to Fiji, it is really beautiful. Most resorts do run "cultural" activities which vary in authenticity - I'd say the level of authenticity is really dependent on where the resort gets its staff from. We stayed on an island where all the activities staff were from a village on another island about a kilometre away, so it was pretty good.
posted by cholly at 6:17 PM on September 7, 2007

i was in fiji and i think it's over-rated.
posted by brandz at 8:23 PM on September 7, 2007

Thailand. The islands in the Gulf of Thailand to be specific. Thailand is relatively safe and very accessible, with direct flights to BKK from LAX and JKF, as well as many connections.

While many islands in Thailand are overrun with tourists (Phuket, Samui), many are not, and most are breathtakingly beautiful. For instance, in the Ko Chang archipelago, Ko Maak and Ko Kut are virtually deserted and quite scenic; even Ko Chang itself is pretty mellow if you get away from White Sand Beach. On the other side of the bay, there's Mu Koh Ang Thong national park and related islands - absolutely pristine, if a bit busy.

Cultural stuff: scads of temples and museums in Bangkok, or Ayuthaya & Chang Mai if Bangkok is just too much for you. Outdoors: hiking in Chantaburi, among other places (the center of Ko Chang is a rainforest, for example).

I'm not sure how this applies to the rest of the Pacific, but the later you go to Thailand the better; October is the end of the southwest monsoon, early November is more likely to be more dry.
posted by rkent at 10:36 PM on September 7, 2007

Been to both:

Fiji: cheap, gorgeous, laid-back, friendly, boring, marshall law at the moment.

Vanuatu: expensive, gorgeous, dirty, not boring.

If all you wanna do is lie on a picture-postcard beach under a palm tree then one of Fiji's smaller islands is for you.

If you want to take in a little local culture and colour then Vanuatu's the place (just don't faint when you have to pay US$20 for egg and chips.)
posted by TiredStarling at 12:18 PM on September 8, 2007