Essentials: Nadi e Isole Mamanuca

Nadi is Fiji's gateway, home to the main international airport and the launching point for the islands. The town itself is lively and practical — shops, markets and a bustling main street rather than monuments — but it holds a few surprises. The brightly coloured Sri Siva Subramaniya Hindu temple is one of the largest in the southern hemisphere and reflects the strong Indo-Fijian community. Just outside town, the Sabeto Mud Pools and hot springs offer warm mud baths, while the Garden of the Sleeping Giant, with its orchids, fills a half-day. The best beaches lie along nearby Wailoaloa and at Denarau, while the jetties from which the ferries depart link the Mamanuca and Yasawa groups. Practical and well served, Nadi is the ideal base camp before plunging into the seas of Fiji.

Denarau is a peninsula just west of Nadi, developed into Fiji's main integrated resort hub. Here the large properties of the international chains cluster together, along with a golf course, restaurants and the marina from which the ferries depart for the Mamanuca and Yasawa groups. The beach, of dark volcanic sand, is not the archipelago's finest, but the convenience is unbeatable: everything is manicured, accessible and a few minutes from the airport. Port Denarau, with its waterfront shops and bars, is the lively heart of the area and the embarkation point for day cruises. Ideal for families and for those seeking full-service comfort, Denarau works perfectly as the first or last stop of a Fijian trip, before setting sail for the islands. It is the most organised, easygoing face of Fiji, made for those who want everything within reach.