expatOWflyer

I would be going down to Sydney for a trip in Early July and would like to find places that I can fly to within five-six hours. My motivation for this trip would be to experience unspoiled beaches with friendly people. I shortlisted Tahiti, Nadi and Noumea, but I'm open to suggestions.

obscure2k

I am moving your thread to the Oceania Forum. Please follow there.
Thanks..
Obscure2k
TravelBuzz Moderator

UA1K_no_more

Cook Islands.

obscure2k

OMG, that looks like heaven

Travel K

Without knowing the ages of your kids, I vote for Fiji. Incredibly family friendly. I wouldn't go to Nadi as it is not really the Fiji experience you are wanting. Depending on your budget, there are many, many great choices.

JClasstraveller

If you haven't booked I'd do it ASAP. Early July's Australian winter school holiday and many of Fiji's best family resorts are booked out 6-9 months out.

Avoid Denarau Island near Nadi, beach is no good and no scenery to make up for it. If you can't get an island, try the Coral Coast on Fiji's main island.

NZbutterfly

Admittedly I've only been to Fiji once but passed a number of other islands on the way out to mine. What I noticed was small islands, and dark blue ocean....not the turquoise colour like you get with the Cook Islands and some other places. I'm not sure that's all of Fiji but that was just my observation. Fiji does target a variety of travellers including families and I'm sure you'll find somewhere that caters to kids well. I'm guessing the cooks will have something similar but not sure if it's as well run. But if you want the pic above, go the cooks over Fiji. Aitutaki is worth visiting for its amazing lagoon also. (I'm actually wondering if that pic is of Aitutaki where there's a slight channel between the main island and a nearby island you take a ferry to. It reminds me of it anyway).

Ouvea is another amazing unspoiled beach 20k or so long. You can swim, snorkel, fish, do a tour of the island, watch for turtles but apart from that your kids may be bored as it's very underdeveloped - but some people like that. It's part of the loyalty islands to the east of grande Terre (New Caledonia basically). There is a cool aquarium at noumea, if your kids are into kite surfing or windsurfing then definitely a great place to go......otherwise I don't rank noumea itself.

expatOWflyer

Thanks for the recommendation, I was looking at the Westin before this but changed my mind. It appears to be that all the SPG properties in Fiji are located on Denarau island, except Tororiki; which was fully booked. Perhaps I should have planned a more traditional family vacation in Bali instead. Has anyone here tried the IC Fiji Golf Resort? I have seen pictures of the plunge pool in its suites and it seemed promising.
I have narrowed my choice down to either the Cook Islands, Fiji or French Polynesia and within SPG or Hilton chains.

cavemanzk

Narrowing your choice down to SPG or Hilton within the pacific, will limit you choice. Often some of these larger chain hotels are in the less desirable locations..

The Cook Islands (Rarotonga) only have an once weekly flight from Sydney on NZ, but atleast 2-3daily from Auckland on NZ,VA,JQ.

The main Pacific Islands are:

Tonga
Samoa
Fiji
Cook Islands
Tahti (ex AKL Only)
New Caledonia

Outside of Fiji, Sydney has limited flights to the Pacific Islands. We're you might find for some days of the week you'll need to route via Auckland.

UA1K_no_more

Yes, it is Aitutaki. It's taken on One Foot Island (looking toward Tekopua), so not right by the main island.

expatOWflyer

I'm fine with IC, or IHG as well. Has anyone here been to the IC Fiji or Tahiti?

zboub345

I've been to New Caledonia (Grande Terre and ile des Pins) and to Fiji (Denarau, Yasawas islands and IC ). Most beautiful place is Ile des Pins , plus Le Meridien there is a stunning property( i have just been to the restaurant but i had a look at the bungalows), nicer than the IC Fiji which is nice but a much bigger resort and the beach at the IC is not as nice at the beaches at Ile des Pins.
I've have many friends who have been at other islands in New Caledonia (Ouvea and Lifou in The Loyautés Islands and they said they are as beautiful as ile des Pins but no IC or SPG property there).
To be clear, i would go to Meridien Ile des Pins.

FlossieFlyer

Fiji is awesome for younger children however it is a bit more limited for teenagers.

The IC in Fiji is great but it is a bit far away from Nadi so a hire car is recommended. They do offer airport transfers but that then leaves you stuck there.

Hilton is about to rebrand an old hotel to a Doubletree on Sonasali Island. Avoid at all costs until the reviews get better. The sand there is also black due to the island formation.

There are areas like the photo but they are on the outer islands like Kadavu or Beqa.

As mentioned above the Aus school holidays start from the 25th June and to to mid-July so prices have gone up over those dates.

cavemanzk

Also New Zealand school holidays are 8 July to 25 July, its also peak winter in Australia and New Zealand.

expatOWflyer

I am fine with New Caledonia as well, as there is a Sheraton there.
The prices has indeed gone up, but not by any significant amount.