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Cheapest Places to Live > Fiji on Less than $25 per day

While we spent most of our time in the outskirts of Nadi, we wouldn’t necessarily recommend this to every traveler! We did explore the highlights around Nadi, including Denarau Island, and even took a boat trip out to some of the well known islands offshore in our 2 months in Fiji. Here is our budget breakdown of that time and how we lived in Fiji on less than $25 USD per day per adult. Let us know in the comments section if you have any questions.

Nadi, Fiji

July 29, 2019 - October 1, 2019

Total Number of Days

65 days (64 nights, technically that means we had 65 days)

Total Expense

$3,683.89 USD
NOTE: $3,144.14 not including airfare to Fiji - why mention this? Because everyone’s airfare to Fiji will be dependent on where they are from. The other expenses - while in Fiji - should be comparable for everyone.

Average Daily Cost per Adult

$28.34
NOTE: $24.19 per adult WITHOUT airfare to Fiji.

BUDGET BREAKDOWN

Because we spent most of our time in Nadi, most of the things that we did are based around the Nadi area. However, there were a few things that we did out in the Mamanuca Islands and Denarau Island as well.

Transportation (airlines, taxis, trains, subways, buses, etc.)

$789.79

• Airlines: $539.75
  The airline tickets to get to Nadi from Bali was fairly priced, but they still took up 68% of our total Fiji transportation costs. We used Virgin Australia as we were coming from Bali, but United has direct flights out to Fiji as well.

• Local Taxis: $249.06
  There are taxis available almost everywhere, but there are no Uber-type apps available. Make sure you negotiate your price in advance as taxis, especially in tourist areas - like Denarau Island, tend to inflate their prices. Generally speaking, taxis are a fairly cheap way to get around the Nadi area. We recommend negotiating with a taxi driver in Nadi, rather than in Denarau Island, and then calling them (as your personal driver) for the rest of your trip. You’ll have to take down their phone number. However, if you are going an hour or more outside of Nadi, then you should probably consider renting a car.

• Parking: $0.98

  There is a parking fee at the Denarau Island Marina. Our host brought us out to Denarau Island once, so we contributed to the parking fee.

Accommodation

$1,113.11

• Airbnbs: $1,113.11
  Our entire time was spent at an Airbnb in Malawai near Nadi, Fiji. That’s 64 nights for this price - which was quite amazing especially considering that there was a vegetable stand just along the street outside and a grocery store, a few restaurants, and a pharmacy just a couple of blocks away. Wifi was limited, but with the amount of data we received from our phone plan - and a phone that has Hotspot capabilities - we never had an issue. Full use of the kitchen was vital for keeping the food costs low as well.

Food

$1,340.57

• Groceries: $543.97
  We shopped mostly at “New World IGA” and “Shop N Save” for our groceries. Although we could walk to Shop N Save, we would recommend using a taxi to return. A taxi or car is necessary for New World IGA, but it had a much better selection of food items.

• Fast Casual Type Restaurants: $123.66
  Some of our favorite quick service restaurants were Kushneel's Restaurant and Grace Road Kitchen, although Kushneel’s was exceptionally affordable it was limited on choices for us. Grace Road Kitchen has a great variety, but the prices are a little high - additionally, they are owned and operated by the Grace Road Church, which we didn’t attend after figuring out that it is a church with some questionable history.

• Dine-in (table service) Restaurants: $611.40
  While we did go to the Sofitel Resort & Spa for the “Ultimate Fijian Experience” buffet and dance show (did not include fire dancing), we would probably recommend going to Tu’s Place in Nadi or Nadina Fijian Restaurant at the Denarau Island Marina for Fijian food instead as it won’t be sitting outside in the dark and tastes quite a bit better in our opinion. We also recommend trying out the Bulaccino Cafe, Mama’s Pizza (located all over Fiji), the Beach Shack Bar & Grill at the Wyndham Resort (they have a free fire dancer show on Wednesday nights), the Japanese Restaurant IKKYU (located at the Tanoa International Hotel in Nadi), Daikoku (a Japanese Style Teppanyaki), and even Awesome Grill (located in Nadi - also owned by Grace Road Church).

• Pastry Shops / Cafe’s: $39.44
  While we classified Bulaccino Cafe as a Dine-in Restaurant (because we had full meals served to us there), we also recommend it as a cafe. Additionally, you should definitely check out January Tea Time if you are in Nadi (it’s right near Tu’s Place and Bulaccino Cafe) because they have some amazing bubble teas. Also, we enjoyed trying out the various Fijian snacks at The Hot Bread Kitchen (also located in multiple spots around Nadi).

• Convenience / Street Food: $22.10
  We bought a large amount of vegetables from the vegetable stands on the roadsides - including: Tomatoes, Eggplants, Okra, Paw Paw (Papaya), and Chilies (though there were many other options).

Activities/Entertainment

$294.88

• Adventure Tour: $268.28
  This was a day tour out to Castaway Island through Viator, which turned out to be one of our favorite moments while in Fiji. In fact, we’d recommend to anyone who is traveling to Fiji to take at least one day tour out to the Mamanuca or Yasawa Islands. You should note that “Castaway Island” is NOT the island that was filmed in the movie “Castaway” with Tom Hanks. That island is nearby (and you can grab a local day trip from Castaway Island to get there), but the locals refer to it as “Tom Hanks Island”, even though its proper name is “Monuriki Island”.

• Local Attraction: $16.13
  This was entry to the Garden of the Sleeping Giant, although we took a local taxi here instead of doing a tour. We really enjoy botanical gardens, so this made for a pleasant few hours for us. Take note that there is also the Sleeping Giant Zipline, Orchid Falls & Jungle Safari (a separate place that is about a 30 minute drive away).

• Free Attractions: $0.00
  We can’t leave out the fact that visiting Denarau Island, even while staying outside of the resort area, is actually free (apart from the taxi ride or parking fee). Just walking along the footpath that connects all of the resorts is worth the trip alone. You get all of the most amazing views and relaxation that anyone who stays at the resorts will get - apart from the room. You can also watch the sunsets while relaxing on their poolside chairs, swim in most of their pools (many of the resorts encourage people to try out the pools of neighboring resorts), and watch their night shows at zero cost (we saw an amazing fire dance show at the Wyndham Resort). Plus, most restaurants are very “baby friendly” as the staff will offer to hold your baby while you eat!

• Amusement: $10.47
  This was a trip to the Life Cinema in Nadi to see the new Disney Lion King movie. Price includes 2 sodas.

Miscellaneous

$145.53

• Travel Patches for Fiji: $6.59

  Our one souvenir at each country that we visit is a travel patch because they are light weight and take up almost no space.

• Hygiene items / Bathroom supplies: $50.60

  We did need to buy some of our own body wash, even though bars of soap were provided. Additionally, this includes toothpaste, deodorant, a haircut, sunscreen, tissues, toilet paper, and cotton swabs.

• Laundry Machines & Soap: $2.24
  Washer & Dryer were included in the cost of the Airbnb. This cost was for laundry soap.

• Phone SIM & Data: $48.60
  This plan was through Vodafone and included 35GB+ of data per month, some “free local minutes”, and the SIM card (we bought the 20GB monthly plan and then added extra data through the app).

• Donations: $9.49

  While this is listed under donations, it was technically an offering at a church we attended. Church is a big part of the culture in Fiji, so it was worth checking out. Sadly, we made the offering before we realized how extreme and “to the letter” of the Old Testament this church actually is - without taking into account many of the teachings of the New Testament. We stopped attending after we learned this.

• Clothes: $9.49

  It is also necessary to dress appropriately at church, so we picked up a nicer shirt for Jenny at “Jack’s of Fiji”, which is like a souvenir shop, but it’s also the place the locals recommended to us for clothes.

• Printing Service: $0.20
  Required printing of our Day Trip voucher to Castaway Island (see above).

• Other Items: $18.32
  Some of the other items that we needed were bleach spray, sponges, paper towels, napkins, and a can opener.

What does this not include?

• Life Insurance 

• Berkshire Hathaway Travel Insurance + Medical (annual cost of $328 for a family of 3 - ask us how)

• Chase Sapphire Reserve Credit Card Annual Fees for additional Insurance & Airport Lounges (annual net cost of $150 annually). Alternatively, you could just get the Priority Pass instead of applying for a credit card (10% off with this link).

While these are costs associated with our travels, they are not country-specific, which is why they are not included in this expense report. 

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