Udupi to Fiji: Trip expense report: 1.6 lakhs

This post shares my Fiji trip expense details, to help you plan the trip on your own. I've explained how much I spent and where we can save even more.

Flight: Flight will be your most expensive item in your trip to Fiji. If you're flying in from India or even USA, factor about 800-1000 USD for flight ticket alone. From India, if you can get one stop flight via Singapore from cities like Hyderabad or Kochi etc for about 68000-69000 INR it is a good deal. Last minute ticket will cost even more. 2 stop flights via Australia will cost bit more + you've to spend on transit visa. So track flight prices, try to book 6 to 9 months in advance when tickets are available for under 70000 INR per person return.

Flight from Bengaluru was 25k more expensive, so I booked from Hyd. Had to spend 8k Udupi to Hyderabad bus, Hyd-Shivamogga flight for return, stay etc, still saved some money compared to going from Blr. Could have flown out of Kochi as well. 

Flight ticket includes food, entertainment and checked bag as Fiji airways and Singapore airline are full service airlines.

Visa: 0. Fiji is visa free for Indians, there is no visa cost.

Stay: Fiji doesn't seem to have hostels. You will get stay options fitting different budget ranges in Fiji. I could not find a budget hotel but homestays costing 2000 INR a night are available. Hence if you're ok with budget option, factor 2000 INR per room per night. If you're opting for luxury, there is no upper limit, but factor about 10000 INR per room per night onwards. 

I spent about 22300 on stay for 6 nights in Fiji.

• 4 nights in budget homestay near Nadi airport (Nadi Bethel Homestay) costing 8500 INR
• One night in Rainforest eco lodge near Suva costing 4300 INR
• Last night in Fiji s in bit of luxury at Tokatoka resort opposite Nadi airport, costing 112 USD or almost 9500 INR

There are more luxurious stays if you have budget, such as Marriot. If I had someone to share my room I would have saved 50% on stay cost. 

I didn't explore staying at other islands in Fiji. You can do so if you have time and budget- taking domestic flight to other island + stay + local tours can easily add 50k per person per island for 2-3 days. 

Getting around in Fiji:

• Taxis can be hailed on the street. Taxi rate starts1.5, 2 FJD onwards. A 12 km ride from our homestay to Port Denaru cost us about 14 FJD, so you can factor about 50 INR per km as taxi fare, reasonable.
• Buses are available between major towns, but not much frequency- you will have to wait and plan
• Self drive cars are convenient. You can rent a car in Fiji with Indian driving license. You should factor at least 75-80 USD per day for simple cars, 90 to 100 USD for SUVs, premium cars. Fuel extra.
• Various day trips include hotel pickup so you may not need any additional transport on most days

We rented a car from AVIS for 2 days and another car from Europcar for a day. This cost us about 32000 total including some 117 FJD spent on Fuel, shared by 2 people. Having a car at disposal gave us lots of flexibility to go where we want, without worrying about how to reach there.

Note: There are no two wheelers, rickshaws or cycles in Fiji 

Rental costs anywhere between 160 to 360 FJD per day depending on vehicle type. CDW, Fuel extra. 

Bookin a hatch instead of SUV would have saved some money. Also Avis gave a petrol car instead of diesel, so we had to spend a bit more on fuel.  If you are on tight budget you can manage with taxi. 

Day trips:

Cruises to nearby islands cost about 100 USD per person, so not very cheap. There are other trips within island, we chose to rent a car and drive around than taking day trips.

• South Sea island day trip: 10000 INR per person (includes lunch & drinks)
• Castaway Island: 13000 INR per person
• Mala Mala island half day trip : 6600 (ferry transport only, food extra)
• Trip to Fiji Cultural village: 6600 INR (includes dinner & transportation)
• Trip to Sleeping Giant garden + mud bath+ zipline are popular day trips

If you have more time, you can fly to other big islands in Fiji & spend some time there, we didn't have the time so decided to explore main island only.

Most attractions have entry fee, anywhere between 10 FJD to 50 FJD. Fiji Culture village costs a lot more.

Entry fees per person in Fiji:

• Momi memorial park: 10 FJD (400 INR)
• Biausevu waterfalls: 25 FJD
• Fort: 20 FJD
• Zipline: 75 FJD
• Garden of sleeping Giant: 30 FJD 

Overall I spent about 14000 INR in entry fees (6600 for Fiji culture village, rest on multiple other tourist places)

Food: Depending on your interests you can plan to spend. I cooked at hostel for about 3 days, hence my food cost was less. Remaining 3 days spent at restaurants. 

• A coffee costs 5 FJD (200 INR)
• Tender coconut: 2 FJD to 10 FJD depending on where you buy it
• Veg thali-12-15 FJD

During my 6 day trip, initial 3 days cooked food at homestay- had to buy imported tomato at 700 INR per kilo, had carried few ready to eat from India. Last 3 days bought lunch at restaurants, costing about 20-25 FJD per meal (meal + 1 drink).  

Food bill includes VAT, you don't have to pay extra- though billing could be misguiding

Most food items cost 15-20 FJD minimum (600-800 INR), so you should factor a budget of about 1500-2000 INR per day, per person on food, unless you can cook at homestay. Thus was able to manage at about 10000 INR in food expenses.

Other expenses to keep in mind:

• Cash withdrawal from ATM: 15 FJD or 600 INR extra charge
• Currency conversion at Airport: 10 FJD or 400 INR extra charge 
• Not returning rental car clearn: 15 to 75 FJD cleaning charge
• Fuel: about 2.8 FJD per liter for petrol (110 INR)
• Local Sim card: 35 to 100 FJD depending on data, validity etc 

Overall I spent about 1.6 lakhs on my Fiji trip. Could have been less than 1.4 lakhs in case we had 4 people to share the car rental expense and 2 people to share a hotel room or some expensive spends were avoided.

Disclaimer: all information as available at the time of preparing this post. Prices may vary from time to time depending on season, operator, ongoing offers, currency conversion rate and other factors. Do your research. 

Also read: Reasons to visit Fiji