Facts on Fiji
If you would like to find out some useful Fiji information, we have put together a small selection of facts on Fiji to get you started.
Below, you will discover some of the more important facts on Fiji as well as more specific Fiji travel tips that can help you during your adventures.
The official language in Fiji is English with Fijian and Fiji Hindi spoken widely.
Fiji will grant a four month tourist visa to most travellers on arrival as long as you have an ongoing ticket and a valid passport with an expiry date that is at least three months after your intended departure from Fiji.
Fiji Travelling Tips
Fijians dress very conservatively. If you are in town or a village, it is respectful to cover your shoulders and knees. Only visit a village if you are lucky enough to be invited and don’t forget to present a Sevusevu (gift of Yaqona) to the Chief. See our Culture page for more cultural facts of Fiji.
Be aware of anyone trying to sell you hand carved wooden swords. They will be very friendly, asking you lots of questions whilst engraving your name on the sword and then trying to sell it you. Politely but firmly say no thanks and walk away. This practice is illegal but still very common.
When buying timber souvenirs from either shops or markets, always ask or check if it is treated pine (it should be stamped on the product). Only purchase timber souvenirs that are treated. Untreated timbers will generally be rejected at customs in your own country, and other timbers could be coming from an unsustainable forest source. Timber species to avoid that are in danger are Dakua and Yaka. Therefore it is wise and responsible to only purchase treated pine souvenirs. Be careful of other souvenirs that you purchase as anything that could carry disease or comes from a plant or animal source that has not been treated will most probably be rejected.
To be safe, carry your valuables with you in a small backpack, don’t leave them in your luggage on the plane, bus or hotel room in Fiji. If you are going swimming or don’t want to carry stuff everywhere, you can also use the hotel safe or in-room safes. Money belts are also an old but effective strategy for carrying cash, travel documents and traveller’s cheques.
If you are hiking or doing a lot of walking in Fiji, make sure to take a good pair of shoes and your feet will thank you for it. Otherwise, good sandals will get you by and still be cool to wear. A raincoat, torch, insect repellent and water bottle could also be useful.
When visiting remote places, always take your rubbish with you where you know you can place it in a bin and try to adopt the reduce, reuse and recycle policy. Also, please minimise walking on coral reefs so that you do not cause breakage. Fiji is a beautiful place so please help to keep it that way for future generations and visitors to enjoy. For more information about Fiji and it’s environment, see the Ecology Category.
When departing Fiji, visitors are required to pay a departure tax of $F30 but children under the age of 12 are exempt.
Electricity in Fiji is supplied at 240 volts AC 50 Hz and three pin electricity outlets.
The unit of currency is the Fijian dollar and major credit cards are accepted at hotels, resorts and selected outlets. Money can be exchanged at foreign exchange bureaus at airports and banks such as The Australian and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ Ltd), Habib Bank, Bank of Baroda, Bank of Hawaii, Westpac and Fiji’s own national bank.
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Always remember “Conserve Fiji today to preserve Fiji for tomorrow.”