Info Just back from Taveuni, Fiji

[drrich2]

You can prepay for extra baggage ahead of time online (although that wasn't particularly easy), but it is much less expensive and you need to know and read the fine print to pack things wisely. If you show up and haven't pre-paid and don't have things sorted properly, you can end up paying excessive baggage fees.

Any idea how far in advance one has to pre-pay by? I ask because some people don't pack till close to time to fly.

 

[Joneill]

I know this question wasn't for me, but I can give you my perspective as someone that was just there and traveled with 16 others from various parts of the USA and all went about booking our flights independently.

I booked my flight through Alaska Airlines using my Alaska Airlines frequent flier miles. They are a partner with Fiji Airways. That free flight only got me as far as Nadi (Portland to San Fransico to Nadi) - round trip. I had to book a separate flight from Nadi to Taveuni with Fiji Airways and I had to pay for it separately. I had researched enough to know that the commuter flight from Nadi to Taveuni on Fiji Link (codeshare partner of Fiji Airways) has very strict baggage allowances and baggage fees. The planes are tiny and not only is every bag weighed (checked or carry-on), but you are also put on a scale to make sure the plane is not overloaded. And they are particular about where each person sits on the plane to balance out the weight. Strict limits on checked and carry-on luggage (number of pieces and weight of each piece).

You can prepay for extra baggage ahead of time online (although that wasn't particularly easy), but it is much less expensive and you need to know and read the fine print to pack things wisely. If you show up and haven't pre-paid and don't have things sorted properly, you can end up paying excessive baggage fees.

Others in my group, booked everything directly with Fiji Airways from the jump and their baggage allowances on the flight from San Francisco or Los Angeles were carried over to the commuter flight to Nadi and had zero issues with baggage fees and were never questioned about anything.

Others in my group also used frequent flier miles and booked the 2 flights separately, but didn't know about the baggage allowances and paid much more than I did, because they didn't pre-pay. Others booked the 2 flights separately and didn't pre-pay for baggage and no one said a thing and they skated through based on who they checked in with.

Also, if you are flying 1st class, business class or economy will also play a factor.

Bottom line is-- you should be good since you booked everything through Fiji Airways directly. Others should do some research.

Thanks for the explanation - I am flying business and my baggage allowance is way more than I'll need:

BTW - how did you like Fiji and the diving and where did you stay?

 

[Trailboss123]

Thanks for the explanation - I am flying business and my baggage allowance is way more than I'll need:

View attachment 732001

BTW - how did you like Fiji and the diving and where did you stay?

I also flew Business from Portland to SFO to Nadi and back and had the same baggage allowances.. It was just the flight from Nadi to Taveuni that I booked separately and had to factor in the baggage issues.

I loved it and I will go back. All in all, pretty easy to get to for me. Here is my trip report:

Trip Report - Fiji- May 14-30, 2022

This will be the first installment of what will likely be a multi installment report over the next 10 days or so. I am 5 days into a 16 day trip. I am getting a lot of minutae and logistics stuff out of the way with this first report. You will get more on the diving and hopefully lots of photos...

scubaboard.com

 

[Trailboss123]

Any idea how far in advance one has to pre-pay by? I ask because some people don't pack till close to time to fly.

I would think as long as you do it prior to check in you will be fine.

 

[ScubaCLT]

What were your favorite dive sites there? Headed that way later this year and starting to look at our options. Thanks!

 

[Trailboss123]

What were your favorite dive sites there? Headed that way later this year and starting to look at our options. Thanks!

My favorites were the yellow tunnel, Purple Wall and The Fingers. But we only got to do them once. All of the dive sites are very tide sensitive and you cannot necessarily dive where and when you want to. Have to take what the conditions give you. The White Wall has a huge reputation and it is pretty cool, but it is a pretty short wall and after it runs out, the rest of the dive is less than spectacular.