Three Very Different Fiji Experiences: Gardens, Malamala & South Sea Island

After finishing our transpacific cruise in San Francisco, the kids and I had one more stop before heading home: four days in Fiji.

It worked really well as a way to break up the trip home. After almost a month of travelling through different time zones, Fiji put us only a couple of hours ahead of home in Australia, giving us a few days to start getting our body clocks back to something resembling normal.

My mum was also flying over from Sydney to meet us, so it became a little family holiday before we all headed home.

The kids and I had arrived in Nadi at around 5am after our overnight flight from San Francisco, while Mum arrived later that evening. I'd deliberately avoided booking anything for our first day, and even our plans for the following few days were kept fairly relaxed.

Rather than trying to cram full-day tours into our stay, we booked three very different experiences: an afternoon exploring Nadi and the Garden of the Sleeping Giant, a half day at Malamala Beach Club and another half day at South Sea Island.

As it turned out, the half-day options were perfect for us.

Travelling overnight to Fiji with kids?

You can also read about how we handled our San Francisco to Nadi flight, 5am arrival and the very welcome day room we booked near the airport.

Voyage Ready Read 👉 Our Overnight Flight to Fiji

Our next stop was a local growers market.

Because we'd chosen an afternoon tour, quite a few vendors had already packed up for the day, but there was still plenty to look at.

The floral arrangements were particularly beautiful, and we bought some fresh pineapples that turned out to be among the sweetest we've ever eaten.

Sometimes it's the simple things. 😂

If seeing the market at its busiest is particularly important to you, an earlier tour would probably be the better option. For us, the trade-off was worth it because we'd deliberately chosen a relaxed morning after everyone's flights the day before.

There's a beautiful white-sand beach, a spectacular infinity pool, expansive undercover lounge areas, hammocks and plenty of sun loungers scattered around the island.

For larger groups or anyone wanting their own dedicated space, private cabanas and day beds can also be booked.

The island itself is quite small. Malamala says you can walk around it in around 20 minutes, but it certainly didn't feel crowded while we were there. There were plenty of places to find your own space away from the main pool area.

Non-motorised water sports equipment is included with the day pass, including snorkelling equipment, kayaks and stand-up paddleboards. Flotation equipment is also available.

We were perfectly happy alternating between swimming, eating and doing absolutely nothing.

Food and drinks aren't included in the standard Malamala day pass, so you pay for whatever you order while you're there.

And the food was divine.

So were the drinks.

Everything felt considerably more beach club than basic island excursion, and the staff were incredibly attentive throughout our visit.

We spent the afternoon eating, drinking, swimming and relaxing before catching the ferry back to Port Denarau, where our coach was waiting to return us to the hotel.

For a relaxing island afternoon where you want good food, a beautiful pool and somewhere comfortable to spend a few hours, Malamala was hard to fault.

👉Check current half-day transfer prices and availability for Malamala Beach Club here.

Our final island trip was another half-day afternoon visit, again booked through Viator.

The process was similar to Malamala: hotel-area coach transfer to Port Denarau, check-in and then ferry out towards the islands.

But once we arrived, the experience was quite different.

South Sea Island has a more rustic feel than Malamala.

There are tables, sun loungers and beanbags scattered around the island, along with plenty of activities. There was also a volleyball net that managed to entice quite a few people into an impromptu game during our visit.

Non-motorised water sports equipment such as snorkelling gear, paddleboards and kayaks is included.

Lunch is also included in the half-day pass, with an island-style BBQ buffet along with local beer, house wine, soft drinks and water.

This makes the cost structure quite different to Malamala, where food and drinks are purchased separately.

Neither approach is necessarily better. It's simply something worth factoring in when comparing the price of the two experiences.

One fairly important difference between the islands is how you get ashore.

Malamala has direct jetty access.

At South Sea Island, we transferred from the larger ferry into a smaller tender boat for the final trip to shore.

We managed it without any problems and the staff were very helpful, but it's something I'd want to know about beforehand if travelling with mobility limitations, very young children or a pram.

The same applies to one of the biggest surprises of our South Sea Island visit.

I hadn't really appreciated how good the semi-submarine experience would be until we did it.

We transferred from the island into another small boat to reach the semi-submersible coral viewer, then headed downstairs into the air-conditioned viewing area.

And yes, air-conditioned.

After being outside on a tropical island, that alone was pretty wonderful. 😂

Large underwater windows gave us a great view of the coral reef and fish without needing to snorkel.

It was a completely different way to see the reef and a particularly good option for children or anyone who isn't comfortable snorkelling.

The semi-submersible is currently included as part of South Sea Island's day-trip experience, although it's subject to availability and can occasionally be unavailable for maintenance.

Again, accessing it requires transferring between boats, so anyone with limited mobility should take that into consideration. We found the staff did a great job of helping people wherever they could.

After a few hours of swimming, eating and exploring, we caught the ferry back towards Port Denarau just as the sun was beginning to set.

Not a bad way to finish our last island day.

👉Check current half-day transfer prices and availability for South Sea Island here.

Having visited both, I don't think I'd describe one as being better than the other.

They're just different.

Malamala Beach Club would be my pick if you want a more polished beach-club experience, with an infinity pool, beautiful lounging areas and a good à la carte food and drinks menu.

South Sea Island felt more casual and family-focused, with the BBQ lunch and selected drinks included, plenty of activities and the unexpected bonus of the semi-submarine.

And if you're not interested in spending another day around water at all, our afternoon combining Sri Siva Subramaniya Temple, the markets and Garden of the Sleeping Giant was a completely different way to see a little more of Fiji away from the resorts and islands.

I'm glad we did all three because none of them felt like a repeat of the day before.

One of the best decisions we made was choosing half-day options for both island visits.

With kids, I think a full day on a small island can sometimes become a very long day, particularly once everyone has swum, eaten and had enough sun.

Our afternoon trips gave us leisurely mornings at the hotel before heading out. We still had plenty of time on each island, but we were ready to leave when the ferry arrived rather than counting down the hours until departure.

It also meant our four days in Fiji actually felt relaxing.

After almost a month of travelling, that was exactly what we wanted.

If you're considering similar Fiji day trips, these were the things that stood out for us:

• Half-day island trips can be plenty with kids. We never felt as though we'd missed out by not spending the entire day there.
• Malamala food and drinks are extra. The standard pass covers transfers and facilities, but you'll need to budget for whatever you eat and drink on the island.
• South Sea Island includes more in the pass. Our BBQ lunch and local beer, house wine, soft drinks and water were included.
• Think about accessibility. Malamala has jetty access, while South Sea Island involves a tender transfer. The semi-submarine requires another boat transfer.
• Viator made managing several bookings easy. Having our tour details and communication with the operators together in one place was particularly handy while we were travelling.
• Hotel transfers make the island trips straightforward. Current Malamala and South Sea Island packages include pre-booked coach transfers from many hotels and resorts around Nadi, Denarau and Wailoaloa. Check the inclusions for the particular tour you book, as transfer areas and arrangements can vary.

Four days certainly wasn't enough to see everything Fiji has to offer, but that wasn't really what we were trying to do.

We wanted a relaxing stop on the way home, a chance to spend a few days with Mum, and a mix of experiences without racing from one thing to the next.

A temple, ridiculously sweet pineapple, tropical gardens, two very different islands, an unexpected semi-submarine and a few days adjusting to Fiji Time?

That worked pretty well for us.

Here's a link that includes all of the tours we went on, with both the half day and full day options for Malamala and South Sea Island.