Welcome the dawn of each new day in Fiji

Bula - Welcome to Fiji!

Picture the scene... as you awake from a peaceful sleep, the sound of the ocean floats through your open window and the sun's rays reflect off the sparkling white sands that stretch up to your door. Sounds like paradise? It is!

Welcome to Fiji, a nature lover's delight that nestles in a unique environment of extreme beauty and tranquility. An isolated collection of over 300 South Pacific islands, Fiji lies exactly half way round the world on the 180th meridian. Relatively untouched by tourism, it has also escaped the everyday burdens of its larger neighbours - you won't find the roar of industry here, island visitors can drink the tap water, and there are very few poisonous creepy crawlies to be seen! Of the 333 islands in the group, 100 are inhabited and are well connected by sea or air - so you can explore easily by simply jumping into a seaplane or ferry.

The list of things to see and do in Fiji is endless. Indulge your sense of adventure and explore the tropical waters, home to scores of sea life. Where else can you swim with huge, harmless manta rays congregating by the shore, snorkel over giant rainbow gardens of soft coral, or scuba dive the White Wall?

Intrepid surfers will feel the adrenaline pumping as they take on the famous Cloud Breaker - an incredible six-metre wave found offshore at Tavarua.

If that all sounds a little energetic, lay your flippers down and get ready to chill! Watch your troubles float away as you bob around in the calm, quiet waters of a turquoise lagoon at sunset, lay back on the beach or walk alone through lush rainforest. The sun shines over Fiji almost everyday, making the rain a novelty - as soon as the large warm drops fall from the sky, the streets are filled with people enjoying a rainbath in the brief downpour of a tropical shower which ends as quickly as it began!

It's hard not to fall in love with Fiji's unique culture, and you'll get an overwhelming sense of an everyday life lived for the joy of it all. The Fiji Islanders will welcome you into their churches and villages, where rushing is rude, rugby is the national pastime of choice, and the name of a new friend is never forgotten. Share a coconut shell of Kava, a cloudy liquid that cements your island welcome, or humbly chat with the local village chief in his high peaked house... however you choose to spend your time in Fiji, you'll leave these beautiful islands with a sense of peace and a flower tucked behind one ear!