Fiji on the cheap- Cloudbreak area

gibbsy's picture
gibbsy started the topic in Friday, 25 Apr 2014 at 2:24pm

Planning a little hit n run for about 6 days or so when a swell looks like popping up, sometime June -November. Any info and ideas on cheap accommodation and access?

gibbsy's picture
gibbsy's picture
gibbsy Sunday, 4 May 2014 at 8:30am

Sorry to bump this...... but really keen to get over there, especially with this run of SW swells,anyone got any ideas about how best to do Fiji? Surely someone's been! cheers

fitzroy-21's picture
fitzroy-21's picture
fitzroy-21 Sunday, 4 May 2014 at 1:47pm

Gibbsy, Plantation Is (Malolo Is) isn't too bad. Pretty close and they have a boat that runs out to Crowdbreak (about 15min) or Restaurants, Wilkes, Nomotu, Desperations etc (about 10mins) early each morning or pretty well when ever people want. Boat is in good nick and local operator.

They also run boats out of the harbour and off a few other Islands around (Tav & Namotu of course). Get in touch with Surf Fiji and they should give you heaps of info.

wesley's picture
wesley's picture
wesley Sunday, 4 May 2014 at 2:03pm

Yeah I have stayed at Mololo too, I thought it was pretty good. Sometimes the boat driver from Mololo island resort is late in the morning (island time) but little(!) John from plantation cove was pretty reliable. Do yourself a favour and get the seaplane out to the islands from the big island (about$200) and you'll get an extra days surfing, otherwise you're one of the last stops on the ferry and it takes FOREVER!

udo's picture
udo's picture
udo Sunday, 4 May 2014 at 3:04pm

Whats cost per trip for the boat plantation island to cloudbreak ...heard figures of $70 per day per person ?

wesley's picture
wesley's picture
wesley Sunday, 4 May 2014 at 4:10pm

Yep it is, but Fiji dollars, which are about 60c AUD. Forty bucks I suppose. If you're chasing a particular swell then go whenever but otherwise it can be better on the neap tides. A lot of water moves between Namotu and Tarvarua on the big tides and it affects the waves around the islands.

fitzroy-21's picture
fitzroy-21's picture
fitzroy-21 Sunday, 4 May 2014 at 5:49pm

Yep, $40 and by memory you'll get a few free over 10 trips if your a regular.
Wesley, I don't think little john is doing it any more. At least he wasn't when I was last there.

gibbsy's picture
gibbsy's picture
gibbsy Sunday, 4 May 2014 at 5:54pm

Thanks heaps for the info crew :) been looking at surf break fiji and a couple of other mainland based places- price is much cheaper(I try and ghetto it to get as many trips a year in...) anyone have any experience or hearsay of this way of doing it? And info on local wind(mainly cloudbreak restaurants) have heard wind is a big factor...

fitzroy-21's picture
fitzroy-21's picture
fitzroy-21 Sunday, 4 May 2014 at 5:57pm

Offshore with the trades.

wesley's picture
wesley's picture
wesley Sunday, 4 May 2014 at 7:47pm

You can surf cloudbreak light cross/onshore no worries, still be better than anything at home. Fiji will still get weather systems that interrupt the trades and can make the wind go up the shit for a day or two. Winds not as reliable as Indo. If you don't expect it to be 100% picture perfect all day,every day, you'll not be disappointed.

Damothediver's picture
Damothediver's picture
Damothediver Sunday, 4 May 2014 at 9:07pm

I went to Fiji in feb this year and did 2 days to cloudbreak from Sonaisali island resort and a week on Coral Coast. It will cost you about $100au to go to cloudbreak from the mainland.........the only major problem doing it this way is that you don't know who else will be on the boat with you........if you are a confident and capable surfer and you get out there and its 6 foot you will be stoked.....but if there are a couple of less experienced or less confident on the boat, they will shit themselves and not want to surf...........and so to cater for everyone, your time at Cloudbreak will be limited to an hour or 2 and you will have to go somewhere smaller and more protected for the others, I am not made of money and so when this happened to me......twice.....i was a little disappointed. For what its worth. i recommend the coral coast for uncrowded fun. But Cloudbreak is like no other.........

ZenSurfer's picture
ZenSurfer's picture
ZenSurfer Friday, 23 Jan 2015 at 1:42am

Can someone recommend an actual boat/tour operator that does the day tours?! ...and from where? (excuse my ignorance and lack of research).

Had a week on the coral coast (average surf, bad timing, copped 5 stitches in less than average shit surf ~ wind/swell not happening ~ but the potential for relatively uncrowded filth is definitely there, no doubt). Which brings me to the 'crux' of this rant... I'm currently sitting here at a "Club Med Style" shite resort at Denarau (Family Time - don't give me grief, just answer the question), ...and have less than 72 hrs left up my sleeve, so need to exit stage left and split to Tav. ~ hanging for serious pit time.

More advice on WHOM to contact for a day trip to CB/Tav. would be great. ...Doubt I'll get a hit on this forum in time, but I'm giving it a red hot crack. Cheers! ~ Desperate.

mick-free's picture
mick-free's picture
mick-free Friday, 23 Jan 2015 at 9:47am

check http://www.fijisurfshots.com/ and call Stu Johnson (don't have no.)

Call Moses +6797694550 he does charter.

Expect to pay $500 for the day though.

Looks small Cloudbreak anyway so not sure if you missing much zenny.

Desperations might have some for ya in morning though

shoredump's picture
shoredump's picture
shoredump Tuesday, 9 Jun 2015 at 1:29pm

The ferry between the mainland & plantation, there's a $100 fee per board right? Is that each way?

Pngy's picture
Pngy's picture
Pngy Monday, 11 Sep 2017 at 7:17am

Gibsy how did you go finding some cheap and ghetto accomodation? And Did you find any good transport options?

gibbsy's picture
gibbsy's picture
gibbsy Monday, 11 Sep 2017 at 9:55am

In fairness, haven't got there yet, but the cheapest deal I've seen is at funky fish resort, and they do transfers apparently. A lot of friends I've spoken with suggest staying on land and getting boats from there but iyt seems to imply a level of going there once and sussing out options to do it better for future trips. Still keen to pencil a strike in if anyone has good info... just been hitting indo up for quick runs a few times a season. a pleasant distraction...

freeride76's picture
freeride76's picture
freeride76 Monday, 11 Sep 2017 at 12:01pm

Stayed at Funky Fish......and surfed CB everyday.
Totally recommended....make sure you really butter up your boatman.
Ours was a guy named Rush....hahahhaha, from Yanuca....about the most chilled human being alive. We made sure he was well "looked after" and he was fine for us to be out there 4-6hrs.

Blowin's picture
Blowin's picture
Blowin Monday, 11 Sep 2017 at 12:36pm

Once I was staying at a little collection of turquoise green huts on a beautiful little island close( ish ) to Frigates

Sick little joint with just myself , my missus and a seppo we'd met on the mainland and convinced to come so I'd have someone to surf with.

I brought the head fella a bouquet of fine Kava as you do . We all wound up tucking in hard as you'd expect.

Next day our boatman - the only boatman - woke up late and dragged the chain getting out to the reef , which was pretty far away in his banana boat.

The Seppo and myself surfed for fucking HOURS on our own and old mate just lay in the bottom of his Bimini - less boat sloshing around in skanky old fish water with his hand clasped over his face. Full sun . Laying on the floor semi submerged in this putrid sea water . Nothing to eat or drink.

Fuck we laughed when we arrived back to the boat and saw him suffering the worst kind of post kava session hangover in his self made misery.

He'll never do that again , I thought.

Next day .....exactly the same .

And the next .

And the next.

Every day he existed in this fucked up state without ever once trying to improve his lot.

Strange.

Oh well, who gives a fuck ? His shortsightedness is his cross to bear and his alone.

Till the day we returned to the mainland when he ran out of fuel on the way - in the middle of fucking no where - in the rain . Fully hung over .again.

Turns out he'd burned through the fuel the night before chasing more kava after the previous nights session when we'd all gone to bed.

We ended up flagging a dive boat down and getting towed to land , said our goodbyes and left him there.

As I was walking away I looked back at the dock and there he is , back in the bottom of the boat .

No water , food , fuel or money . Face planted into the crook of his elbow lying in the shit - water sloshing around the floor .

I honestly don't think I've laughed that hard in my life before or since.

Good fella but.

He knew his fishing !

Solitude's picture
Solitude's picture
Solitude Thursday, 11 Jun 2020 at 2:33pm

Anyone got a preference for either Namotu or Tavarua?

mickseq's picture
mickseq's picture
mickseq Thursday, 11 Jun 2020 at 3:09pm

this is going to be the go to if INDO stays closed for a while

V M's picture
V M's picture
V M Thursday, 25 Jul 2024 at 1:44pm

If you're looking to visit Cloudbreak, Namotu, Tavarua and co on the cheap, I can strongly recommend getting skippered by Big Max out of Nabila - will include link below. He's solid and knows the spots like the back of his hand, They're based about 20km South of Nadi, and there are various apartments or homestays even closer
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Big+Max+Boat+Tours/@-17.8692375,177.268413,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x6e175bb7684cf1b9:0x76963abcbfb15043!8m2!3d-17.8692375!4d177.2709879!16s%2Fg%2F11w1zmr1yx?entry=ttu