Things to do in Nadi, Fiji: One day three ways

The Sri Siva Subramaniya Hindu temple in Nadi.  Photo: Alamy

PENNY PINCH

Breakfast with the locals and grab a hot chicken curry roti from the smiling sellers outside Nadi's covered market ($1.25) then dive inside for papaya, bananas and mangos and kava drinking etiquette tips from the kava traders (free). Nadi is a Fijian-Indian town, so pop into a hairdresser to have your brows threaded or hands henna'd ($6.30). Lunch is at the little vegetarian restaurant in the wildly ornate Sri Siva Subramaniya temple. Dress modestly (no bare thighs) or borrow a sarong at the gate (entrance $3.75, lunch $3.15-6.30). Cool off with a dip at Wailoaloa Beach then head to Ed's Bar, in the Martintar district, for a cold, pre-dinner Fiji Lager ($3.15, 51 Queens Road). Nearby, Tu's Place is a staple for traditional Fijian food. Don't expect lavish decor, do order the kokoda and rourou ($14, 37 Queens Road, tusplace.webs.com) and then bunker down in Nadi Downtown Hotel, the only hotel on Main Street. The hotel is clean, with its own restaurant and bar and is a good source of budget travel advice ($45 a double, fijidowntownhotel.com).
TOTAL $76.60

EASY DOES IT

Kick off with quality coffee, house-made brioche and honey from the farm of Bulaccino Cafe (Queen's Road, $5.80, bulaccino.com). If it's Sunday, pop in to one of the town's many churches for the service and some spectacular singing (free). Flower admirers and small, jumpy children should head to the Garden of the Sleeping Giant, 15 minutes from Nadi. The late Raymond Burr (aka Perry Mason) retired here to collect orchids, there are now more than2000 varieties ($10 adults/$5 children/$25families). Afterwards, lunch and people-watch at Port Denarau: grab a wrap and a Lulu Mix juice (beetroot, ginger and carrot, $14.80) from Lulu's Cafe, beside the pier, then take a spin around Denarau on the hop-on, hop-off Bula Bus ($5 all-day, kids under 10 free, bulabuses.com.fj). Pick up your souvenirs on Nadi's Main Street, check the handicraft market and cruise Jack's, Tappoo or Prouds for glossy coloured freshwater pearl earrings (about $22)and a bag of Bula Coffee beans, grown in the highlands and roasted in Sigatoka ($16.30 for 200 grams). Kick back on an evening barbeque cruise around Nadi Bay ($82/adults, $56/kids, captaincook.com.fj) then bed down in a beachfront spa villa at First Landing ($140 a double with breakfast, firstlandingresort.com).
TOTAL $290.90

SPLASH OUT

Book out the whole day on the 64-foot catamaran Catatac for a schmoozy island-hop around the Mamanuca. Wet a line, catch a wave, snorkel the reefs and find the perfect beach: lunch and cocktail-drinking included ($2260 a couple, charterboatsfiji.com). If you're staying on land and taking a bed at the Fiji Beach Resort & Spa by Hilton, take their hobie cats out for a peaceful (ie, non-motorised) glide over the calm waters (free to hotel guests), then frock up for the Sofitel, a favourite with visiting royalty. Its shopping gallery includes a Pure Fiji boutique: stock up on orange blossom coconut sugar rub. It's organic and won't leave you smelling like tinned fruit salad ($25, purefiji.com), then lunch poolside on grilled reef fish at its much lauded Salt restaurant ($31.40, sofitel.com). While away the afternoon with a four-hand ayurvedic massage in Spa Maya, at Denarau Marina ($122). Hungry? Dinner and sunset are at Peter Kuruvita's Flying Fish Fiji, in the Sheraton Fiji Resort. Go the five-course degustation ($110, peterkuruvita.com) then soak up the silence of the tropical night at the Hilton's one-bed beachfront terraces (from $255 , fijibeachresortbyhilton.com).
TOTAL $2260 or  $543.40

The writer was a guest of Nadi Downtown hotel.

This feature by Belinda Jackson was published in Sydney's Sun-Herald newspaper's Traveller section.