Savusavu for 3 weeks - too much?

Hello once again! :-)

Has anyone been to Savusavu?

How was it (did you snorkel?)? Any decent places to eat (vegetarian food?)?

Would you think that 3 weeks would be too much there?

Is there a lot to see relatively close / any recommendations? We will have bicycles to get around, but of course we can use taxis / buses occasionally..

Just wondering because I just reserved a rental house for 3 weeks from Savusavu...

All input will be appreciated, as I tried to search the LP forums but didn't find any information!

-J

Me again .. Savusavu is far off the usual holiday trail, so I'm not surprised you didn't find much.

Staying anywhere for 3 weeks is almost like settling down. So, whether it will be too much or not depends a bit on what you have in mind. There is not a huge amount of variety in things to do, so 3 weeks might be difficult to fill if you were thinking about a busy tourist itinerary.

However, if you can establish a daily routine and sort of 'settle down', then 3 weeks might pass quickly. Savusavu is a favourite hangout for yachties and some retirees, and there is a small semi-permanent expat community there. This adds something as far as socializing is concerned, to help fill up the hours and days. The crowd irritated me at first, but I adapted to it. It wasn't difficult to spend several days just wandering around town, chatting with people about their life there, sipping on a beer in the evening (or kava in the market).

I didn't do any snorkeling while in Savusavu, so cannot rate it. But, I heard some good reports, the reef/beach/snorkeling area is about 4-5 km south of the town center. I think Jacques Cousteau's son has something to do with an upmarket resort there...or maybe I'm remembering the story wrong.

There is a national park/nature reserve in the middle of the island, on the way to Labasa, and it is a possibility for some jungle trail hiking. I found Labasa an interesting place to visit, but it is devoid of the conventional "tourist attractions". I liked it because it was a normal town, and I found it interesting to just hang around there for a few days and get a feel for local life. But .. that's just the sort of thing I like to do when I visit a place.

As usual, I can't give solid advice about vegetarian because I was not on the look-out for it specifically. I might order a vegetarian stir-fry or veg fried rice if it was on a menu (meat tends to be expensive and I stay away from it on my budget trips). Since there is the ex-pat community in Savusavu, and a couple of the restaurants are run by and for the expats, maybe it will be easier to get vegetarian style meals at these places.

Regarding transport, the island is hilly and not many roads are paved. A bike might be good enough for around Savusavu (eg to get to beach). But beyond that you need to be super fit or use a car or other public transport. The main road to Labasa is paved and also some of the roads immediately around Savusavu. Other than that it will be mainly dirt roads.

Some photos here.

I think the local Indian community will take care of vegetarian needs.
I definitely remember that there was a pure-veg Indian resto in Labasa.

I think I myself would certainly find 3 weeks in Savusavu too long, to be honest.
It is prettier than Labasa, but it still feels somewhat touristy (or expaty).

Not sure I could fill in 3 weeks there, maybe by taking a few local bus trips - up to Buca Bay would be interesting - road in quite bad condition. We were taken snorkelling by boat to a spot near Cousteau Resort which was meant to be some of the best around - I was seriously underwhelmed! - but that was a few years ago, maybe it has improved. We also hired kayaks & paddled around the island in the bay & round the pearl farm, but someone who has been more recently said they did not find kayaks for hire. Depends where your rental is, but you may find the roads too bad for bicycles. I have heard that snorkelling is better away from the town area.

Thanks everyone for your input, it is very greatly appreciated. I wish I could reward you with more than just words, though.

Anyhow, about our plan for Savusavu..

We figured we'd daytrip near with local buses / taxis, and use the bicycles mainly for trips to town / nearby snorkeling places. We are not frenetic pace tourists, quite the opposite - so we don't need a lot of tourist stuff.

We've lived 8 months in Cairns, Australia - which is a tourist gateway town - Savusavu sounds like one too, but a 20 fold smaller version.. I think we could love it by the sounds of it!

But note that I have not paid for this yet - So I can still call it off. However, I do not know where else I could get a relatively cheap rental - now we're going for 700 EUR / 22 days..

What would be a good route to Savusavu from Nadi? We're landing on the 15th of October and the rental starts 19th, so any good 4 day routes? We'd like to visit Ovalau, ccould we somehow squeeze it to this 4 day transfer period and still enjoy ourselves?

-J

I don't know what the current ferry options are between Vita Levu and Vanua Levu. In the past year or so there has been some reorganization of the Patterson Brothers route and I don't know what it is (used to leave north end, may have moved to a south end port). Whatever option, it means a long bus ride from Nadi to the east end of Viti Levu, then taking a ferry, then another bus ride to Savusavu. There is probably still a direct (overnight) ferry from Suva to Savusavu in the Sulivan ferry - so, bus to Suva, take ferry, getting to Savusavu next day. If you just did this, and didn't bother with Ovalau, then 4 days would permit an easy pace, overnighting for example in Suva ...

But the direct ferry doesn't depart every day. So, one way or the other it will not be easy to coordinate with a stopover on Ovalau. It may leave you with only a couple of days. It would be too rushed. If you went to Ovalau, go for a week and get something out of it. If you're willing to spend 3 weeks at Savusavu, I don't think you'd get much enjoyment out of such a short stay, combined with all the travel

Even if you took the quickest option and flew to Ovalau and on to Savusavu, you'd probably have to go via Suva in both directions. I have no idea what the flight connections would be like. Not the best, I'd guess, which means some hours waiting for a flight. You may still end up with with only 2 full days on Ovalau.

I would much rather spend 3 weeks on Ovalau, based in Levuka, than in Savusavu.
Would prefer Taveuni, too.

There used to be a Patterson Bros ferry (exactly like the one that just sank in Tonga!) that went between Lautoka and Nabouwalu (SE end of Vanua Levu). When we took it years ago you had to then get a bus to Labasa & then another bus to Savusavu. I think I've read somewhere since then the road along the south coast of Vanua Levu between Nabouwalu & Savusavu, has been joined up, making it possible to go straight there. However going the long way round through Labasa would take care of your extra days if you stopped off there. (Bus ride took around 5 - 6 hours Nabouwalu to Labasa).
I can't agree that Savusavu would resemble a "mini-Cairns" - not in any way. Not the tourist attractions surrounding it for a start.
To add in Ovalau you would have to go back to Suva (boat or plane) - there is no direct connection. Although distances look short on a map the connections are not good. There used to be only 2 flights a day in & out of Ovalau, one early morning, one about 5.30pm - anyone know whether they are still operating with Air Fiji's recent problems? - I don't know if there are any flights at all at present.
I agree with Laslo, Ovalau - with trips of a few days to one of the offshore islands there (caqelai etc) .

Maybe half & half? Ovalau & Savusavu?

Laszlo: Couldn't find any house rentals from Taveuni - at least not in our price range!

This whole thing about going to Savusavu for 3 weeks is mainly for budget reasons. When you're stationary, you won't spend that much. Also, accommodation seems to works out cheaper than in other options - and we wouldn't wanna stay in a dorm!

Sounds like I cannot do Ovalau before going to Savusavu.

Thanks everyone for their input!

-J