
Taveuni, also known as the Garden Island of Fiji, is one of the many beautiful islands within the Fiji group. The island looks somewhat like a cigar and it takes about 1 hour 45 minutes to travel across by plane on the DHC6-400 series aircraft. Those who have flown on the DHC6 aircraft can relate to me when I say that it was not the most comfortable ride but the experience of overlooking the ocean and beautiful remote islands.
If you prefer to travel on a boat then it would take about 22 hours to travel from the main island, which is Viti Levu, to Taveuni.
My overall experience during my time in Taveui is simply awesome! If there was a place that I would recommend everyone to visit, it will definitely be Taveuni. Here some things that you can look forward to doing when you go to Taveuni.
Rock Slides

Sounds dangerous huh? I can guarantee you that it is most definitely not. Unless you’re someone that likes to live life on the edge and slide down the rocks standing up with a blindfold on. But seriously though, it’s safe to slide.
The locals presented this trick to sliding faster and all the way into the mini pool down at the end of the rock slides, you need to block off the mouth of the river by somehow squeezing your body against both ends of the rock then wait till the water behind you builds up, then just wait for the current to push you down and just let the water work its magic as you slide down the rocks.
I must warn you though that you will need to wear jean shorts or tough material pants/shorts when sliding down. The constant friction on the rocks may cause tears on your pants/shorts.
Don’t Go Chasing Waterfalls…
Apart from being known as the Garden Island of Fiji, Taveuni is also known for it’s spectacular waterfalls. With over a 100 waterfalls situated around the island, Taveuni has 2 well known waterfall picnic spots – Tavoro Waterfalls and Lavena Waterfalls.
Tavoro Waterfall
Tavoro Waterfalls is the most commonly known picnic spot used by locals and tourists. It has a well-maintained track path to the waterfalls. There are a total of 3 waterfalls located at Tavoro. After a 5 minute walk to the first waterfall, there’s about a 30-45 minute hike up the hills to see the other 2 waterfalls. I know hearing about a hike just to reach a waterfall seems dreadful, but I can guarantee you that it is all worth it.
Just that feeling of accomplishment of reaching the waterfalls after the hike is so rewarding and you get to cool off in the icy cold water. So refreshing!
Lavena Waterfalls
If you think the waterfalls at Tavoro looks awesome, you may change your mind when you see photos of the waterfalls in Lavena. From what I counted on my last trip to Lavena, there are over 40 waterfalls that you can sight from the sea. You can either do a coastal walk to the picnic spot or you can hire the boat from one of the villagers to do some sightseeing around the Lavena area. Lavena is also a national heritage, which means that no development will take place in the Lavena area.
I couldn’t capture photos of all the waterfalls we saw but you can just imagine how majestic the rest of the waterfalls must look like. The color of the sea added to its majestic look and I must admit that even my iPhone camera doesn’t do it justice.
You need to go see for yourself!

But Where Will I Stay?
When planning any holiday, we always ensure that we have our accommodation setup first before we actually plan anything else. Taveuni has a range of hotels and resorts for you to choose from such as:
- Maravu Plantation Beach Resort
- Tides Reach Resort
- Taveuni Island Resort
- Taveuni Palms
- Raiwasa
These are just some of the many choices of accommodation for your next holiday trip to Taveuni. But to get the best Taveuni experience, I would recommend staying with one of the locals. For a small contribution towards your stay with them, the locals would be thrilled to show you all the Taveuni has to offer.
And if you do decide to go to Taveuni, I would highly recommend trying the sea urchin – a.k.a “Cawaki” (tha-wha-key) in the Fijian language. Cawaki is a Fijian delicacy. It may look disgusting to some but I must say that it tastes way better than it looks.

You Need to See It for Yourself!
What do you think of Taveuni based on my experience in this article? Too good to be true? Do you want to go and see for yourself? Well then, what are you waiting for? Well for most of us, we are waiting for this pandemic to end. If you’re living outside of Fiji then your trip to Taveuni will need to be postponed.
But if you’re living in Fiji then you should definitely head over to Taveuni on your next school holidays or your next planned leave days from work.
You won’t regret it!