Suva
Fiji's capital on a deep harbour, colonial façades among the towers, a museum that reaches back 3,700 years, and a market at its liveliest on Fridays and Saturdays.
- Arrival
- Nausori International · SUV
- To the city
- 16 km from the city centre
- Private jets
- Customs at Nausori, 05:30 to 21:30
- Best time
- May to October
The city
The capital on the harbour.
The British moved Fiji's capital from Levuka to Suva in 1882, for its deep harbour, and around a third of the country now lives here. Colonial buildings stand among the high-rises; on Victoria Parade the Grand Pacific Hotel faces Parliament across the road, and the Fiji Museum is close by, at the edge of Thurston Gardens.
Suva is on the wetter, eastern side of Viti Levu, and even July, the driest month, averages 86 millimetres of rain; from January to April it passes 280. Tourism Fiji's dry season, May to October, brings highs of 26 to 28 °C, and the sea stays between 25 and 28 °C all year.
- Fiji Museum Collections reaching back some 3,700 years to the Lapita age, with a café looking over Thurston Gardens.
- The market Fresh produce by the main wharf, busiest on Fridays and Saturdays, with masi, kava bowls and carved war clubs at the handicraft centre nearby.
- Victoria Parade The waterfront avenue between Parliament, Thurston Gardens and the harbour, where colonial-era buildings stand among the towers.
Arriving
Sixteen kilometres to Nausori.
Nausori International, sixteen kilometres north-east of the city, takes a smaller number of international flights. Most long-haul arrivals come through Nadi, on the other side of Viti Levu.
- Auckland 3 h 05
- Brisbane 3 h 55
- Sydney 4 h 30
- Melbourne 5 h 25
- San Francisco 11 h 35 long-range jet
When to go
May to October.
Hot and humid, and wet in every month. May to October is the dry season by Tourism Fiji's reckoning, cooler and with less rain, though 86 to 152 millimetres a month still fall. From January to April the rain is heavy, close to 360 millimetres in March.
- 30° J 308 28°
- 30° F 293 28°
- 30° M 356 28°
- 29° A 288 28°
- 28° M 142 27°
- 27° J 113 26°
- 26° J 86 25°
- 26° A 103 25°
- 27° S 123 25°
- 27° O 152 26°
- 29° N 181 26°
- 29° D 226 27°
Where to stay
On the waterfront, and on Lami Bay.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
Where to dine
Where to book in Suva.
No MICHELIN Guide covers Fiji. This is the signature fine-dining room of the Grand Pacific Hotel.
- Prince Albert Signature restaurant, Grand Pacific Hotel Pacific Rim Grand Pacific Hotel, Victoria Parade
Elsewhere in Fiji
More reasons to come.
- Nadi The international airport, and seaplanes out to the islands.
- Mamanuca Islands Small resort islands within an hour of Nadi by boat.
- Yasawa Islands A long chain of less visited islands further north.
- Savusavu A sheltered harbour on Vanua Levu, for yachts and divers.
- Taveuni The garden island, astride the 180th meridian.
Flying to Suva?
Choose how you arrive.
A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.