Fiji Honeymoon:A 2-Week Itinerary

Fiji was our honeymoon - December into the New Year - and we did it the way this guide now runs: a few nights on the mainland, then out into the Yasawas, resort to resort up the chain. The moment the catamaran started weaving between the islets I understood what people fly here for. Denarau is where you land, change money and catch the boat; the postcard is out on the water.

The islands delivered a range no single resort could. I knelt behind a rubble wall while sharks worked a bait ball an arm's length away - my wife stayed on the beach with her book and rated her morning higher. We swam the half-flooded chambers at Sawa-i-Lau, drank kava when the bowl came round, and learned that when the lali drum beats you drop everything, because the mantas set the timing.

Then on Christmas morning off Taveuni we hit the Great White Wall on the right tide: a cliff face of white soft coral falling away further than I could see. This guide is that trip rebuilt in the order I would do it again - the three island stops chosen, the boats and the helicopter timed, and the tide-dependent wall given the flexible day it needs.