Hi everyone,

my wife and I are thinking of going to Fiji and want to take wingfoiling gear. Anyone have experiences to share? Any good places to go?

Thanks

Andy

Hey Andy,

I lived in Fiji some years ago, so hopefully my info can help you figure out some options. Though I didn't do any wind sports there, I was hyper aware of the wind due to my RC slope glider obsession (as well as being a pilot).

First off, where are you planning to be in Fiji? The windward side is on the East, so any islands in Fiji will see the most consistency there. There are some daily seabreezes from the west (which was what I mainly worked with for slope flying, as the west side is much drier and has lovely grassy slopes).

As for good spots to foil, should be fairly easy to find, studying google earth will show where the reefs are and anything else is going to be sandy bottom. Now that I think of it, there was an awesome little place that some expats set up for kite boarding (lodging, rentals, lessons, etc) off the north end of Viti Levu (main island where Nadi and the international airport is). It's called Safari Lodge, on Nananu-i-Ra island. seems to still be going.

Otherwise, can't help you too much. Fiji is a great place though, and I should love to go back for some winging some day! Definitely has very consistent winds, just avoid Cyclone season.

Clarke

Safari Lodge is still operating. I will be there next week with some other foilers.

Looks windy all week.

Look up Warren Francis here and send him a DM. He runs Safari Lodge.

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ArthurAlston said..
Safari Lodge is still operating. I will be there next week with some other foilers.

Looks windy all week.

Look up Warren Francis here and send him a DM. He runs Safari Lodge.

I googled safari lodge however not a lot of current info. What kind of prices are the rooms do you know? Do they rent out wing foil gear? cheers

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OGReadmore said..
Hey Andy,

I lived in Fiji some years ago, so hopefully my info can help you figure out some options. Though I didn't do any wind sports there, I was hyper aware of the wind due to my RC slope glider obsession (as well as being a pilot).

First off, where are you planning to be in Fiji? The windward side is on the East, so any islands in Fiji will see the most consistency there. There are some daily seabreezes from the west (which was what I mainly worked with for slope flying, as the west side is much drier and has lovely grassy slopes).

As for good spots to foil, should be fairly easy to find, studying google earth will show where the reefs are and anything else is going to be sandy bottom. Now that I think of it, there was an awesome little place that some expats set up for kite boarding (lodging, rentals, lessons, etc) off the north end of Viti Levu (main island where Nadi and the international airport is). It's called Safari Lodge, on Nananu-i-Ra island. seems to still be going.

Otherwise, can't help you too much. Fiji is a great place though, and I should love to go back for some winging some day! Definitely has very consistent winds, just avoid Cyclone season.

Clarke

Thanks Clarke. Haven't decided where we will be staying, still looking at options, but sounds like the east coast would be a better bet?

Andy

Wondering same thing, we are going to Malolo island in September, not sure if it's worth taking gear

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AndyM74 said..

OGReadmore said..
Hey Andy,

I lived in Fiji some years ago, so hopefully my info can help you figure out some options. Though I didn't do any wind sports there, I was hyper aware of the wind due to my RC slope glider obsession (as well as being a pilot).

First off, where are you planning to be in Fiji? The windward side is on the East, so any islands in Fiji will see the most consistency there. There are some daily seabreezes from the west (which was what I mainly worked with for slope flying, as the west side is much drier and has lovely grassy slopes).

As for good spots to foil, should be fairly easy to find, studying google earth will show where the reefs are and anything else is going to be sandy bottom. Now that I think of it, there was an awesome little place that some expats set up for kite boarding (lodging, rentals, lessons, etc) off the north end of Viti Levu (main island where Nadi and the international airport is). It's called Safari Lodge, on Nananu-i-Ra island. seems to still be going.

Otherwise, can't help you too much. Fiji is a great place though, and I should love to go back for some winging some day! Definitely has very consistent winds, just avoid Cyclone season.

Clarke

Thanks Clarke. Haven't decided where we will be staying, still looking at options, but sounds like the east coast would be a better bet?

Andy

More like North East, as you get on the proper East side of the big island, it rains alot. Safari Lodge is in quite a great spot. Most of the private places there have wind turbines, which is telling of the thing we want most :)

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ArthurAlston said..
Safari Lodge is still operating. I will be there next week with some other foilers.

Looks windy all week.

Look up Warren Francis here and send him a DM. He runs Safari Lodge.

Great info mate, thanks. Have you foiled there before? Mostly curious how the launch works, as the wind is mostly onshore (which is likely fine once one is better at foiling, but so far not for me)

Do your diligence around Safari Lodge. I was looking into it and there are a lot of very negative reviews. I also got the sense that affiliates of the business were posting some of the positive things...

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Microsurfer said..


I googled safari lodge however not a lot of current info. What kind of prices are the rooms do you know? Do they rent out wing foil gear? cheers

I agree. There is not much information about Safari Lodge out there. And one or two negative experiences were posted on YouTube by very disgruntled folks and some old ones of kiting trips, no foiling trips.

That part of the islands is known to be windy. They have a localised geothermal effect which accelerates the wind between the islands. It was very popular with windsurfers and kiters going back many years.

It's obviously off the beaten track and not as glamorous as the spots like Namotu and Coral Coast. I feel like I'm taking a bit of a punt.

Prices are reasonable (especially compared to Namotu etc.). See below.

You can't rent gear, but can do lessons which include gear.


There is a launch spot called Kite Beach, it's sandy and a point with cross shore winds.

I will take some videos and photos and do a mini-review. There is some content here on Seabreeze if you do a search.

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Velocicraptor said..
Do your diligence around Safari Lodge. I was looking into it and there are a lot of very negative reviews. I also got the sense that affiliates of the business were posting some of the positive things...

I understand your perspective.

I did a lot of research and was comfortable with the decision. I want warm weather, high confidence in the forecast, all-day winds, warm water and sunshine during the AU winter at a reasonable price with friendly locals and not too far away. This place ticked all those boxes.

This is not a luxury holiday, Like most of you, I have that at home. In the end, what I want for this time of the year is shown below from Windguru:

Having just bailed on a nz snowboarding trip next week (bugger all snow ??) me and the Mrs were looking at other last minute potential options also and fiji did get a mention.

Issues seem to come down to not blowing budget massively and getting conditions to suit both of us.

I'm into wave foiling - either wing or sup and although the Mrs sup surfs and wings she wouldn't be chasing the same as me. Difficult I know.

Anyone shed light on the above spot with regard ro waves as it seems to be in the wrong area and I would think only offering flat water/wind chop - is this the case and if so can someone advise on potential spits for either wing and surf foil or just one of the two.

Have obv researched the obv spots around namuto but all in with the potential swells this time of year and daily boat trips I'm not convinced they will get the nod of approval from the other half

Cheers Ry

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Cornishryan said..
Having just bailed on a nz snowboarding trip next week (bugger all snow ??) me and the Mrs were looking at other last minute potential options also and fiji did get a mention.

Issues seem to come down to not blowing budget massively and getting conditions to suit both of us.

I'm into wave foiling - either wing or sup and although the Mrs sup surfs and wings she wouldn't be chasing the same as me. Difficult I know.

Anyone shed light on the above spot with regard ro waves as it seems to be in the wrong area and I would think only offering flat water/wind chop - is this the case and if so can someone advise on potential spits for either wing and surf foil or just one of the two.

Have obv researched the obv spots around namuto but all in with the potential swells this time of year and daily boat trips I'm not convinced they will get the nod of approval from the other half

Cheers Ry

Correct, this is more of a flat water spot. Waves are the one thing not on my list - I came to the same conclusion as you.

They do offer boat-assisted downwinders though and I thought that was an acceptable compromise. I hope to do this in the afternoons.

We have windsurfed at Nanana-i-ru about 10 years ago. The winds were light while we were there however wind is always hit and miss. We went to Aitutaki and on the way in we met a guy on the way out, kited once in 2 weeks, we missed 1 day over our 2 weeks. The bay Safari Lodge is on is very shallow at low tide and even at high tide you had to dodge the small coral reefs around the bay. You could go further offshore if the wind is good, check on a rescue boat. We saw people kiting in the middle of the waterway between the island and mainland. There isn't much else to do on the island if you can't sail / wing. I would check the wind forecast and go from there. Take repair kit to fix bladders etc, coral is murder on wings.

I wouldn't recommend Safari, it appears some people like the way it is run, others not, very polarising.

This shows the general strength and direction. windy.app/forecast2/spot/349097/Nananu-I-Ra+Safari+Lodge/statistics

hope you enjoy your time there

Hey Cornish Ryan,
I'm a kiwi and yeah not much snow at the moment but big dump coming the next few days.

Sorry for brief hijack and back to the thread as interested in the thread, experienced wind surfer but learning wing foiling.
In terms of Aitutaki I've heard the trade winds are good this time of year with out the worry of too low tides and coral heads. Bummer is the flight to Aitutaki from Rarotonga is about the same as flight from Auckland.

I'm heading for Nanui-I-ra in a week & staying at McDonalds Cottages. V reasonably priced clean cabins a 7 minute walk from the bay you launch from. Wind was v consistent at 15 knots every day this time last year.
Don't fly air Fiji as they only allow one bag & charge $240 each way for a second bag plus $65 oversize fee.

I rarely get on here - i'd rather simply focus on my business, my guests and not feed the trollers......living in paradise is enough ........

If you want to find me, I'm out there on Whatsapp, Viber, Facebook or Email or Phone. Facebook will give you immediate responses to messages.

Its windy and the trade wind season.....im on the water.....kiting / windsurfing or foiling.... :)

Thks

Warren

My mini-review.

I just spent a week at Safari Lodge with a mate who wings. We shared a waterfront Bure. It was basic, clean, and a good size, only 20m from the water's edge. Exactly what we needed. The property is on the waterfront, with direct access to the beach. Plenty of hammocks and lounge chairs for those who want to take it easy. A massive lawn for rigging and drying gear. We also had a pair of kiters from Goldie and a family from Auckland (the husband was a beginner wingers). Plus, another kiter and winger who travelled on their own and stayed in the dorm. The rest of us stayed in the beachfront Bures.

Most importantly, we had wind every single day. Mostly in the 12-15 knot range, which increased to 20 knots by mid-afternoon. Mostly used 5.5/6m2 wings and 12/15 kites. We went down to 4.4 wings and 9/11 kites in the mid-afternoon.

The bay in front of the lodge is massive. As others have said, the coral is exposed at low tide. And then you need to walk a couple of hundred metres to a safe launch spot, no drama. We used the boat every day. We had a skipper's meeting at 11 AM and then decided on the plan for the day. Usually, there were some freshly baked treats and coffee/tea at the same time. We chose the option of a boat trip to a spot, either 5 km or 8 km upwind. The spots offer butter-smooth water behind the exposed coral when the tides drop sufficiently and only light ripples once the water covers the coral. The anchor spots were chosen to optimise for wind direction. The 5km anchor spot offers a 5 km long reef if you really want to ride for such a long time in one direction. Both spots offer a vast, vast terrain for sailing. The spots also have channels in the coral, so you can link different parts of the "park" and find channels with wind chop. At the end of the flat water session, we would sail DW home and stay in a channel to ride the wind swell.

In terms of wind, this spot is exposed to the SE tradewinds. The wind blows in cycles of several days on, a couple of days off. We were told the cycle is typically nine days on and two days off. We had 7 days of wind. The wind stopped blowing the day we left and two days later, the forecast was one for another several-day run, just a much stronger wind forecast than what we had. Windy.app is very accurate in terms of forecast.

We liked it so much that we have already put our names down for the same week next year.

The place and experience met and exceeded my expectations. As I wrote last time, I hoped for "warm weather, high confidence in the forecast, all-day winds, warm water and sunshine during the AU winter at a reasonable price with friendly locals and not too far away." I got all of that and more.

Anyone know what Fiji winds are like in February and March?

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oscardog said..
Anyone know what Fiji winds are like in February and March?

It is the wet/summer season.

Typically, the wind is best in the dry season, so from June onwards to about October.

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ArthurAlston said..

oscardog said..
Anyone know what Fiji winds are like in February and March?

It is the wet/summer season.

Typically, the wind is best in the dry season, so from June onwards to about October.

Any accessible surf around there?

We are heading to Castaway Island in late April. Has anyone winged there? When we were last there we got a boat to surf at Namotu & Swimming Pools which would also be great if there was enough wind.

Anyone know about the conditions around Pacific Harbour for wingfoil (Jan to Apr)? Wind, entering the water, shallow or not, surf?
If I search it on Windy app it shows up with a 'kite icon' next to it.

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ArthurAlston said..
My mini-review.

I just spent a week at Safari Lodge with a mate who wings. We shared a waterfront Bure. It was basic, clean, and a good size, only 20m from the water's edge. Exactly what we needed. The property is on the waterfront, with direct access to the beach. Plenty of hammocks and lounge chairs for those who want to take it easy. A massive lawn for rigging and drying gear. We also had a pair of kiters from Goldie and a family from Auckland (the husband was a beginner wingers). Plus, another kiter and winger who travelled on their own and stayed in the dorm. The rest of us stayed in the beachfront Bures.

Most importantly, we had wind every single day. Mostly in the 12-15 knot range, which increased to 20 knots by mid-afternoon. Mostly used 5.5/6m2 wings and 12/15 kites. We went down to 4.4 wings and 9/11 kites in the mid-afternoon.

The bay in front of the lodge is massive. As others have said, the coral is exposed at low tide. And then you need to walk a couple of hundred metres to a safe launch spot, no drama. We used the boat every day. We had a skipper's meeting at 11 AM and then decided on the plan for the day. Usually, there were some freshly baked treats and coffee/tea at the same time. We chose the option of a boat trip to a spot, either 5 km or 8 km upwind. The spots offer butter-smooth water behind the exposed coral when the tides drop sufficiently and only light ripples once the water covers the coral. The anchor spots were chosen to optimise for wind direction. The 5km anchor spot offers a 5 km long reef if you really want to ride for such a long time in one direction. Both spots offer a vast, vast terrain for sailing. The spots also have channels in the coral, so you can link different parts of the "park" and find channels with wind chop. At the end of the flat water session, we would sail DW home and stay in a channel to ride the wind swell.

In terms of wind, this spot is exposed to the SE tradewinds. The wind blows in cycles of several days on, a couple of days off. We were told the cycle is typically nine days on and two days off. We had 7 days of wind. The wind stopped blowing the day we left and two days later, the forecast was one for another several-day run, just a much stronger wind forecast than what we had. Windy.app is very accurate in terms of forecast.

We liked it so much that we have already put our names down for the same week next year.

The place and experience met and exceeded my expectations. As I wrote last time, I hoped for "warm weather, high confidence in the forecast, all-day winds, warm water and sunshine during the AU winter at a reasonable price with friendly locals and not too far away." I got all of that and more.

Hi Arthur, very nice review.
All the things you want you wrote on the last part of your review, you'll find in Ceara, Brazilian's northest
Cheers

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MProject04 said..
Anyone know about the conditions around Pacific Harbour for wingfoil (Jan to Apr)? Wind, entering the water, shallow or not, surf?
If I search it on Windy app it shows up with a 'kite icon' next to it.

Replying to my own post lol.. I can report that Pacific Harbour is ok for wingfoil. Sandy beach, no rocks or coral nearby. Not exactly super windy. I was out on a 6m North Nova and my 92L KT Ginxu Super K. If it was a wider board I would struggle! Pretty much flatwater. I was the only one out .. no other wingers, kiters etc. I did see 3 times a huge sea turtle right ahead of me, diving away!




Next stop is Sigatoka and then Malolo Lailai island. If anyone knows more about the conditions here please feel free to share. I'm hoping to find small surf conditions to have some flagged rides.

Of course Namuto would be THE place to be, but I travel with my little family of 5, and an all inclusive week at Namuto would cost 14K USD (!) Doesn't include any flight cost. Apparently day trips to Namuto aren't possible too, as it's only for the paying/staying guests. At least..so the folks at Namuto say..

If anyone knows of other options of having a wingfoil session at Namuto please let me know. Should I get there with my own hired boat? If anyone knows of an experienced surf boat operator let me know. I got my own wingfoil gear with me

Anyway if Namuto is only for the rich and famous I don't need it.

Following Arthur's review and great info I'll definitely make my way to Nanana-i-Ra! Looks nice and local and authentic!

So far Fiji is amazing, wonderful friendly people!

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MProject04 said..

Of course Namuto would be THE place to be, but I travel with my little family of 5, and an all inclusive week at Namuto would cost 14K USD (!) Doesn't include any flight cost. Apparently day trips to Namuto aren't possible too, as it's only for the paying/staying guests. At least..so the folks at Namuto say..

If anyone knows of other options of having a wingfoil session at Namuto please let me know. Should I get there with my own hired boat? If anyone knows of an experienced surf boat operator let me know. I got my own wingfoil gear with me

Anyway if Namuto is only for the rich and famous I don't need it.

Following Arthur's review and great info I'll definitely make my way to Nanana-i-Ra! Looks nice and local and authentic!

So far Fiji is amazing, wonderful friendly people!

You can definitely hire boats and make use of the same terrain Namotu has access to. They have the benefit of fresh tracks every morning. Namotu now very much is positioned within the US market. And with our currency going the way it is, I can't see it becoming more affordable over time.

Have a look at the updated website of the place in Nananu-i-Ra www.windsportsfiji.com/wingfoiling. I plan on going again this year.

I'm too planning a family holiday in Fiji where I could kite / windsurf and maybe learn to wing foil. I can bring my own kite (12m - not sure if it's too big) or would need to hire one. I check reviews for Nananu-i-Ra Windsports and agree - they are a bit polarising. Given I'm going with the family (wife + 2 teens, all non kiters/ wingers) I'm wondering if anyone here can give some insight if it's worth trying Windsports, or whether it's a Kitesurf/wing place mostly and the family will get a bit sidetracked??Any other recommendations for places elsewhere will be much appreciated.

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nobrakes said..
I'm too planning a family holiday in Fiji where I could kite / windsurf and maybe learn to wing foil. I can bring my own kite (12m - not sure if it's too big) or would need to hire one. I check reviews for Nananu-i-Ra Windsports and agree - they are a bit polarising. Given I'm going with the family (wife + 2 teens, all non kiters/ wingers) I'm wondering if anyone here can give some insight if it's worth trying Windsports, or whether it's a Kitesurf/wing place mostly and the family will get a bit sidetracked??Any other recommendations for places elsewhere will be much appreciated.

I was with family in Fiji (three months holiday + work) brought my own wing gear and had sessions at Pacific Harbour, Maui Bay and an actually really good session at Wailoaloa beach behind Nadi airport.

I didn't make it to Namuto because the wind conditions for the day weren't too good. But FijiSurfCo (on IG) offered me a boat and experienced crew for a day, 6 hrs total. Sadly it was really in my last days.

I thought of going to Nanui I Ra but it was going to be quite an expedition from where we were down on the Coral coast and Fijian transfer service providers love to crank up the price. It really rapidly adds up. Also most family oriented resorts are on Coral Coast, on southern and western end of the main island.

I had a good time at Maui Bay and PacHarbour. And Maui Bay also offered some nice snorkeling for the family. The area for my foil wasn't huge but the colours and clarity of water amazing!



You can definitely kite on the Coral Coast, Maui Bay. The locals told me they regularly see kiters. Of course if you want waves you need a boat to get to the outer reef

Jeremy Wilmotte has a couple of vids of foiling reefs around the area the Coral Coast is in, all accessed by boat or jet ski (looked like he was staying Coral Coast). That's my plan next time I go, rent a house Korotoga or Korolevu and organize boat for surf sessions on the reef and snorkeling for the rest of the family.
Coral Coast is very different visually and culturally to the other side of the main island (Viti Levu). I had some very bizarre experiences around Rakiraki (near Nananu I ra), funny afterwards but pretty dodgy at the time - keep your wits about you if you go there. We circumnavigated the island and on the north stayed in Dua Dua resort opposite Nananu I ra.
but if you stay on one of the resorts on Malolo or Malolo Lai Lai off the Coral Coast all the resorts offer boat trips for surfing snorkeling to all the reefs and break nearby. And there is wind so whilst foiling you would have to watch depths surfing the reefs you couldd wing the channels for sure.

Just came back from a holiday so thought I'd add to the community knowledge here. We had a bit of a stuff-up in our bookings so ended up spending first 4 nights at Sheraton Tokoriki and 4 nights at Malolo Island Resort. We did this as a family holiday so priorities were really to keep mum and 2yr old happy, but ended up with conditions where could have sailed everyday, and pretty well did.

Travel wise, I hired a Mystic Star Travel bag from local shop the day before we left and packed my 85L board, HPS880, and 4.0 + 5.5 units. Flew via AirFiji, got lucky and managed to get the gear over there free of charge, but got charged FJD150 on the return trip.

Sheraton Tokoriki
Was blowing 20kts+ Northerlies the entire time we were at Sheraton Tokoriki, which made things a little tricky as it was straight off-shore. The way the resort is setup there is about 200m of reef before you get to the deep water, and this is too shallow to foil over about 2-3hours either side of high tide. When the tide is high you could sail off the beach (assuming right wind direction), they also have a free jetski that takes snorkellers out to the reef, but doesn't run during low tide.

Unfortunately for me it was low tide middle of the day when I was there so only went for 2 sails, both times a slow swim out and in over the shallow reef due to the tide. First day I tried the western side of the island, and second day out the east. Both times was a bit sketchy due to off-shore gusty winds behind the island and no support. Other than that was plenty windy, and I suspect with better tide and wind direction (i.e. south easterly), it would be pretty good spot to sail. Was fairly flat with a little bit of wind swell to allow for some flagged wing action.

Rest of the resort is pretty nice, most obvious downsides for me was food was below average, its not bad, but an average pub meal here would outclass it 95% of the time. And all their water activities were very expensive. I probably wouldn't choose this spot if foiling was a priority, or water activities were a priority, but had a great time here with the family otherwise, and nice spot to just lounge around and relax. Highlights here is that the snorkelling on the reef straight out in front of the resort is excellent, I'd just recommend BYO snorkel as we did.

Malolo Island
Was still 20kts Northerly when I got to Malolo, so went for a foil as soon as we got off the transfer, super easy launch off the beach just next to the Jetty, its very convenient access regardless of the tide. I sailed around up to Likuliku resort and across to Castaway (Qalito Island).

Rest of the days here the wind direct went to South Easterlies, between 10-18kts, usually filling in late morning through to sunset. Spent most days on the 4.0, and one day on the 5.5. Routine was to go for a morning snorkel trip, followed by lunch, a foil session after lunch, then some family time, and then a sunset sail. Water here was not quite dead flat, but there definitely wasn't anything in the way of swells to chase. Mostly just cruising around and relearning everything I'd forgotten after only sailing 3 times this year before the Fiji trip. Kept it pretty conservative as I was pretty well only person out there for the most of the time, just a bit of exploring across to other nearby resorts. Only saw other wingfoilers once, which was a pair that were did an upwind/downwind from musket cove to castaway and back.

Resort was really nice, quality of accommodation was similar (maybe slightly better) than Sheraton Tokoriki. Food was better (wasn't sick of it after 4 days), and staff were a lot more friendly (which is saying a bit considering how friendly Fijians are in general), and the kids club is also really good. Almost all activities were free (paddleboards, kayaks, sailboats, snorkelling gear), or pretty cheap (snorkelling trips) at least compared to the Sheraton. Downsides were snorkeling directly off the beach was below average, and the beachfront was only average (more coral than sand), and pool was definitely below average. But plenty of sandbars/small islands in easy kayak distance to explore.

Looking forward next year to probably going to Malolo again, or trying Castaway Island. We've previously stayed at Plantation Island Resort as well previously, but probably wouldn't recommend for foiling due to orientation to typical wind etc. If you want swell the options are probably to do a boat trip out to the Namotu/Cloudbreak, either from cheaper mainland base or from any of the other resorts in the area.

Aside from the obvious options like Namotu and Tavarua, which are a bit step up in terms of cost and maybe not as family friendly, I think Malolo and Castaway would keep most people happy in this area of Fiji, especially for anyone who's got family in tow.