Mana Island, part of Fiji’s stunning Mamanuca Islands, welcomes you with friendly locals upon arrival. When you get to Mana Island Resort check in you are aware of Fijian time and slow down. This pace challenged our family. The four cousins wanted to play, and we eagerly anticipated snorkeling in the inviting blue waters.

At check in we were informed off all the different conditions. What meals are included and what aged kids can eat for free at the buffet. Where you can swim all the time and where you can only swim at high tide. I took notes because there was lots of information and noisy excited children.

What’s The Kids Club Like?

All our friends with children have asked me about the kids club when they see us with our holiday glow. The girls plaits giveaway that we’ve been to Fiji.

My daughters are 11 and 9 years old, and they both asked to be signed up for kids club. Kids club on Mana Island is $40 FJD per child for the duration of the stay. Included is a kids club shirt that they wear when with the group. It’s practical since kids don’t just sit in one spot and risk getting bored.

The club hosts a Friday movie night, but other nights involve outdoor adventures. My kids loved crab hunting on the beach and frog racing.

Caregivers lead fun games, managing kids from ages 1 to 12 with kindness throughout the resort.

The carers also took kids to play pool games. It’s obvious that the kids love the slower pace that these adults take.

What’s The Food Like at Mana Island?

This was my second time visiting Fiji so I didn’t expect great food. It was nourishment and I was constantly looking for salt-that said I need the magnesium to stop muscle cramps.

The kids happily ate from the buffet and the adults were happy not thinking about meals, cooking or cleaning. Not to mention we didn’t have to listen to kids complaining about not liking food. Ours ate an unhealthy amount of bacon.

Mark, Lara and I splurged on one special dinner. Watching Lara’s pure delight made it worth it. Livs chose not to come because she didn’t like anything on the menu. If you have the buffet package the amount per head gets taken off the South Beach bill. I don’t think this was clear to most people since we were one of three tables at the restaurant.

At an additional $10 FJD to have the lobster (not a typo!) Mark ordered it and shared some with Lara and I. Our waitress informed us that there are so many lobsters on the reef that she can easily catch them for her family. That’s why they aren’t expensive.

Mana Island Resort Snorkeling and Swimming

Sitting on the veranda of our bure, enjoying the sounds of waves crashing on the shore we admired surrounding islands. From North Beach you can see the waves crashing on the reef that forms the Mana Island Sandbar.

Even I am happy swimming in the sea in a bikini in these warm waters. The only need for a rash shirt is for sun protection. It is easy to get lost in natures beauty below and above the water that you lose track of time. That said, if I went diving I would wear a wetsuit since the water gets cooler the deeper you go.

Snorkeling Tours from Mana Island

We organised our snorkeling tour at the Mana Island Resort and Spa dive center on North Beach. It cost $300 FJD for two adults and two children.

We went behind the reef for a snorkel where some of our group saw a turtle and a reef shark. But, I think the kids excitement sent these two creatures down deep before I saw them.

We also snorkeled up to the Mana Island Sandbar and enjoyed some time walking along the white beach. Watching coral and shells slowly wash ashore here is meditative.

You can find cheaper snorkeling and dive tours in the village.

Guided Paddle Tour Around Mana Island

Most of our family paddled around Mana Island on a guided adventure which cost $20FJD per person. It cost the same for a a single or double kayak.

The older kids chose single kayaks, but soon both 9-year-olds teamed up with parents. Eleven-year-old Lara paddled halfway around the island solo, feeling proud and sleeping well that night.

There was lots of kayak swapping, even strangers in the group kindly offered their double kayak to Olivia and I. Naturally we had lovely chats for the rest of our stay when we saw each other.

My five year old nephew was super chuffed onboard the tour guide’s kayak leading the way. He saw lots of cool fish since the locals know their environment. Their connection with nature is contagious.

Adult Activities

There are lots of adult activities on Mana Island. We saw people enjoying nightly bingo around the pool. I went on the guided nature walk and herbal medicine talk, no surprises there. Of course I asked all the questions, but the guide and farmers at Mana Island Resort welcomed them.

We saw how to use local plants to treat skin problems using topical and internal treatments. The most used herb is “Mile a Minute” which grows like a weed.

At the conclusion of the walk we ate freshly harvested and cut paw paw under the shade of a tree. At home a few small cubes of paw paw is enough sweetness for me. This fresh paw paw was more savory and I thoroughly enjoyed a few pieces.

Beach Towels are in short supply at Mana Island Resort

Knowing that towels go back to the mainland for washing, we hung our towels out to dry. Unfortunately by day six my eleven year old daughter declared that “this towel smells like ass”. Sadly she was right.

I tried to exchange our six day old towels at noon, and found out that they were gone. I was told “there aren’t enough towels for all the guests”. This didn’t surprise me since room service hung our bath towels on the veranda out the front of our room.

I can’t wait to get home to freshly laundered towels. It’s funny that our kids packed a towel and my husband and said we wouldn’t need them at a resort.

Pack a quick dry towel so you can get dry on your day of arrival. Then save it for the end of your holiday when your towels smell and you can’t get replacements.

The island doesn’t have enough water so all washing goes back to the mainland. Guests are asked to use their towels for a minimum of three days before getting them refreshed. However, it doesn’t seem like most people do this.

Room Service

Room service is much more relaxed than what we’ve become used to. It’s clearly apparent as mentioned earlier by the towel situation. Really this started when we checked in four people for a week stay and only had two towels. When I requested two more they showed up days later.

We only had bedding for three people when there are four of us so I called a few times to get bedding. By the fourth time my husband called and at 9pm the manager and his daughter were in our room making up a child’s bed. I was in my nighty and in bed reading.

The rooms are adequate, but dated. Still it doesn’t matter because you are surrounded by Mother Nature and the ocean is right off your veranda. Plus we didn’t spend much time in our room until day six. By then we wanted quiet time after our morning snorkel before breakfast and playing in the pool all day.

Mana Island Village

We went for a walk to the village which is extremely easy to find. You walk out of reception towards South Beach, turn left and walk on the sand. Then it’s a 10 minute stroll on the sand to the village.

A local Grandma showed us the school and two churches. When we asked about hr family she pointed to lots of homes.

Naturally the locals who aren’t allowed to access the areas the resort has claimed do not like the resort. But they make the best of the situation by offering massages and hair braiding slightly cheaper rate than the resort. Since they have family working in the resort they know what tourists are prepared to pay. So you won’t be getting a $15 AUD massage.

They villagers also sell souvenirs that they don’t make. Since we didn’t buy any of those so I can’t tell you what the prices are. We chose to pay them for their time.

Massages

In the village we got an hour massage for $80 FJD which was a gentle rub on the back. The calves massage was pretty good. We decided to save the money to get a good massage when we got back home.

Obviously with family members working in the resort the locals know that the resort charges $150FJD for an hour massage.

Hair Braiding

In the resort the price for hair braiding is $150FJD. In the village the kids got their whole heads braided for $80FJD. This helped us avoid dreadlocks and fights about conditioning hair.

The local lady also got the knots out of Lara’s hair without a sound. I would happily pay for that service every week. The beads have the effect of putting a cat bell on your children as they love making music with them. Just a warning.

Past Half Way at Mana Island

Day five of our eight day holiday in Fiji and we are all well and truly relaxed. Well, apart from the kids bickering, but that’s another story. We’ve all had a big sleep in after dancing until late last night to fabulous live music. I had to give the family a little push along to make it to breakfast since service closes at 9:30am.

The thought of leaving makes us sad, except for going home to our puppy. Plus Olivia was pinning for her best friend who she rarely goes two days without seeing, so they had a WhatsApp face call. Abby realising how happy our little fish is here asked “would you live in Fiji if you could Olivia” to which she replied “I would if I could have you here”.

I think it’s fair to say our family would love to live in this stunning part of the world where we look at the water from our room and have switched off the alarm clock.

Today is the warmest day that we’ve been here, and it’s low tide this morning. So we are having a slow morning reading, and writing inside the airconditioned room. The kids go between playing on the sand for a while before retreating back to the room to get out of the sun and heat.

It’s also a perfect day for $10 FJD slushies.

WiFi

Internet is so limited here that I couldn’t download the SMS photos our friend sent of our puppy. We are used to having complimentary WiFi at hotels and resorts so we have only paid for one device to have internet.

After two days without internet I decided that I had to see the photos of Pirate that our friend who is looking after him took.

That said, the WiFi is so slow in our room that I’m writing this post in OneNote to upload it all in one go when I’m over at the Main Bar. We are in hut 518 which is almost as far away from everything as you can get. I’m assuming coverage is better in other rooms.

My Australian mobile phone plan charges $5AUS a day roaming fee and the Mana Island Resort charges $10FJD a day for WiFi.

The benefit of limited WiFi is no TV in the room and the kids haven’t mentioned it once. Mark is a new person without the constant scrolling of social media on his phone. He is expecting his repeated scrolling injury to heal itself on this holiday. Don’t for a second assume that this is going to stop the boyfriends of Instagram being on duty in the pool with their SLR cameras.

The downside of no WiFi is that you can’t check the weather forecast and the only weather information on the resort boards are the tides. We also got internet to check the maps for adventuring on the island, but they don’t tell you much.

My family members boasted about how well they were doing without internet. But I did lend them my phone to check a few things. One device with internet access was enough for six adults.

Reading

Mana Island offers plenty of spots to read and relax.

My husband only reads novels on holiday, yet he finished one book this week. I devoured two novels while our daughters enjoyed their e-readers.

A community library at reception provides reading options during peak humidity. Everyone in our group finished a book during our week, if that gives you a guide of how many books to pack.

Family Lessons

My biggest take away is to not expect miracles. If your children fight at home, they are likely to fight on holiday too. Travelling isn’t a magical solution.

Also, if your kids are close in age and size like mine label their clothes so there aren’t any fights about who’s clothes are who’s.

Make the most of kids club which has a single fee of $40 FJD per child for the duration of the stay. It helps kids bond (over the unique qualities of the other kids), and make friends.

One unexpected concern arose when my daughters freaked out about my husband’s whereabouts. Without phones, they panicked when he went for a morning walk. I reassured them he’d return, but they’re used to constant phone access.

It felt nostalgic to say, “We’re going on an adventure. We’ll meet back at the restaurant for lunch.”

First Aid

I packed all the usual first aid needs:

• Multiple tubes of sunscreen. My husband likes Cancer Council Active as it’s non-greasy. My kids use Cetaphil to avoid breakouts. I use Cancer Council CC on my face. After day one on Mana Island I learnt to rub sunscreen along my hairline. I always have a tiny bottle of La Roche-Posay sunscreen in my handbag or hiking bag since the bottle is compact and the lotion goes on nicely.
• Band aids, including sensitive band aids.
• Antihistamines (Clarantyne).
• Pain medication.

I realised on the plane that I forgot to pack Betadine. My daughter is so adventurous and accident prone that we don’t go for a bushwalk without it.

In hindsight, we will get antibiotic cream and antibiotic tablets when we go away since my daughters wounds get infected easily. We were lucky that the infection started a day before we were flying out since the nurse didn’t have antibiotic cream.

A visit to the Mana Island Resort nurse is a $25 FJD consultation fee which we weren’t aware of before we were taken there. Then it is an additional $5 FJD for a plaster used during that consult. Any ointments you need to buy are $20-$25 FJD.

Please don’t be as under prepared as I was. On the flip side, after we purchased Betadine I treated my husband’s, daughter’s and nephew’s newly acquired wounds the next morning. You know I joked about earning myself $75 FJD in less than an hour!

Take twice as much sunscreen as you think you will need. With all the swimming, snorkelling and kayaking, reapplication is mandatory. The sunscreen in the boutique is 50+ and for $25 FJD for a 100ml tube.

First Aid Tips Learned From Others at Mana Island

Traveling with family offers benefits. Grandparents often pack useful items you might forget. My mother-in-law brought Elastoplast Water Resistant Tape, something I never considered. I won’t travel without it again. It helped with my sister-in-law’s feet as she adjusted to her new holiday slides.

I noticed another Mum applying spray sunscreen to her child’s scalp. This protects the scalp from sunburn. It’s especially useful for kids with braids. We plan to try La Roche-Posay’s spray sunscreen.

Mana Island Resort Restaurant Guide

Real life confession: I haven’t found the paper with our notes. I’ll leave this heading here as a reminder to fill it in later.

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