Fiji Is Reopening to Australian Tourists in November If You're Keen for a Tropical Getaway
Virgin Australia has also announced daily flights to Nadi from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane from mid-December.
After Christmas 2020 saw Australians explore their own backyards, 2021's festive season will welcome the return of a familiar end-of-year tradition. If your summer break usually involves venturing overseas, that'll be back on the cards again as the nation reopens to international travel from November. And if you're still eager to enjoy the sunny, beachy weather, you'll be able to head to Fiji.
On Monday, October 11, Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama announced that the Pacific nation will reopen its borders to Australian tourists, with quarantine-free visits restarting from Thursday, November 11. Australia is on a list of travel partner countries — which also includes New Zealand, the US, the UK, the United Arab Emirates, Canada, Qatar, Germany, Spain, France, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Switzerland, Japan, and most Pacific Island countries and territories — that are being prioritised by Fiji due to their widespread vaccination status.
There will still be protocols in place, however, so that's something you'll need to factor into your plans if you can now see a tropical holiday in your future. Firstly, there'll be a no jab, no fly policy, so you'll have to be double vaccinated with the Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca or Johnson and Johnson vaccines. You'll also need to test negative to COVID-19 within three days of departure — and, you'll have to download the country's Care Fiji app to your phone when you arrive.
After that, tourists will also need to spend their first two days in Fiji in their hotels. You'll be free to use the facilities and amenities, but you won't be able to mosey any further until you take another COVID-19 test 48 hours after arrival. Once that comes back negative, you'll then be able to visit spots deemed 'safe-travel areas'. While exactly where these regions will cover is still being worked out, the Fiji Prime Minister advised that "they will be large enough for tourists to enjoy the best of Fiji, but restrictive enough to protect areas with low vaccination coverage."
The two-day hotel period is expected to relax as more Fijians become double vaccinated.
In response to Fiji's announcement, Virgin Australia was quick to reveal that it'll restart its flights to Nadi from Thursday, December 16. It'll fly return from Sydney up to twice daily, return from Melbourne once a day and return from Brisbane three times a week — and, it's doing a sale on fares from $289 one-way.
Virgin's Fiji flights will mark its first relaunched international routes, ahead of restarting its services from Australia to New Zealand and Bali sometime in 2022.
For more information about Fiji's reopening plan, head to the Fiji Government's website. For further details about Virgin Australia's Fiji flight sale, head to the airline's website.
