For a slower Fiji. Savusavu is a small harbour town on a sheltered bay, with hot springs on the shore and pearl farms in the water, and it is the base for diving the Namena Marine Reserve. Places to stay around it are small and far apart, and visitors are few compared with the coast around Nadi.

How do you get to Savusavu?

By air from Nadi, about an hour in a small domestic plane, or from Suva. The airstrip is a few minutes from town and hotels meet guests there. Overnight ferries also run from Suva, carrying cars as well as passengers. For the eastern end of Vanua Levu, a flight to Taveuni and a short boat crossing is often quicker.

When is the best time to visit Savusavu?

May to October, the dry season, when days are cooler and the sea at its clearest for diving. November to April is hot and humid with heavy showers, and it is the cyclone season, when yachts gather in the sheltered bay to wait out the storms. Diving carries on through the year between spells of bad weather.

Can you swim in the Savusavu hot springs?

No. The springs by the town are close to boiling, which is why locals use them to cook dalo and cassava. They are worth a look, but keep to the paths where the ground steams and leave swimming for the bay and the reefs offshore, which a boat from town reaches in minutes.

Is Savusavu good for diving?

Yes. The Namena Marine Reserve, a protected reef around a small island in the Koro Sea, is the classic day trip from Savusavu, with hard and soft corals and schooling fish. Closer in, the reefs off Lesiaceva Point suit easier dives, and from the eastern end of Vanua Levu boats reach the Rainbow Reef in the Somosomo Strait.

Boutique Hotels in Savusavu

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Introducing Savusavu

Steam drifts off the shore at Savusavu, where hot springs, a sign of the volcanic ground beneath, break the surface beside the road through town. The town is little more than one main street on the south coast of Vanua Levu, Fiji's second island, strung along a bay so well sheltered that yachts crossing the Pacific sit out the cyclone season on its moorings, and it is known locally as the hidden paradise.

It grew as a copra port when this coast was planted with coconuts, and the old copra shed on the waterfront now houses the marina and the yacht club. Pearl farms work the bay, and Fiji's best-known pearls, in unusual shades of gold and green, are grown here.

Beyond the town the coast is quiet, with villages and old coconut plantations along the shore and rainforest on the hills behind. Over the mountains on the north coast, Labasa, the island's largest town, lives on sugar cane, a few hours away by a road that climbs through the forested interior. Offshore, the Namena Marine Reserve rings a small island in the Koro Sea with protected reef.

Browse on Map — Savusavu

Explore 2 exceptional boutique hotels hand-picked in Savusavu. Click a pin to discover each property.

Hotels in Savusavu

Fiji, Savusavu
Remote Resort
A remote getaway to escape within the natural beauty of Fiji.
Price for 1 night from
€753.96
4.6 (18)

Fiji, Savusavu
Emaho Sekawa
An exclusive and romantic retreat boasting picturesque, panoramic views of the South Pacific Ocean.
4.6 (18)

Savusavu Guide

Where to stay around Savusavu

The town and Lesiaceva Point, at the mouth of the bay, are handy for the marina and the dive boats, but most places to stay are further out, on the hills above the bay or along the coast road east. The far eastern end of Vanua Levu, closer to Taveuni than to town, faces the Rainbow Reef.

Emaho Sekawa keeps three villas on a rainforest hillside above the water, about twenty-five minutes' drive from town, with a private beach below reached by buggy and a boat on hand for afternoons on a sandbar in the bay.

At the far eastern end of the island, The Remote Resort has a peninsula to itself facing the Rainbow Reef, with freestanding villas that each have a plunge pool, and members book both at rates we hold for the Club. It lies closer to Taveuni than to Savusavu, and the quickest way in is a flight to Taveuni's airstrip and a short crossing by boat.

What to do around Savusavu

The pearl farm in the bay runs boat trips out over its lines, with a chance to snorkel above the oysters, and sells its pearls from a showroom in town. Inland, the Waisali reserve has a short trail through rainforest to a waterfall. The Hibiscus Highway makes a slow drive east from town, with the sea on one side and villages and plantations on the other.

Frequently Asked Questions about Savusavu

: For a slower Fiji. Savusavu is a small harbour town on a sheltered bay, with hot springs on the shore and pearl farms in the water, and it is the base for diving the Namena Marine Reserve. Places to stay around it are small and far apart, and visitors are few compared with the coast around Nadi.