There is a place on this earth where the water is so impossibly blue it looks like someone spilled a bottle of food colouring into the Pacific. Where strangers greet you with Bula! and mean it with every cell in their body. Where your children will fall asleep in the car on the way back from the beach, sun-kissed and completely spent, and you will look at your partner and think: this is it. This is the life. For us, that place is Fiji. And it is not just a holiday destination — it is where everything began.
Where It All Started: Steve's Story
Steve didn't stumble into the travel industry. He was called to it. It started with Fiji — a trip that cracked something open in him. The realisation that travel wasn't just a luxury, it was a transformation. That the right trip, to the right place, at the right time, could change the entire trajectory of a family. He came home from that first Fiji trip and couldn't stop thinking about how to bring more families into that feeling. What followed was Unleashed Travel — a business built on the belief that extraordinary experiences should be accessible, curated, and deeply personal. From there came Nurture Change, then Nurture Her, then She Evolves, then Evolve X — a family of travel and transformation brands that have now carried more than 25,000 passengers through experiences that genuinely change lives. Every single one of those businesses has Fiji's fingerprints on it.
The jetty at sunset — the moment that makes you never want to leave.
Why Fiji Works for Big Families
We have five kids. We have taken them everywhere — Bali, Italy, the Amalfi Coast, the South of France. And Fiji is the only place on earth where we have stayed for ten full days and nobody — not one child, not one adult — has been bored. That is not a small thing. That is a miracle. Fiji works for big families because it is genuinely, structurally designed for them. The resorts have connecting rooms as a default, not an afterthought. The staff adore children in a way that feels completely authentic — not the performative 'we love kids!' of a hotel that has added a ball pit to tick a box, but the real, warm, Fijian love of children that is woven into the culture. Kids are welcomed everywhere. Fed everywhere. Celebrated everywhere.
At a Glance
Our Favourite Activities
The Sigatoka River Safari is non-negotiable — a jet boat ride deep into the Fijian interior, past villages that look exactly as they did a hundred years ago, to a traditional kava ceremony and a village visit that will stay with your children forever. Book the full-day tour. The zip lining through the Fijian jungle is exactly as good as it sounds — dense canopy, high platforms, brilliant guides who make every person feel safe and exhilarated. The mud baths near Savusavu are slightly chaotic, completely hilarious, and genuinely therapeutic — you emerge looking like terracotta statues. The kids absolutely lose their minds with joy.
Sigatoka River Safari — one of the most extraordinary experiences in the Pacific.
Malamala Beach Club
The world's first island beach club, and it lives up to every word of that description. A fifteen-minute boat ride from Port Denarau, Malamala is a tiny coral island with a stunning overwater bar, crystal-clear snorkelling, and the kind of day-bed-and-cocktail energy that makes you feel like you're in a music video. The kids can snorkel for hours. The adults can do absolutely nothing and feel completely justified. Full-day tickets are worth every cent. South Sea Cruises also runs brilliant catamaran day trips to the Yasawa and Mamanuca islands — snorkelling, paddleboarding, a floating pontoon, lunch on a deserted island. Book the Beachcomber or Bounty Island day trip.
Malamala Beach Club — the world's first island beach club. Fifteen minutes from Denarau.
Our Favourite Resorts
We have stayed at most of the major family resorts in Fiji. The Shangri-La Yanuca Island is the one we keep coming back to — the only place on earth where ten days feels too short. We got married here (the kids chose it), and we have never once looked at each other and said 'what do we do today?' It just unfolds. Beautifully, effortlessly, endlessly. Marriott Momi Bay is extraordinary — the overwater bungalows are incredible and the snorkelling directly off the deck is some of the best in Fiji. Sofitel Denarau is the classic — reliable, beautiful, and brilliantly located. Paradise Cove in the Yasawas is for families who want the real Fiji — remote, intimate, and utterly unspoiled. Yatule on the Coral Coast is our hidden gem: small, personal, and warm in a way the big resorts can't replicate. Vomo is private island luxury at its finest. Mana Island is rustic, unpretentious, and so, so Fiji. The InterContinental at Natadola Bay is our top recommendation for families celebrating something special — the beach is one of the most beautiful in the South Pacific.
Shangri-La Yanuca Island — the resort our kids chose for our wedding, and the one we keep returning to.
"Fiji is the only place on earth where we have stayed for ten full days and nobody — not one child, not one adult — has been bored. That is not a small thing. That is a miracle."
— Sarah Pirie-Nally
What to Pack (And What Not to Forget)
Sunscreen — and lots of it. Fiji is close to the equator and the sun is relentless. Sunscreen in Fiji is outrageously expensive — we have paid AUD $40 for a small bottle at a resort shop. Pack your own. Pack more than you think you need. Aloe vera gel is essential — someone will get burnt, it's a law of physics. A good aloe vera gel is the difference between a miserable evening and a quick recovery. Book a massage or two — Fijian massage is extraordinary and a fraction of the price you'd pay in Australia. Book it on your first day, not your last. You will wish you had booked it earlier. Use reef-safe sunscreen — the coral reefs are stunning and they need protecting.
Pure joy. This is what Fiji does to a family.
A Final Word: Bula
There is a reason Fijians say Bula — it means life, health, happiness, and welcome all at once. It is the most generous greeting in the world and it is said to you dozens of times a day, by everyone you meet, with complete sincerity. After twenty-five thousand passengers, after five kids, after more Fiji trips than we can count, the thing that still gets us every single time is the Bula spirit. The generosity of it. The warmth of it. The way it makes you feel, from the moment you land, like you are exactly where you are supposed to be. Go to Fiji. Take your family. Stay longer than you think you need to. You will come home different. Better. Lighter. Bula vinaka.
Fiji — Key Locations
Viti Levu & the Mamanuca Islands
Nearby highlights
Wonder & Wander Approved
We've stayed here, got married here, and recommend it wholeheartedly. Let Scout find you the best deal.
