Since international borders slammed shut in March 2020, Aussies have had to content themselves with domestic holidays. Not that there’s anything wrong with exploring your own backyard, especially if it happens to be the size of a continent, but the prayers of Australia’s would-be globetrotters were answered on September 30, when the federal government announced that overseas travel would be resuming in November.
However, details on just where Australian travellers might be able to jet off to were a little vague following the PM’s announcement. Now it seems a tropical paradise may be one of the first places stamping our passports. Fiji’s prime minister Frank Bainimarama announced on October 11 that the Pacific nation would be opening its borders for (almost) quarantine-free stays for Australians from November 11. The Land Down Under joins a list of nations already approved for entry into Fiji that includes New Zealand, the US, the UK, the United Arab Emirates, Canada, Qatar, Germany, Spain, France, Korea, Singapore, Switzerland and Japan.
Entry into Fiji will only be granted to fully vaccinated travellers, and once you arrive in Fiji, you’ll be required to return a negative test result within three days, during which you will not be permitted to venture outside of your hotel complex. You’ll also be required to download Fiji’s Covid-tracking app, and travel throughout Fiji will not be possible. ‘Safe-travel areas’ are due to be created near the most popular tourist spots, and incoming travellers will only be permitted to explore these predetermined zones, at least for now.
While this is exciting news, flights to Fiji direct from Australia may be few and far between for a while, even after the November 11 date that quarantine-free travel to Fiji commences. Virgin Australia has already announced routes from Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane will take off from December 16, so if you fancy ringing in Christmas or the New Year on some far-flung shore, this should be a reality before long.