Last updated: September 2025
We’ve just returned from our second family holiday at Plantation Island Resort, and we think it remains one of the best beach holiday options for families with young children.
With major renovations completed in 2019, updates to kids’ areas during COVID-19, and a new renovation currently underway (expected to be finished in 2026), the resort is refreshed, welcoming, and perfectly suited to families.
This guide is packed with tips from our most recent stay to help make your holiday as smooth, fun, and stress-free as possible!
Accommodation
Plantation Island Resort offers a range of accommodation options designed with families in mind. The rooms are comfortable and functional, with everything you need for a relaxed beach holiday – but don’t expect 5-star luxury.
Room types to note
- Beachfront Bures: Steps from the sand, ideal for families who want easy access to the beach and paradise views. These come in a 2 bedroom option also.
- Garden Bures: Set back from the beach and among lush gardens for a little more privacy, while still be just a few steps to the ocean.
- Garden Rooms: A more budget-friendly option with a simple but effective layout for parents and kids sharing the same space. While still one room, the configuration works well for young families.
- Hotel Rooms: A newer addition, these studio-style rooms are smaller but well-located near the main pool and restaurants – great if convenience is your priority.
What you’ll get
- Basic amenities: fridge, kettle, 2 x cups, 2 spoons and simple furnishings – functional rather than luxurious.
- Clean, comfortable spaces that provide a solid base for enjoying everything else the resort offers.
Tips for families
- Book early: rooms booked out in advance, especially during holidays.
- Garden Rooms are a smart pick if you’re watching the budget but still want a good setup for parents and kids.
- Hotel Rooms are best for convenience, while bures give more space and a more “island” feel.
- In-room facilities are limited (think fridge, kettle, cups) – so when it comes to meals and snacks, it pays to be prepared. We’ve dedicated a full section below with our best food and dining tips from two family stays, and it’s worth a read before you go.
Dining & Food
If there’s one thing to plan ahead for at Plantation Island Resort, it’s meals. The dining options are varied, but prices and availability can catch families off guard if you’re not prepared. Here’s what we noticed on our most recent trip:
On-Site Snacks & Quick Bites
- There’s now a small convenience store selling basics like fizzy drinks, crisps, and suncream. To give you an idea of pricing: a large bag of Bluebird chips was around FJD $15.
- A new poke hut has opened, offering fresh takeaway poke bowls – a fantastic lighter option, especially for parents at lunchtime.
- A coffee/smoothie/pizza/snack hut runs throughout the day and is one of the best-value options for a casual meal.
- A new bottle shop has been added on-site. Prices weren’t displayed, but it was well stocked.
Restaurants
- Tavola Restaurant is the cheapest sit-down option. Meals are similar to NZ/AUS restaurant prices, and kids eat free with a paying adult. Important tip: early dinner slots book out completely. If you want to eat between 5-7 pm, head straight to the bookings desk as soon as you arrive to the island. We waited just two hours after arrival to book and couldn’t get anything earlier than 8 pm for the whole week.
- The Buffet Restaurant doesn’t require a booking but is FJD $75 per adult. The food is excellent, but the price adds up quickly for families.
- Other menus, such as the bar menu can be good alternatives for lighter or more budget-friendly dinners.
Water
- Don’t stress about stocking up at Denarau marina before you leave. Rooms include two large bottles of water that can be refilled at filtered water stations around the resort. Though bringing your own refillable bottle is also handy – especially if you prefer to carry a smaller bottle than those supplied.
Meals, Snacks & Meal Plans – What You Really Need to Know
This is the part every family wants the inside scoop on – how to keep the kids (and parents!) fed without breaking the budget. Plantation Island Resort isn’t a five-star, all-inclusive property, so having a strategy around meals can make a big difference to both your experience and your wallet.
In-Room Set-Up
Rooms come with only these items: a mini fridge, kettle, two cups, two glasses, two tea spoons. There’s no microwave, toaster, or knives and forks so don’t expect to self-cater fully. We’ve found it’s worth packing a few extras – think a small set of camping cutlery, plates or bowls, and maybe a sharp knife. It makes snack prep so much easier.
Bringing Your Own Snacks
On both our visits, we brought a stash of easy, packable food from home:
- Quick lunch items: peanut butter, wraps, muesli bars, cheese and crackers.
- Kid-friendly snacks: noodles (the ones that come in the cup!), crackers, fruit pouches, chip packets
- Protein options: canned tuna, salami sticks, nuts.
Having these snacks on hand meant we could easily put together a quick meal in the room or even on the beach, without being tied to restaurant hours. It was a lifesaver between activities (because kids don’t exactly wait for buffet times!) and also meant we didn’t need to rely on buying three full meals a day at resort prices.
The Meal Plan vs. Pay-As-You-Go
This is the big question: is the meal plan worth it?
- Meal Plan: If you know you’ll be eating at the resort restaurants most nights, and would like breakfast or lunch prepared, the meal plan is generally the best value. Kids eat free (check the age cut-off when booking), which makes a big difference. For us, a meal plan worked out cheaper overall – especially when we couldn’t get a booking at Tavola and defaulted to the buffet.
- Pay-As-You-Go: A good option if you want flexibility or plan to eat off-site now and then. Just keep in mind it only works out cheaper if you bring plenty of food from home – the on-island kiosk has the basics, but prices are steep compared to stocking up beforehand.
Restaurant Variety & Bookings
The resort has a mix of buffet-style dining and à la carte options, but bookings are essential – especially for Tavola which books out quickly. If you’re on the meal plan, you’ll need to factor this in. Don’t expect to just walk up at peak time.
Our Tip
Decide on the meal plan based on how often you want to sit down for restaurant dinners. Bring your own snack stash. For most families, the meal plan is worth it – it takes the stress out of planning, keeps costs down overall, and means you’re not juggling hungry kids at 6pm with no table available because you have access to the pricier buffet option without needing to pay additional costs.
Money on the Island – How Much Do You Really Need?
Plantation Island Resort is largely cashless – you’ll charge meals, drinks, activities, ice creams, some souvenir’s and extras back to your room and settle the account at checkout. That means you don’t need to carry large amounts of cash around the resort.
That said, it’s useful to bring some Fijian dollars for:
- The mainland before you transfer to the island (snacks, bakery items, or last-minute shopping at Denarau Marina).
- Kiosk purchases – One kiosk accepted cash only (no room charge).
- Local purchases – such as handicrafts, coconut treats, or snacks if you head out on excursions.
How much to budget?
- For a family of four, around FJD $150–$200 in small notes/coins is usually plenty for tips and incidental purchases.
- Everything else can comfortably go on your room account and be paid by card at the end of your stay.
- If you have cash leftover, you can put it towards settling your account on check out.
If you’re bringing your own snacks and sticking mostly to the meal plan, you’ll find you don’t need much spending money at all on the island itself.
Note: there is a Westpac ATM in the arrivals hall of Nadi International Airport.
Getting Around the Island
Plantation Island Resort is flat and very walkable, with sandy paths that wind between the bures, pools, restaurants, and activities. Most families find they don’t need much more than a good pair of sandals.
Prams & buggies
- If you’re traveling with little ones, a lightweight stroller can be handy, but keep in mind that some paths are sandy and bumpy – so it’s not always smooth sailing. Generally though the paths are a wide dirt path that a stroller can move through.
- Many parents prefer a baby carrier for the smaller kids, especially when heading down to the beach or to common areas that are further away from rooms.
Other transport
- The resort has golf carts for staff and luggage, but guests generally walk everywhere.
- Boats handle all excursions and transfers to nearby islands.
- Bula Bikes are available for hire and make a fun way to get around for all ages. Some bikes come with child seats, and there are even a couple of smaller bikes with trainer wheels. Just note, they are a paid extra and the prices may feel a little steep.
Our Tip
A small backpack or tote can some in handy to put all that you need for the day inside so you’re not constantly trekking back to your room – it’ll save time and steps. The resort supplies a keep bag for your stay so there is one available in case you don’t bring your own.
Exercise & Running at Plantation Island Resort
If staying active is part of your holiday routine, Plantation Island does allow for some running options – but not in the way you might expect. There’s no on-site gym, and you can’t do a full lap of the island, but with a little creativity you can absolutely keep your fitness ticking over.
All runs here are on dirt paths, hills, or “off-road” style tracks. Two spots are the Lomani Lookout (just behind Plantation Island Resort) and another hilltop lookout behind Musket Cove. Between them lies the small island airfield, which has a short but flat grass strip alongside it – this works for sprints.
By linking these together – hill repeats on the lookouts, intervals along the airfield strip, and loops between the Plantation Island and Musket Cove trails – you can piece together up to 10km of varied terrain.
It’s not marathon-training territory, but for keeping the legs moving (or burning off last night’s buffet), it works perfectly. A note on conditions: even coming from the Gold Coast, Australia, I found the humidity here added an extra challenge to every run.
Ready to Plan Your Plantation Island Escape?
If a sun-soaked Fiji getaway sounds like your kind of holiday, we’d love to help you make it happen. From flights and transfers to accommodation and meal plans, we pull everything together into one seamless, easy booking – so all you need to do is pack your bags.
Contact us now to start planning your Plantation Island holiday today – we’ll take care of the details while you focus on the countdown to island time.