Mana Island Day Trip with Lunch

Great experience, very few people, end of season. Buffet 3 stars. Lots of activities. Scuba, snorkel, bars, great pools.

We had a very disappointing experience with South Sea Cruises during our planned trip to Malamala Beach Club. On the day of our booking, the weather was terrible—pouring rain with no sign of improvement. Anyone familiar with Fiji knows how unpredictable monsoonal weather can be, and with a 19-month-old baby, it simply didn’t make sense to transfer to an island for half a day under such conditions. There’s minimal shelter, and we would have been stuck outside the Club restaurant in the rain, which is not ideal for families with young children. We held off making a final decision until the last hour, hoping the weather might clear up, but it didn’t. The rain was torrential, not just a light drizzle. Their website explicitly states the tour operates only in good weather, and this clearly wasn’t good weather. Despite this, when we tried to cancel due to the circumstances, South Sea Cruises insisted they couldn’t refund or cancel our trip, citing their terms and conditions. This left us feeling frustrated and disheartened. We invested a significant amount of money into our Fiji holiday, but this experience soured the entire trip. As a family with two young children, it was entirely unsuitable to proceed, but it seemed our situation didn’t matter to the company. Had we been adults alone, we might have gone ahead, but our children’s well-being took priority. This experience left us feeling like nothing more than a dollar figure, despite Fiji’s reputation for its family-friendly culture and love for children. Unfortunately, I now regret booking with South Sea Cruises and would not recommend them to others. This lack of understanding and flexibility was disappointing, and we won’t be returning.

Very overpriced. Resort very run down. Buffet not very good. Overall very disappointed for the ridiculous price. Some in our group enjoyed the snorkel

This is one of the best cruises you can take to Mana Island. it is a whole day trip. You will have plenty of time to snorkel, swim and enjoy the drinks and food included in the price. You will experience the Fijian hospitality.

Pretty view from the beaches with nice coral, and the staff were friendly, but apart from that the island resort was very old and rundown, the music was loud and there was nowhere to escape the heat. The buffet lunch also wasn’t available and we only had choice from a small menu. Couldn’t wait to get off the island.

Would not recommend for a few reasons.. 1. the tour guide we had was not too welcoming she looked like she was ready to go home any moment - forgot her name but she wore mufti singlet with shorts with bandage on her arm could not even tell her she was a staff member as she was not in uniform either till departure……. - what was more disappointing is we were informed incorrect timeframes for the activities from her despite handed the brochure and questioning the timeframe was not matching what she advised but because she’s a tour guide we took her word for it & trusted it.she informed us to go eat buffet first & swim about till it’s time for Jet ski in the afternoon - as we await she was no where to be seen just abandoned us felt very lost on where to go next - had to seek information from other staff members only to be told we could not do the jet ski due to windy weather & apparently it wasn’t operating for the day?? Why weren’t we informed this the moment we landed?. Felt like we wasted a day and over a 1K to sit in an nearly 2 hour long Rocky boat ride just to swim in the pool, very disappointed ! The lovely poolside men were very attentive and tried to help us do some activities to rectify her mistakes in the meantime & make use of our long travels to the island but it was too late we had to rush and leave to wait for the boat as it’s a bit of a walk from the pool to the entrance. Boat time - we missed our Dinner reservations due to the boat ride back stopping at multiple islands to pick up more passengers they should really put this online the ETA for arrival / departure is not accurate either we arrived back very late. ALSO - NO CASH ON THE ISLAND !! There is 2-3% surcharge on card Buffet food - is alright but over priced drinks & food. All in all there is better islands out there to explore just not this one.

Really good service. We went on a ferry to our resort and the boat was clean and air-conditioned, they carried out bags and handled them well, and it was very fast. Highly recommend

We didn't actually do the Mana island tour we got a transfer there for a stay at the resort. Down side - the check-in terminal is chaos, but that is pretty much the same for all the companies that run out of port Denaru. And make sure to board early to get a good seat. The courtesy bus was modern, comfortable (decent reclining seats) , well air-conditioned with plenty of luggage space - just be aware the pick up from Nadi airport is at the international terminal only. Driver was very good. Boat itself (catamaran Tiger 5) was modern and clean and it was a comfortable ride. There are lots of different viewing areas, you can move around freely and you are encouraged to say hi to the captain. The little onboard snack counter is not exorbitantly expensive considering they have a captive audience and they even take UK currency (in fact the ice cream my daughter bought was cheaper in sterling than Fiji dollar). Staff are super friendly and you get a decent commentary during the trip pointing out the various islands and resorts and a little recent history. You are given plenty of warning prior to arrival at each island and plenty of time to disembark (and embark) and you are not rushed at all. On some of the smaller islands transfer is via a smaller (generally much older) boat. Views are of course stunning, I would have been happy to stay on for a longer cruise.

We read the terrible reviews but they were quite old (pre-COVID) so we decided to give the half day trip to Mana Island the benefit of the doubt. It was a mistake. We paid about $200 AUD each for a half day cruise departing at 1215. Advertised was a beautiful island, nice cruise and a buffet lunch. The ferry was well organised and enjoyable to get to Mana Island. Things went downhill as soon as we arrived. We were met by a host who promptly told us we were the only ones for the day trip. We also heard a detailed story of how tired they were was and they'd need to pay for their own lunch on Mana Island. We then walked to the 'resort' which was very, very quiet and TBH, like a children's summer camp. Not sure why we took a day trip to a resort inferior to our own. We got taken to a cafeteria and told that during low season, there is in fact, no buffet. We were given a snack menu and told we could choose two items that came to $40 each. Chicken curry, burgers, fish and chips were available and one dessert. Our combination of items came to $42 which caused a kafuffle. Food was very average. If no buffet during low season, why not update the description? After lunch, you can then explore the resort and island. Pool was not nice and we walked around the grounds to get to the multiple look out points. The views are great but the entire island is pretty neglected and not the romantic pacific island experience you might imagine. We tried to get a drink on the beach but they didn't accept cash AND didn't accept card - could only charge to your room - we were not guests, of course. Thank God it was only a half day trip - we quickly ran out of things to do and it was HOT. Cruise was very nice on the way back. If South Sea Cruises simply charged the cost of a ferry ride instead of a "half day tour", it would have been fine. To charge around $200 AUD per person , is a joke and a rip off. Avoid this day cruise and by extension, I'd also avoid South Sea Cruises.

The island was beautiful and the lunch was good. My only complaint is that the tour company did not share that the resort does not take cash. I wasted time waiting for a supervisor at the resort to approve the bartender taking cash. If they stated this in the description, I would’ve brought my wallet with my cards. Other than that Samson was helpful and nice.