If you’re following along on our Fijian/Australian adventure, here’s part five of this epic trip. Here’s a quick recap:
Part One: Flight Review: Our 11-hour flight on Fiji Airways from Los Angeles to Nadi
Part Two: Getting from Nadi International Airport to Castaway Island in Fiji
Part Three: Hotel review: Castaway Island Resort Fiji
Part Four: Hotel review: Nanuku Resort Fiji
As I wrote in Part One, back in May Fiji Airways (FJ) had an incredible deal from the U.S. to the island nation and beyond. It was only around $65 extra per person to travel on to Australia so it was a no-brainer.
FJ has multiple flights between Nadi and Sydney. I specifically chose the 9am departure because it was on an A350-900 aircraft, the same plush one we’d come in on from Los Angeles. The A350 is my favorite plane and I would get up at the crack of dawn to fly it over the Boeing 737 MAX, the other aircraft FJ flies on this route, any day.
We had to leave Nanuku at 4am for the two and a half hour drive to Nadi International Airport (NAN). I thought 4am was too early to depart the resort but it wasn’t. It was dark for the first hour of our drive but seeing all the bright stars lighting up the night sky and the sun’s slow ascent into the sky at dawn made it worth it.
The problem with leaving early on a long drive, no matter where you are in the world, is that you have to worry about drunk or tired drivers on the road. I see it all the time, including on this trip when my wife and I both noticed our nice and excellent driver getting very sleepy about two hours in. This is one reason why I almost always stay awake to watch and/or entertain my drivers. When I notice drivers getting tired, I start asking them questions, offer to drive myself or ask them to stop at the next rest stop so I can use the bathroom and they can get a second wind.
However, one positive about leaving so early is that you avoid traffic, something downtown Nadi has plenty of during peak hours. Fortunately, we missed the congestion and arrived at NAN at 6:30am.
Fiji Airways doesn’t just have one main check-in area for all flights. Rather, they divide it up by flight number. The economy check-in line for FJ911 to Sydney was ridiculously long. I think we must have been the last passengers to arrive.
There was no way I was going to wait in that long line with two little kids so I figured we’d either go explore the airport for an hour or find another option. Good to know: Fiji Airways closes the flight just one hour prior to departure time so checking in later, rather than earlier, might not be a bad thing. But be sure to confirm this once you arrive at the airport.
We walked all the way down the hall, near security, and found their empty business class check-in. I figured it was worth a shot since I have elite status with American Airlines, one of FJ’s partners. I didn’t think the benefits kicked in until next year when they officially join Oneworld but happily, I was wrong. Check-in there took just two minutes and the agents were extremely friendly and helpful.
FYI: To enter Australia, you need an electronic visa. I wasn’t sure our trip was going to happen since our daughter had been in the hospital a few weeks before so I waited until we arrived in Fiji to apply.
Travelers need to download the official Australian Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) app and pay $20 AUD ($12.77 USD) per person via the ETA app. It’s pretty advanced; you take a photo of your passport and slowly scan the microchip embedded in it using your phone. Then you take a selfie. I didn’t get notified via email that my application had been approved but my wife did. It does show the status of your application in the app though, and it didn’t take long to get approved, just a few hours.
There was no line for security in either the priority or regular lines and once you clear security, you go through immigration. Travelers then find themselves at the entrance to the Duty Free shop, like at most international airports. The main departures hall has multiple places to shop like WH Smith and places to eat like Burger King.
We went to the Fiji Airways lounge and had a pleasant experience. The food was solid and included things like homemade roti with potato and cumin curry.
They also had other hot food like scrambled eggs, bacon, lamb sausages, baked beans, hash browns and creamy spinach.
Thanks to my elite status with AA, we were able to board after business class in Zone A. I saw some passengers with Zone I (as in the letter i) on their boarding passes, which is crazy. Boarding for FJ911, which departed at 9am, began at 8:20am. Australia requires all passengers to go through secondary screening in Fiji just before boarding the plane so there was an army of security workers behind long folding tables checking everyone’s carry-on bags by hand. They opened each bag, took a quick look and that was it. It took about five seconds so it was nice that it was quick but it felt like security theatre.
On our flight from LAX to Nadi, we sat in the very back of the plane, row 61 out of 65. But this time, we sat towards the front of the economy cabin in row 33. It was one row behind the bulkhead, which had a ton of legroom. We were in Bula Space and had two extra inches of legroom, which was great but not a huge difference from row 61.
The plane was full and the majority of passengers were 17- or 18-year-old Australian kids coming back from a school holiday without any chaperones. They were all very well behaved.
We pushed back early at 8:56am and took off 10 minutes later at 9:06am. The friendly flight attendants handed out immigration forms and served bottled Fiji water.
Then the food and drink service began. At 9:39am, our kids received their pre-ordered children’s meals, which were pancakes with a pineapple compote, Yoplait yogurt, apple juice, Chex chocolate and caramel snack mix and a Flemings chewy muesli snack bar, which came in handy later.
Since we were seated in the front of the cabin, we were served our meal of scrambled eggs with hash browns and sausage just a few minutes later. We also had a yogurt and muesli bar.
If you’re still hungry, the flight attendants set up a little snack section in the back of the plane with tasty cheese puffs, shortbread and drinks. I chatted with them for a while. They told me how much they loved going to L.A. for the shopping, especially Costco.
The flight was smooth and the announced flight time for the 1,970 miles was four hours and 10 minutes. We landed at 12:14pm AEDT and arrived at the gate at 12:30pm AEDT in Terminal 1.
Unfortunately, it was mostly cloudy so we didn’t get those spectacular Sydney Harbour views on descent that you usually get.
The immigration line for visitors (“All other passports”) was short but slow. It took us about 25 minutes to get processed and when we cleared, our bags were waiting for us on the baggage carousel. Then it was another five minutes for the customs line.
My son had brought some dead coral he’d found on the beach in Fiji that he’d colored. We declared it to make sure it was okay to bring it in. Like most countries, Australia is very strict.
The agent said it was fine and with that, we were officially in the land they call Down Under. Next up … hands down the most unique place to stay in Sydney. Stay tuned for that story!
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