Yet another country has announced plans to reopen for international tourism. The island nation of Fiji will soon be allowing travelers from select countries who are fully vaccinated to visit with testing requirements. The positive development comes amid several other pandemic-era holdouts preparing to relax their border restrictions.

Fiji is gearing up to reopen for international tourism. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Edited by Rohan Patel

Fiji’s reopening: the guidelines for travel

Fiji will reopen for select travelers from December 1st. First, to travel to Fiji, passengers will need to be fully vaccinated with one approved by the country. This includes Astra Zeneca, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and Moderna vaccines. Travelers from the following destinations will be welcomed initially, along with most Pacific island countries and territories.:

AustraliaCanadaFranceGermanyJapanNew ZealandQatarSingaporeSpainSouth KoreaSwitzerlandUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUnited States of America

In addition to being a resident of those countries plus full vaccination, passengers ages 12 and over will need a negative RT-PCR test report in hand taken no more than three days before boarding a flight to Fiji. They will also need to download the careFIJI contact tracing app, which is also how passengers will be able to access businesses.

On arrival in Fiji, passengers will need to take a mandatory rapid test at their hotel. Masks are required in public places, as is the careFIJI app. While much of Fiji will be open for tourism, some “low vaccination zones” will be off-limits.

Travelers will still need to undergo testing, but there will be no quarantine mandates if tests are negative. Photo: Getty Images

Getting to Fiji

The main international gateway to Fiji is Nadi International Airport (NAN). The largest hub for Fiji Airways, the flag carrier is the best option for most travelers looking to get to the island. Other options include Australian carriers, Jetstar, Qantas, and Virgin Australia.

Fiji Airways is going to offer a robust array of flights. This includes:

Two daily flights to SydneyOne daily flight to MelbourneOne daily flight to BrisbaneOne daily flight to AucklandThree weekly flights to ChristchurchTwo weekly flights to WellingtonDaily flights to Los AngelesFive weekly flights to San FranciscoTwo weekly flights to HonoluluThree weekly flights to Hong KongTwo weekly flights to SingaporeTwo weekly flights to Tokyo-Narita

The airline will use a mix of Airbus A350s, A330s, Boeing 737 MAX, and 737 Next Generation aircraft operating. While Fiji Airways has an extensive network, it does not reach all the way to destinations in Europe, for example. In this case, passengers will need to buy a connecting flight.

Fiji Airways is the only airline flying to Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, and the US from Fiji. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

As a oneworld connect member, Fiji Airways has partnerships with relevant airlines in that alliance, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Qantas, Alaska Airlines, Japan Airlines, and more.

The world is reopening

Countries around the world are starting to reopen for travel. Thailand is reportedly a few weeks away from reopening. Singapore is just a few days from reopening to travelers from more countries. The United States is preparing to bring down its travel bans.

Even stalwart Australia is gearing up for a limited reopening of international travel before the end of the year. In short, the world is starting to accept more travelers. The key to this has been the rollout of vaccines, which are powering most of the reopenings – especially in countries like Fiji that took a hard line against the virus early on. However, these countries are making it clear. For now, those borders are only going to be open for fully vaccinated travelers.

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