Fiji
Koro Island
Cyclone Winston flattened Koro in 2016; the villages rebuilt, and sailors still linger for the reefs.
Koro is what the Lomaiviti keeps quiet: a big volcanic island of forest ridges and working coconut land, one small cluster of bungalows at Dere Bay, and villages where a bundle of kava still opens every door. Winston went straight through here; the island put itself back up.
The island rises in forested ridges above a lightly settled coast, with Dere Bay's handful of bungalows in the north-west as the practical base; the estate around it runs off-grid, without mains electricity or water. Cruising sailors linger here for the diving and snorkelling, with moorings protecting the coral at the anchorage, and a village within walking distance receives guests who come with kava for sevusevu. Ferries and small planes connect Koro to Suva, and waterfall walks inland are arranged through the villages rather than signposted for tourists.
Solo
A big working island with barely a toehold of tourism: arrive by ferry, base at Dere Bay, and let village arrangements shape each day.
Couple
A quiet beachfront base on a working Pacific island, with sevusevu evenings and reef days, is a form of travel resort Fiji cannot supply.
- Dere Bay's small resort and off-grid estate are the island's one visitor base, tucked into the quiet north-west.
- Cruising crews stay on at Koro for diving and snorkelling over coral kept healthy by anchorage moorings.
- A village down the track from the bay welcomes guests for sevusevu.
- Koro took Cyclone Winston head-on in 2016 and rebuilt largely through its own effort.
Dere Bay's kitchen cooks what Koro's fishermen land and its farmers grow, unpretentious and fresh.
The lovo and the kokoda are the kitchen's island specialities, done the unhurried Koro way.
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