Getting to and around the Suva
Ground transportation is very well established across the capital, with excellent bus services within the city and surrounding suburbs with scheduled departures from the main bus depot every 15 to 30 minutes.
Taxi ranks are dispersed across the city and are plentiful and modestly priced.
There is an air-conditioned coach service that operates (Typically every hour) every day of the week between the capital city of Suva and Lautoka City in the western division, navigating its way up the Queen’s Highway with scheduled stops at the main tourism hubs and metropolitan areas.
Another coach service weaves its way up the backroad (Kings Road), through Nausori Town to Raikairki (Suncoast). This service is less frequent but provides a more direct service to the villages and towns on the eastern side of the island.
Nausori Town, about 23 kilometres from Suva City Centre, is an upcoming tourist hub, home to the second international Airport servicing Fiji, aptly named Nausori International Airport. With expansion plans for the airport and surrounding areas interwoven with the cultural heritage of the area, this is a destination that is well worth considering when visiting the main capital.
Distances to Major Fijian Towns and Cities
The table below displays the distances in Kilometers from Suva and major towns and cities distributed around Viti Levu, Fiji. (1 mile is equivalent to 1.6 kilometers)
| Suva to: (via Queens Rd) | Suva: (via Kings Road) |
|---|---|
| Pacific harbour - 49 km | Nausori - 20 km |
| Korotoga - 118 km | Korovou - 118 km |
| Sigatoka - 125 km | Rakiraki - 162 km |
| Sanasana - 158 km | Ba - 218 km |
| Nadi - 190 km | Lautoka - 236 km |
| Denarau - 192 km | |
| Lautoka - 215 km | |
Historical Snapshot – Thurston Gardens
Experience Fiji’s flora and see various palms, gingers, water lilies, and other local flora at the gardens. Originally called the Botanical Gardens, its name was changed to Thurston Gardens in honour of the fifth Governor of Fiji, Sir John Bates Thurston, who was Governor from February 1888 to March 1897. Thurston Gardens is located in central Suva, between Albert Park and the Government House. It is built on the original site of the town of Suva that was burnt in 1843 in one of the bloodiest fights in Fiji’s history. Many of the inhabitants were killed and eaten by the people of Rewa. In 1879, Sir John Thurston invited and asked John Horne (Botanist), the Director of Forests and Botanic Gardens in Mauritius to visit and make recommendations for a Botanical Garden
Rewa Delta History
When travelling from Suva to the delta, day tours are available to sites that have great historical significance. Many visitors enjoy the bus ride from the commercial site of the area – Nausori to places like Bau Island, the home of the paramount chieftain of Fiji who was responsible for the ceding of Fiji to Britain, Ratu Seru Cakobau. Bau had a population of 3000, hundreds of war canoes guarded its waters and more than 20 temples stood on the island’s central plain.
After the battle of Verata in 1839, Ratu Seru Cakobau and his father, Ratu Tanoa presented 260 bodies of men, women and children to their closest allays. Fifteen years after the incident, Ratu Seru converted to Christianity. When Ratu Seru accepted Christianity in 1854, Methodist missionaries resided on Viwa Island, just across the water from Bau. In 1867, he became a sovereign, crowned by European traders and planters who wished to protect their interests.
The first Fijian New Testament was printed in 1847 here with the translation carried out by Reverend John Hunt.
