Lapped by warm azure waters, fringed, with vibrant coral reefs and cloaked in the emerald green of the tropics, Fiji is a paradise-seeker’s dream came true. Lts sun-soaked, white-sand beaches and resorts are bliss, but only a slice of the country’s allure. Fiji is an interesting blend of Melanesian, Polynesian, Micronesian, lndian, Chinese and European influences-which means visitors can feed on curries and chop suey, visit temples, churches and mosques, hear Urdu and Mandarin, and sip spiced chai or kava.

May to October, during the ‘Fijian’ winter when humidity and rainfall are lower

Exploring Suva’s waterfront and market, with its exotic and vegetables, seafood and spices Snorkelling and diving in Fiji’s extraordinary crystal-blue reefs Experiencing the warmth and hospitality of Fiji’s multiethnic inhabitants Surfing the fantastic breaks of the southern Mamanucas Admiring traditional bure (thatched dwelling) architecture in the highlands Swimming though the dark chambers of the Sawa-i-Lau caves in the Yasawa group of islands

Read Fiji’s most popular coffee-table book, Children of the Sun, with photos by Glen Craig and poetry by Bryan McDonald

Listen to the guitar-strumming, crooning songs from Bula Fiji Bula: Music of the Fiji lslands

Watch Tom Hanks playing the modern-day Robinson Crusoe in Cast Away, featuring Monuriki lsland

Eat traditional Fijian foods including tavioka (cassava) and dalo (taro) roots, and seafood in lolo (coconut cream)

Drink cloudy bowl of lip-numbing yaqona (also known as kava), a ritualistic drink prepared from the aromatic roots of the Pacific pepper shrub, originally drunk in honour of the ancestors

Bula (hello)

Surfers seeking the big break; honeymooners’ paradise; grass skirts; Blue Lagoon; endless bowls of yaqona; hammocks; woven baskets; white-sand beaches

Over 300 islands comprise Fiji’s archipelago, and two-thirds are uninhabited; boiled beak (bat) was once a popular indigenous Fijian dish

Snorkelling in Fiji’s warm waters is a definite highlight. You are likely to see brilliant soft and hard corals, multitudes of various shapes and sizes, sponges, sea cucumbers, urchins, Christmas-tree worms and mollusks. Crustaceans are more difficult to spot and many only come out at night. Night snorkeling is a fantastic experience if you can overcome your fear of the unknown!