Fiji New Year Ideas: How to Spend New Year’s Eve in Fiji

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New Year’s Eve in a Resort

No matter what time of the year it is, Fiji resorts know how to entertain their guests. As you can imagine, New Year’s Eve is no exception! Many resorts will put on special buffet dinners for their guests and host themed parties. Expect nights with lots of dancing!

While you can pretty much guarantee that all resorts will have some form of New Year’s entertainment for their guests, here are a few resorts known for throwing the best New Year’s events!

• Sheraton Fiji Resort, Denarau – indulge in a special New Year’s feast and enjoy a night full of music.
• Radisson Blu, Denarau – enjoy a buffet dinner and a mascarade party.
• Outrigger Fiji Beach Resort, Coral Coast – treat the younger ones to Outrigger’s sunset party for kids.
• Beachcomber Island Resort, Mamanuca Islands – watch the fireworks and go on an island-hopping pub crawl to other island resort bars.
• Smugglers Cove Beach Resort, Nadi – Beachfront party with live DJs on Wailoaloa Beach.
• Sailor’s Beach, Nadi – Also hosting a New Year’s Eve party on Wailoaloa Beach.
• VOMO Island Resort – Holds one of its major annual events on New Year’s Eve, featuring indulgent cuisine, entertainment, and luxury.
• InterContinental Fiji Golf Resort & Spa – This luxury resort is known for hosting special events during holidays.
• Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort – Another resort known for hosting events during holiday seasons.
• Paradise Cove Resort – This resort in the Yasawa Islands often organises holiday events.

With so many fantastic options, you’re sure to have an unforgettable New Year’s Eve celebration in Fiji!

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New Year’s Eve in a Village

In Fijian culture, the New Year is not just celebrated for one day, but an entire week (and longer in some villages). Many different clans within a village will usually come together to have a huge feast, with each clan or family in charge of preparing one aspect of the feast. There may also be native dances called “meke”, which have been performed for hundreds of years but are used today to celebrate more contemporary events. In some villages, there may be the beating of drums and spraying each other with water. Learn more about the meke and other customs in The Guide to the Fiji Culture for Travellers.

Villages Homestays

To see how Fijians celebrate the New Year’s period in villages, your best option is to do a village stay or homestay. These can be organised through selected resorts or even found on websites like Airbnb, Expedia and Booking.com. Most homestays can be found in the Yasawa Islands and the Suncoast on Viti Levu. Remember to respect the village etiquette, for instance, wear a sulu (sarong) and bring some kava root to present as a gift. For more information, see our Guide to Fiji Village Etiquette.

Village Tours

If you’re lucky, some resorts have village visits as part of their activity offering, but this is not always available on New Year’s Eve/Day. If you do manage to join a tour, a resort guide will take you to a village to spend a day meeting the locals and taking part in their day-to-day activities, whether it’s weaving, going to church or playing with the kids. See examples of village tours in the 10 Best Village Tours in Fiji.

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New Year’s Eve in the City

The final big New Year’s Eve celebrations you’ll find in Fiji are in the cities of Suva, Fiji’s capital city, and Nadi.

Annual street parties are held every New Year’s Eve, with a variety of entertainment throughout the night to suit the diverse ranges of cultures found in these cities.

Entertainment usually involves live bands, dancers, water splashing, a countdown to the New Year and fireworks. The events are alcohol-free making them family-friendly and a great event for all ages.

For the last few years, the New Year street parties have been held in Albert Park in Suva and Koroivolu Park in Nadi, running from 7 pm to 1 am.

The Best Fiji Bars for New Year’s Eve

To continue the party into the early hours, there are a number of nightclubs and bars in both Nadi and Suva. You’ll find most bars in Suva down Victoria Parade, like Traps and O’Reilly’s, while in Nadi’s suburb of Martintar, you’ll find the likes of Ed’s Bar, Hive, Loafers and more on Queens Road. We also recommend checking out the hotel bars on the beachfront of Wailoaloa in Nadi, which often have DJs and an awesome vibe from dusk to midnight. Find out more in our Guide to the Fiji Nightlife.

Plus, check out more things to do in Nadi and more things to do in Suva.

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Celebrate the New Year on the International Date Line

Fiji is one of the first in the world to celebrate the New Year because of its position closest to the west side of the International Date Line. In other words, Fiji’s time zone is the first time zone. You can learn more about its position on the International Date Line in What is the Fiji Time Zone? In fact, the International Date Line passes right through Fiji on the island of Taveuni, which is marked with a sign and commemorative line moulded into the concrete below.

Fiji’s third-largest island sits at a longitude of 180 degrees, meaning that, theoretically, one side of the island exists in one day, and the other side of the island exists in the next day. However, Fiji only observes one time zone, which is determined by the western side of the date line.

For a unique way to celebrate the New Year, celebrate at midnight at the International Date Line on the west side of the line during the UTC+12 time zone (Fiji’s time zone), then 12 hours later, celebrate again on the eastern side of the Date Line!

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The New Year Public Holidays and Other Public Holidays in Fiji

It’s important to note that New Year’s Day (1 January) is an official public holiday. This means that many shops, businesses, and services will be closed, or operating hours will be reduced. Resorts and their restaurants will still operate as normal, as will most tours from tourist hotspots like Port Denarau. However, some tour operators, especially on the outer islands, may take a break on New Year’s Day.

New Year’s Day and the day after are just a couple of several public holidays in Fiji experienced throughout the year. Other public holidays in Fiji include:

• January 1 – New Year’s Day
• Friday before Easter – Good Friday
• Saturday before Easter – Easter Saturday
• Monday after Easter – Easter Monday
• Closest Monday to May 14 – Girmit Day
• Last Monday/Friday of May – Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna Day
• Monday during Rabi’ al-awwal – Prophet Mohammed’s Birthday
• October 10 – Fiji Day
• Friday closest to Diwali – Diwali
• December 25 – Christmas Day
• December 26 – Boxing Day.

Where a public holiday falls on a Sunday (and sometimes a Saturday), the office holiday will be observed on the following Monday or the previous Friday. Learn more about what each day listed above entails in the Public Holidays in Fiji (& Other Important Dates).