Fam! Traveling to England from Fiji is exciting! If you’ve never done it, I would highly recommend it!

With that said, here’s a few things you should keep in mind:

Firstly, sis, it ain’t cheap.

My husband and I traveled during the now removed covid guidelines, so including the flights themselves, there were covid tests in both countries (FJ & EN) that had to be purchased & done before getting on the flight from Fiji, there was also proof of vaccination (for Fiji, it was a certificate from the Ministry of Health, the vaccination cards themselves were not sufficient), and then there was the quarantine or isolation period.

When we went, England only had a self isolation period of 2 days upon arrival during which we had to take a pre-purchased, self administered covid test & if it was negative then we were free to go about our way.

When we returned to Fiji, there was a 3 day quarantine regulation that could only be done at an approved facility with approved transportation, this too was so that we could take a day-2 covid test, Ministry of Health administered, upon which if we tested negative, we could go about our merry way.

So, calculation wise, you’d be looking to save at least 8,000 FJD for the flights, tests and quarantine alone.

But like I said, we traveled when the two countries had a bit more travel conditions. If you go now, you most likely won’t have to purchase a covid test or quarantine on your back so make sure to do your due diligence & check with the two countries first. Helpful links are at the end of this blog for that type of information.

Oh, and before I forget, sis, you’ll need a visa to travel to the land of the longest living Monarch and that brings you to at least 200 FJD for one application.

Secondly, choose your travel time wisely.

This ain’t new but like most places in the global north, there are winter months, and the winter is actually cold, freezing, below 0 degrees type of winter.

So, my suggestion is unless you’ve been to winter places before or generally like the cold, your best shot would be to visit England in their summer or warmer months, like between April and August.

Thirdly, prepare for long travel.

Girrlll, the flight is long and depending on which route you take, make sure you are ready for the transit hours which could be as long as 12 hours and the actual flight time which could be 8 to 13 hours.

Lastly, have a game plan.

This should probably be the first thing you should do or have.

Sis, traveling overseas in general is never simple for most of us from the pacific, whether it be our first time out of the country, the first time traveling by ourselves, the nuances of actually having a passport & figuring our that we need a visa to travel to most countries, it can be somewhat overwhelming but I promise, it is worth it!

So, checklist:

• Decide where you want to go, England? Yes!
• Save your coins, if you haven’t started saving for a trip, make a plan & save sis!
• Find out whether you need a visa or not, if you have a Fiji passport, the answer is yes, we do.
• Apply for your visa here, the process is super user friendly, from instructions to requirements, don’t overthink it, just do it.
• Check out flights and covid related requirements if any, there’s a lot of information online so look for government sites like this one for England or the UK, or this one for traveling back or into Fiji.
• Book your flights, pack and go!