Food, Glorious Food!

So, some people have been asking about food on the island! Is it included in the price of the accommodation? Unfortunately, no it's not.

There are two ways to get fed on the island. One, buy as you go. Two, get a meal plan. The Tokoriki meal plan costs approximately AUD $75 per person per day. It includes gourmet breakfast, lunch and a three course dinner every day. If you were the size of a small house I would recommend the meal plan, but actually it's a lot more food than only one person could eat in a day.

I recommend option one. There are two restaurants on the island. One at Tokoriki Resort, and one five minutes walk away at Amunuca Resort. I have heard TERRIBLE things about the food at Amunuca Resort - but you can give it a shot if you want. Main meals at Tokoriki Restaurant are about $20 to $30 each. Lunch is about $15 to $30, and some of the people I've talked to said they just had a huge lunch and that did them for the rest of the day. For breakfast, you can buy that at the restaurant too but I'd just bring some muesli bars or something with you from Nadi - plus there should be fresh fruit everywhere.

The food at Tokoriki is cooked by French and French-trained chefs. They give the local Fijians the training they need and then a job - so you can feel good while you eat your food. And the food is meant to be scrumptious! A blend of international cuisine, Indian food and local Fijian food. There's a good seafood menu, as well as chicken, beef and vegetarian options. If you would like to see some sample menus then go to http://www.tokoriki.com/food-wine.html and click on the pdf links at the bottom of the page.

And of course, don't forget, you will be fed a MEGA lunch on our wedding day - which will probably end up being the most expensive meal of my Father's life! :-P But good news for you guys at least.

Hope this answers your questions! If not, give me a buzz with this and any more questions and I'll put the answers up on the blog for everyone.

Why Did We Change The Wedding Location?

So, some of you may be wondering why we changed our wedding resort from Beqa to Tokoriki. There were several reasons, and I'll quickly outline them here:

1. Beqa was demanding that all guests stay a minimum of 4 nights at the resort. This was interfering with a lot of guests budgets and travel plans, as guests would have to dedicated thousands instead of hundreds of dollars to our wedding accommodation which could instead go towards their own Fiji travel plans.

2. Beqa was not being very accommodating for our guests. They were not answering questions promptly, or finalising bookings with our travel agent. They were also, at times, a bit rude!

3. There was no wedding coordinator at Beqa Lagoon Resort, meaning that the wedding might have been a flop! Seeing as that is the reason for the whole 'holiday' thought this point was important, lol :-P

4. Beqa Lagoon Resort was located almost on the other side (and South) of the main island, meaning transfers would have taken upwards of 4 hours from Nadi. Beqa is much closer to Suva (the Capital, which is the epicenter of racial tensions in Fiji), so not within many tourists' ideal vacation spots. Tokoriki is only an hour or so away from Nadi - the tourism capital of Fiji.

5. Tokoriki is located in the Mamunuca Chain of islands, which is more temperate. Year round it is sunnier and rains less. Beqa is much more likely to be rained on that time of year.

6. The Mamunuca Chain of islands is the ideal vacation destination, with dozens of tiny islands accommodating honeymooners, party goers, families and backpackers. There's something for everyone, and being the most beautiful islands in Fiji (the postcard islands) they are, in my opinion, a great place to continue your holiday after our wedding.

7. Finally, one last point. Which is not so much why not Beqa, but why Tokoriki? It is a five star resort with five star reviews all around. It drips with orchards, oozes romance, and is set on that perfect postcard beach. The staff are renowned for their friendliness and hospitality, and the wedding coordinator is experienced and knowledgable - having organised  her fair share of weddings.

We don't want a perfect wedding (strange as that may sound), we want a wedding that reflects us and the people we are (so definitely not perfect!). We are still having our simple ceremony barefoot on the beach, with wild flowers for decoration, but we wanted to make sure that things went smoothly for us and for you. So I hope you guys with the question 'why' now understand :-)

Love you all! And hope to see you next year on the sandy white beaches of Tokoriki! :-D

Take A Virtual Tour of Tokoriki!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzjim4P3yxE

I Am Being Bugged, So You Will Be Too

Hi all,

I'm sorry to do this again. I did not want this blog to turn into a nagging blog! Aaron, who is organising all the bookings for our wedding, is getting very concerned that no one has contacted him to book for our wedding yet. Tokoriki is quite a small resort and we are taking up a large number of their rooms (half to be exact). He really does need assurance - if you are not able to pay a deposit yet then please just contact him to let him know you are coming. He will be able to put a room aside for you for a period of time.

I have given him the email addresses of our RSVPd guests (if I had them) and he will be contacting you directly. Please respond as quickly as possible.

Once again, Aaron's email address is: enquiries@tokorikibookings.com

Please do not wait. You do not have to pay the full amount upfront. Just please book, so that Aaron,  Simon and I can have peace of mind.

Love Jess