Make sure to pack plenty of suntan lotion if you come during the summer around December and January; otherwise the dangers here are minimal.
Safety: outside of the big cities like Suva and Nadi, crime is low and any tension associated with the flimsy political situation minimal. When in extremely remote areas, however, locals have been known to ‘borrow’ small items from visitors but usually a quiet word to the village headman smoothes out such problems. When in the sea, exercise caution and avoid swimming if intoxicated with alcohol. The roads, sometimes well below Western standards, are the scene of fairly regular accidents, as is the case in most countries. Clouds and thunderstorms occur annually though, especially on the main island of Viti Levu and the capital Suva which often seems to suffer worse weather than the holiday resorts on the smaller islands. The coolest temperatures arrive between May and September although the seas seem to stay warm all year. Money: the national currency, the Fijian dollar, was introduced a year before independence in 1969 and retains a picture of the British Monarch Queen Elizabeth II despite the country’s autonomy. The dollar is subdivided into 100 cents. Recommended hospitals:
Suva – Suva Private Hospital (679) 330 3404
Labasa – Labasa Hospital (679) 881 1444
Lautoka – Lautoka Hospital (679) 666 0399 Emergency: if you’re in a popular tourist resort or in the likes of Suva or Nadi then emergency medical services are generally good. However, in remote areas and lesser travelled islands facilities are usually non-existent.
Emergency services: 911
Crime-stoppers: 919 Business needs: a southern Pacific archipelago hundreds of miles from any major landmass may not inspire business confidence but Fiji is a country that is well-developed in the major cities with good investment opportunities, particularly in the tourism sector, and improving business infrastructure. Inflation and interest rates have remained low and stable in recent years despite political instability and there has been a marked increase in construction typified by the building of one of Fiji’s highest structures, the Suva Central Commercial Centre, in 2005. The capital is the undoubted centre of business activity and home to most of the country’s banking services, major businesses and business facilities. | 
