Previous Trip Notes:
About Time, A Long-Distance Trip Begins – Part 5: Things to Do at Nanuku
About Time, A Long-Distance Trip Begins – Part 4: Food at Nanuku
About Time, A Long-Distance Trip Begins – Part 3: Nanuku Arrival
About Time, A Long-Distance Trip Begins – Part 2: The 29.5-Hour Trip To Nanuku
About Time, A Long-Distance Trip Begins – Part 1: The Setup
We woke up early on our last day, taking a stroll along the beach – the girls still in their pajamas.
Ocean Playing in Pajamas
A quick splash in our plunge pool, and it was on our way to the final breakfast. Just like on day one, a couple of us opted for the souffle pancakes, and went back to the room to finish our packing. The flight was a late one departing at 9:40pm, so we had a couple of options: First, check out of our room, but hang out at the resort all day. It would have been great to have another day to swim, snorkel, and relax. However, the two downsides were that we would be heading to the airport full of sunscreen and sweat, and then immediately after a 2.5-hour drive to the airport, we would be sitting for another 11-hour flight to LAX (not to mention the flight from LAX > MSP). The second option, which we opted to take, was to check-out at 11am, and take a shuttle to the Crowne Plaza in Nadi (courtesy of our IHG annual certificate that comes with the Chase card – and a $99 annual fee), hang out and swim for the afternoon in Nadi, and then shower and head to the airport. The Crowne Plaza, while nice, was under construction, so didn’t get access to the entire campus or pool, but we still had a really nice time:
Crowne Plaza Nadi, Fiji
Crowne Plaza Nadi, Fiji
Crowne Plaza Nadi, Fiji
Crowne Plaza Nadi, Fiji
We used Xplore Fiji for our hotel transfer, and then again from the Crowne Plaza to the airport.
After a painfully long wait through customs, the airport had a decent Priority Pass Lounge, which we hung out in for about an hour.
We then went to our gate, grabbed NSPpeanuts some Burger King French Fries, and boarded the flight.
Boarding Fiji Airways: NAN > LAX
We were a bit tired given the departure time:
NSPpeanutToo Out
While we slept an immense amount of time on the outbound flight, the return flight was a bit more difficult, and we only managed a few hours of sleep.
Upon arrival in LAX< we made our way back to In-N-Out, walked to the Hyatt to pickup the car seat, and extra luggage, and then jumped on the shuttle to get back to LAX. It was an easy flight home, and we had managed to survive the longest economy flights the family has yet to take. Would I do it again? Absolutely. Would it be my preferred method of travel? Absolutely not. :)
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