Mana Island Hostels

Just came back from Ratu Kini after spending there 4 days with my teenage daughter. We had the family cottage- two rooms with shower and toilet in each and a common area. The cottage was very basic but quite clean and perfect for our needs. Overall, Ratu Kini resort is integrated into a small village, the only one on the island, so plenty of dogs and kids running around. The food was ok, limited choice of menu every lunch and dinner. The prices- same as in NZ or Australia which was a shock to me (min wages in Fiji are 4$!) but it seems that all of Fiji is very expensive for tourists. The staff-very friendly and always smiling, real pleasure. The beach- we were there during the Survivor filming so most of the island was off limits. However, we still had about 3-400 meters of beach and could go around the island on a kayak or a paddle board, just couldn't land on the other beaches. The beach in front of the resort is not the cleanest- plenty of bottles, plastic and broken glass. The snorkeling and swimming was quite nice when the weather was calm. Really enjoyed the snorkeling trip to the Sandbar. Castaway Island was ok. Took Ratu Kini boat both ways. Paul the Captain is fun and a great guy. The boat broke down on the return trip, we had to catch the flight home that evening and also getting stuck in the middle of the sea was not really appealing but Paul managed to get it running finally. Bottom line- we enjoyed our stay but doubt I will be back to Fiji- everything is just way too expensive! SE Asia offers much better value for money.