Our first time in Fiji was for my wife’s birthday. She planned everything so I will not take any credit for that. All Paxton and I did was make sure we showed up.
To get to Vomo, there are a few options: a ferry, a boat ride (that must be booked through the resort) or helicopter. We opted for the boat ride with the resort and the captain was kind enough to let Paxton hold the wheel and Paxton was elated. For a moment, I thought he really wasn’t going to let go and he thought he was the captain and this was the trip in itself. However, as we got to the island, you could start to see how crystal clear and beautiful the water was.
Here’s a picture of them giving Paxton a necklace and fresh juice as we were waiting to check into our room. They also greeted us with a song and dance which was amazing and beyond what we expected.
We had our own little beach hut where we could walk to the beach or see the beach from our patio. They also had a swimming pool which we did spend a few hours at, but the main course was the beach and beautiful ocean.
Although it did sprinkle here and there, when it cleared up it was gorgeous and you wouldn’t have even knew it rained. As you walk around we also noticed a lot of birds running around which Paxton always tried catching but had no luck.
Food
The food was amazing. Some of the freshest fruit and fish you will ever taste. I would give this place a thumbs up in terms of quality and portion sizes. While I can be a big eater, I never felt like I was starving nor did I feel like the food was lacking. The host and waiters were super nice and the place was super upkept.
Another great aspect of the food and Vomo was getting Paxton to eat! Not only at 2 years old is he particuarly picky, but they had all his favorite options from pizza to chicken nuggets to mac n cheese so each day we didn’t have to worry about finding something to eat.
Kid Friendly
Vomo is extremely kid friendly! While they do have a lot of adult focused items, like kayaking or snorkeling, these are not limited by an age! We snorkeled with another family who took their 3 year old into the deep blue and she was not scared one bit.
Paxton, on the other hand, even with a life jacket was not thrilled after about 10 minutes. His favorite part about snorkeling? Feeding the fish some bread and seeing the black tipped shark swimming around. Let’s say, after he saw the sharks in the water, as much as he loved sharks, there was no way he was going to get back into the water.
Aside from the water activities, Vomo also has a dedicated kids area where you could drop your kids off or stop by to play with the toys. Let’s just say this was Paxton’s favorite place to go each day and it got to the point where if we didn’t make a stop prior to bedtime, he was not going to be happy.
It was such a bedtime custom that he knew right after dinner, where we were heading and was super upset when they were ready to close up for the night. This is a fantastic idea and one of the best things we’ve experienced from any our of trips. Definitely worth checking out if you have kids!
Every morning they also had a fish feeding by the aqua center. They would toss bread to the fish you would see it swarm you in the water. It’s so fun Paxton was super scared as the fish jumped and surrounded us.
Activities
The biggest mention here is the free snorkeling tours they do at Vomo. You will need to make sure you sign up for a time but wow, with such an amazing ocean and reef you can’t miss out! If not for being 5 months post-foot surgery I would’ve definitely taken more advantage of it.
I did do also do the sportfishing because when in Fiji, why not, right? It was a 2 1/2 hour trip but due to weather conditions and it just didn’t seem like it was a good day, overcast with super choppy water, so the trip ended up in a skunk. But I did get to see a few islands and a new island that looked like it was forming so it wasn’t a complete wash.
Check out the hand-line fishing article for more on this activity.
One final activity that I can’t leave out is hiking up the mountain trail. It was a guided hike, but definitely not easy with a 2 year old who only wants to be carried by his mom. While it did take us about 45 minutes to get up with him, it definitely was not easy with some narrow paths and having to swap because he only wanted his mom to carry him, who by the way was struggling without him due to the incline of the mountain. However, once we got to the top, it was a gorgeous view. Paxton may be the first 2 year old to ever make it to the top. According to our guide, definitely the first and only 2 year old he’s ever seen at the peak and he’s been there for 20 years, so Paxton can claim that prize! However, lesson learned to never try that again unless we use our front carrier, because having to carry him on the side was exhausting even for myself.
Leaving Vomo
Our last day on Vomo also happened to be my wife’s birthday. The team at Vomo did a fantastic job singing her a birthday song while also bringing out a very delicious cake for her to blow out (Paxton tried but he hasn’t quite learned to blow out yet).
As a special treat as we left the island, I got us a helicopter ride. We had teased Paxton all week about whether he wanted to go on a helicopter ride or take a boat back since that was how we got to the island and he was super excited for the helicopter ride. When he saw it, his eyes lit up and he couldn’t believe his eyes that we were really getting on it.
I got to ride shotgun while Tara and Paxton rode in the backseat. This was a first time for all three of us and it made such a huge difference putting on the headphones. The noise-cancelling and ability to speak to one another was amazing despite how loud the helicopter was. Unless I ever become a billionaire, this was probably my one and only time I’ll ever ride a helicopter but it was definitely a great experience.
My Thoughts
Definitely a must go to if you have a family. From the water activities to kid friendliness of the resort, you’re bound to find something that you and the family will enjoy. While it is on the pricer side, so do expect to pay a decent amount, it is definitely worth it. We split our Fiji trip into two halves with the first part being on Vomo and the second part on the main island at the Intercontential and I can say hands down this was a way better experience. The food was also far and away fantastic on Vomo.
Stay tuned for part two of our Fiji trip as we hop over to the Intercontential and learn why sometimes I’m my own worst enemy.
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