Considering a Move to Fiji?

Moving to Fiji from the UK

Abels Moving Services has provided discreet export packing and shipping for discerning families and professionals relocating to Fiji for over 50 years.

Fiji: The Islands

Fiji sits around 1,300 miles north-east of New Zealand’s North Island, made up of roughly 332 islands. The two largest, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, are home to around 87% of Fiji’s population of just under 940,000. The islands sit over 50 miles apart across the Pacific. It’s worth weighing up what each island offers before you settle on where to move.

Suva, the capital, sits on Viti Levu and is home to most Fijians. The island’s mountainous interior is sparsely populated. Fiji divides into four major regions: Central, Eastern, Northern and Western. These split further into 14 provinces, including Ba, Bua, Cakaudrove, Kadavu, Lau, Lomaiviti, Macuata, Nadroga-Navosa, Naitasiri, Namosi, Ra, Rewa and Serua.

Climate, Culture and Things to Do in Fiji

Fiji stays warm for most of the year. The warmer season runs November to April, and the cooler season May to October. Even then, average temperatures sit around 22°C.

Worth visiting once you’ve settled in: the Fiji Museum at Thurston Gardens in Suva. It sits on the site of the old city, and the gardens were originally known as the Suva Botanical Gardens. The Colo-i-Suva Forest National Park is worth a visit too, a rainforest known for its tropical flora and birdlife. Fiji also hosts several annual festivals. These include the Hibiscus Festival, the largest carnival in the South Pacific, and a large New Year’s street party.

The Fijian Economy

Fiji’s main exports are raw sugar and cane, along with frozen fish. Tourism plays a significant role in the economy too, and Fiji continues to invest in growing the sector further.

Planning Your Move

Talk to a specialist international removal company before you move to Fiji. The process has its own pitfalls, and a domestic mover won’t be familiar with them.

Before you call, think about whether you want to send everything you own or just a select few personal effects. Call our head office on +44 1842 816600 or email [email protected]. We’ll be in touch shortly to discuss your move.

For full house moves or large volumes, we recommend a home survey. One of our International Customer Service Managers will visit your home. They’ll discuss your requirements and answer any questions about the process. They’ll assess the items you’re packing and explain how best to protect them in transit. They’ll also confirm access for a larger removal vehicle or shipping container. Our colleague draws up a full list of items to take during the visit. Once we’ve collated all the costs (origin, freight, destination services), we’ll send you a detailed door-to-door removal proposal.

For smaller volumes, you can discuss your move over the phone, by email, or through our online service. We’ll assess your volume, access, packing requirements and shipping method from the information you give us. We’ll then send a detailed door-to-door proposal for you to consider.

Once you book with Abels, you’ll meet your Customer Liaison Move Coordinator. They work alongside your Customer Service Manager to manage the booking, organisation and day-to-day details of your move to Fiji.

Export Packing

Export packing is essential for your belongings when you move to Fiji. It protects your items in transit, using either a 6-ply paper blanket with a wax inner and water-resistant outer, or a tough bubble blanket with a soft cloth inner and robust outer that keeps corners protected. Certain items (polished furniture, antiques, delicate legs, mirrored or glass-fronted units) need an extra layer of card, cartoning, or wrap for additional protection.

A domestic move by road needs less protection than a journey of thousands of miles in a 20ft or 40ft container. Your items get handled multiple times on that journey: wrapped, loaded, driven to port, lifted on and off the stack, loaded onto the vessel, and the same in reverse at the other end. Robust export packing matters throughout, and it matters even more on a longer voyage like the one to Fiji.

We use the highest quality export materials throughout, designed to withstand a long export journey rather than a short domestic one. Containers are stacked up to two metres high, so cartons at the bottom need to hold their shape and protect their contents for the whole journey.

Fine Art & Specialist Packing Services

Fine art needs particular care, and shipments to Fiji involving valuable or delicate pieces (paintings, grandfather clocks, barometers, chandeliers) call for enhanced export packing and careful handling throughout. In many cases, we build bespoke cases specifically for the item.

How we dismantle these items before shipping matters as much as how we pack them. Grandfather clocks need their main components taken apart and weights removed before casing. Barometers need specialist handling too, since we bung the tube to prevent the mercury inside from spilling.

Thorough training is what keeps our packing teams versed in the right handling and packing techniques for items like these. Find out more in our moving advice.

Airfreight

Fiji has two international airports. Nadi International Airport (NAN) sits to the west, near the Koroyanitu National Heritage Park and south of the Port of Lautoka. Nausori International Airport (SUV) sits to the south-east, near Colo-i-Suva Forest Park and north of the Port of Suva.

Sea transit typically takes around 11 weeks door to door, the longest of any destination we cover, so airfreight is worth considering for anything you need sooner. Security restrictions mean airfreighted goods need professional packing rather than owner-packed cartons. We load them into heat-treated modules of various sizes, with waterproof covering for extra protection. Allow around 2 weeks door to door for airfreight, to account for UK and Fijian security and customs checks before delivery.

See more on airfreight shipments.

Customs Information

Import and export rules govern personal items and household goods entering Fiji. Your Abels Move Manager will give you tailored guidance through this part of the process.

You’ll need specific documentation for customs clearance. The exact requirements depend on your personal circumstances, and our team will talk you through these ahead of your move. Explore the FIDI Customs Guide for Fiji for further background before your move consultation with the Abels team.

Shipping Services

We ship larger volumes and full house moves in a 20ft or 40ft container. Where access allows, we load the container outside your residence, so you can see our team’s care and skill first-hand. We seal the container with our uniquely numbered bolt seals. Where access doesn’t suit a container of this size, we load goods at our warehouse (you’re welcome to attend) or use a shuttle truck between your home and the container.

Some shipping lines offer low-cost freight at the expense of container quality and transit time. Abels sources containers through an organisation that secures A1-class containers on our behalf. These arrive without fractures, dry, clean, odour-free, and with a reliably consistent transit time. An odour in the container will transfer to your goods, and any fractures risk water damage.

Smaller volumes travel as LCL (less than container load). We take these to our warehouse and load them into heat-treated wooden crates for shipping.

Fiji is one of the more remote destinations we ship to. Transit from port to port typically takes 52 to 55 days by sea, with vessels departing the UK weekly to the ports of Lautoka and Suva. Door to door, allow around 11 weeks, depending on weather, strikes, re-routing, vessel availability and customs inspections. It’s a longer wait than most of our routes, so it’s worth building this into your moving timeline early.

Read more about shipping options when moving abroad.

Destination Services

We choose our destination partners for their accreditations. Most hold the FIDI-FAIM quality award, so the standard you experience with Abels continues right through customs clearance and delivery in Fiji.

We notify our destination partner as soon as your container departs the UK. They’ll contact you as delivery approaches and manage customs clearance on your behalf. Once cleared, they’ll arrange your delivery date. This normally includes delivery, unpacking, set-up of standard furniture (excluding flat-pack items unless agreed), removal of packaging waste, and return of the container to the wharf. Talk to your Abels Customer Service Manager or Customer Liaison if you’d like additional services such as a put-away service, cleaning, or settling-in support.

Our destination agents bring local knowledge of import documents, customs clearance and delivery. This keeps your arrival in Fiji as smooth as possible.

Wherever your move takes you, we’d like to be the removal company you think of for this move, and the next one. If you’re moving to Fiji, or anywhere else in the world, get in touch for a removal quotation.