Experience the best of Savusavu

Savusavu is a laid-back harbour town on a small peninsula on the south coast of Vanua Levu, Fiji's second-largest island. Hot springs bubble beside the shore, and local people cook food in the steaming ground. The bay has long been a yacht anchorage, and the waterfront is lined with a few cafés, a small market and shops.

Pearls are farmed in the bay, and coconut plantations climb the hillsides behind town, a reminder of the copra trade that once built the local economy. Divers head out to the Namena barrier reef and the soft-coral walls of the Somosomo Strait, and Taveuni's rainforest waterfalls are a boat ride across the water.

Fijian food here centres on kokoda, raw fish marinated in lime juice and coconut milk, and lovo, a feast cooked in an earth oven. Indo-Fijian curries and roti are everywhere, and kava is shared at gatherings. The drier months of the middle of the year suit diving and boat trips best.